Glossary

We explain all the poker terms, colloquialisms and abbreviations that you’ll most commonly encounter at the poker table.


Poker Term Description
Action Card A card that, on reveal, causes significant betting action, usually helping two or more players.
Add-on The purchase of more chips before you have busted in a live game.
Advertising Showing your hand or making an obvious play to falsify an impression of your style to your opponents. 
Air Having nothing in your hand or getting nothing i.e. catching air on the river
All-In Putting all your remaining chips into your bet.
Angle/Angle Shooter A style of play/player who miscalls their hand or is erratic with betting to confuse opponents as to their next action.
Ante Where no blind is used, the Ante is how money gets put into the pot at the start of the hand. It is a very low percentage of each players initial bet.
Backdoor A hand that emerged that was different to the players intended hand i.e. going for a flush but trips come up.
Backraise A re-raise from a player who already called in the same betting round.
Bad beat A losing hand that was favourite to win to another hand that had very small odds to win.
Bank Also called the house, the person responsible for distributing chips, buy-ins, and paying the winners.
Bankroll The amount of money that a player has to wager for the duration of his or her career.
Berry Patch A game where there are a lot of unskilled players.
Big bet game A game played with a no limit betting structure
Big blind Blinds are forced bets to keep money in the pot in poker. The big blind is the larger of two blinds.
Big Slick A colloquial term for Ace/King hand (suited or not).
Blaze A non-standard hand of five face cards that outranks a flush
Bleed Constantly losing chips through bad play.
Blind stud A different version of the stud poker game in which all cards are dealt face down.
Blistering A cheat’s strategy of marking cards with their fingernail.
Blocking bet An oddly small bet made by a player out of position intended to block a larger bet by an opponent.
Boat Also known as a full house
Both ways Both halves of a split pot.
Bottom Pair Pair made when the lowest
card comes through on the flop i.e. you have King/Four and Four comes up.
Bounty An additional cash
reward, separate from the tournament pay out, given for each player you
eliminate in the game.
Brick Otherwise known as a
blank; a card that doesn’t help another players hand or complete their draws.
Bridge order Bridge suit rank rules:
Spades beat hearts beat diamonds beat clubs. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Broadway A 10 through ace straight. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Brush Casino employee who
manages the poker room i.e. player list, brushing the table, announcing open
seats etc.
Bubble Any situation close to
the payout positions in a tournament i.e. if you go out on the bubble you
finished in the last position before entering the payout structure.
Bug A form of wild card –
usually the jokers added to the deck to represent pre-agreed cards.
Bully A player who consistently
raises to force out more timid players
Burn To discard the top card
from the deck, face down before each dealt hand to prevent cheating.
Button Generally indicated
dealer position at the table. Also referred to as ‘buck’ or ‘hat’.
Buy short Buying into a game for
less than the normal buy-in price. Only allowed if other players accept or
you lost a full buy-in previously.
Buy the pot Betting when no-one else
is betting to force them out of the game so you win the value of the blinds.
Buy-in The minimum amount of
chips you have to buy to take part in a game.
Call Matching a bet, calling a
stake laid by another player.
Call the clock Time period by which a
player has to act. If someone is taking a long time, opponents or the dealer
can call the clock to speed up play. 
Calling Station A player who calls often,
but doesn’t raise or fold much. Generally a weak-passive player.
Cap The limit on the number
of raises allowed in one round of betting – generally the maximum is four.
Cards speak The player’s verbal
declaration of what’s in their hand may not match the actual hand. The card’s
speak for themselves in this instance.
Case card The only remaining rank
card in the deck i.e. the last Ace in the pack.
Cash plays Player betting currency
at the table in lieu of more chips 
Catch perfect Catching the only two
cards that can complete a hand and win the pot, generally ones that lead to a
straight flush. 
Center pot href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_stakes" target="_parent"
title="Table stakes">The main pot in a table stakes game where one or more players are all in. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Chase To carry on playing a poor hand because you’ve put money in the pot.
Check To pass on betting. Also another word for a poker chip.
Check-raise Strategic play where a player checks early to incite play from an opponent, then raises in the same round.
Chip dumping Collusion where early all-in actions are made by two or more players in a tournament. The winning player will split the winnings between all colluders.
Chip leader style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The player with the most amount of chips in the tournament at any said point.
Chop To split a pot because of a tie, split-pot game, or player agreement.
Coffee housing Verbally misleading an opponent about the strength of a hand i.e. a player might feign uncertainty when they have two aces.
Cold call To call an amount that represents a sum of bets or raises by more than one player.
Cold deck A new deck switched into the game that has been stacked to favour a cheating player.
Collusion Cheating by more than one player working together to affect the outcome of the game.
Color change, color up Exchanging small-denomination chips for larger ones.
Combo game A casino table at which
multiple forms of poker are played in rotation. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Community Card Poker Poker games that use
‘window’ or ‘shared’ cards that are dealt face up and used communally by all
players in conjunction with their private hands.
Complete Hand style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  A hand defined by all
five cards — a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or straight
flush. 
Connectors Two or more cards of
consecutive rank. 
Continuation style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  bet A bet made after the flop
by the player who took the lead in betting before style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Counterfeit A card that makes your
hand worse e.g you could have made a pair of 8s on the flop but a pair of
Queens come up which your opponents now have too, reducing the odds of
winning.
Cow If two players are
sharing a buy-in, each player will be known as a cow. ‘Going cow’ is making
this arrangement. 
Crack To beat a big hand. 
Cripple Generally ending play by
having an unbeatable hand  that forces
all other players to fold.
Crying call Calling even though you
think you will lose
Cut card A coloured plastic card
used to cut the deck and remain under the bottom card so players cannot see
what it is.
Dark An action taken before the player has the information they would normally have to take an action.
Dead blind A player posting a dead blind cannot raise if all other players call.
Dead hand style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  An illegal hand that
cannot be played i.e. it contains too many cards, or the player fouled in
some way.
Dead man’s hand Aces and eights in a two-pair hand. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Dead money Cash in the pot that is
not equivalent to the bets and calls by active players in the pot. The term
has morphed to be used to describe the stakes of weak players who are
unlikely to win their money back. 
Deadwood All the
discarded/previously dealt cards in a deck. Also known as the muck.
Deal me in Player request to the
dealer to be included in the next hand.
Deal me out Player term for notifying
the dealer they will be absent from the game
Dealer’s choice The dealer can dictate
which poker game will be played at each hand. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Decloak Like check-raising, this
is another term for raising after a period of slowplay.
Deuce a 2-spot card or any
reference to the number two in poker i.e. $2 stake
Dirty stack Where a stack of chips
contains some rogue chips of different denominations either for cheating or
through carelessness of the dealer.
Dog The underdog
Dolly Parton A straight 5 through 9,
as in ‘working nine to five…’
Donation A deliberate call made by
a bored or frivolous player who expects to lose.
Door card The first visible card on
the flop in a game of Hold’em
Double gutter/double belly
buster		 Games of 6 cards or more
where a draw to the straight can be made by two ranks where it is not
open-ended eg. K-J-10-9-7 which could become a straight with a Q or 8.
Double raise The minimum raise in a class="font7">no-limit or class="font7">pot-limit game, raising only by the
amount of the current bet. 
Double up, double through To double your stack by
going all-in and winning against an opponent with the same or more chips than
you.
Double-ace flush a flush where wild cards
play as aces, even if an ace is already present. Not used in standard poker
rules.
Down and Dirty The final hole card dealt
in a game of 7 Card Stud 
Down to the felt/green Going all-in or losing
your entire stack i.e. there are no chips between you and the green felt of
the table.
Downcard A card that is dealt
facedown – also known as a hole card.
Doyle Brunson Going all-in or losing
your entire stack i.e. there are no chips between you and the green felt of
the table.
Drag light The act of pulling chips
away from the pot to cover a bet you don’t have the money to otherwise place.
If you win, the debt is ignored. If you lose you must cover the amount in
cash. No casinos play this home-game rule.
Draw A type of poker game.
Drawing dead Drawing to a hand that
will lose even if you hit your draw e.g. if you have a flush draw but your
opponent already has a full house, you are drawing dead.
Drawing live Drawing to a hand that
will win if successful.
Drawing thin Chasing a draw even if
your odds are poor.
Dry ace An ace unaccompanied by a
suited card, that has no real winning potential but offers opportunity for
bluffing.
Dry pot A side pot with no money
created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent,
but not raised. 
Ducks Another name for a pair of twos.
Dutch Straight Also known as a skip
straight. A Draw Poker hand of 5 cards in order with a rank skipped between
them  i.e. 2-4-6-8-T
Eagles The cards in the fifth
suit of a 62 card deck
Early Bet A minimal bet made after
the first card in Stud/first two cards in Draw.
Early position Players in a larger
betting round whose turn it was to bet first.
Edge The player to the dealer’s left.
Edge Odds The competitive status of
a player in relation to the others in the game.
Edge Shot a bet made from a
position of advantage.
Eight or better In a High-low Split game,
eight is the High-Low divider. Eight and below hands can win the bottom
portion of the pot.
End Bet: style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  The last bet before an interval.
End Stippers Cards with tapered sides,
used for cheating.
Equity A players expected value
(EV). Multiplies the pot by your probability to win to give you estimated
equity in the pot. 
Extra Blind A blind put in by a
player entering or returning to the game, or changing position at the table.
Face Card A picture card i.e. K,Q,J
False Cut Deceptively cutting the
pack so the top section is not moved to allow cheating.
Family pot A hand in which the
opening bet was called by every player at the table.
Fast Playing aggressively.
Feeder A 2nd class="font6"> or 3rd class="font6"> table where the same game as the main table is being played.
Players are fed from the subsidiary tables into the main game.
Fifth street The final card dealt
after the flop and turn, also known as the river. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> 
Fill, fill up To successfully draw to a
hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of a class="font7">straight, flush class="font6">, or full house class="font6">.  
Final table The last table in a
multi-table poker tournament. 
Fire To make the opening bet
of the round.
Fish inexperienced or unskilled player.
Fishhooks Slang term for Jacks
Five Card Draw A poker game where 5
cards are dealt face down. The player has one chance to exchange them and
then the highest hand wins.
Five Card Stud A poker game where one
card is dealt face down and 4 face up – betting takes place after card 2,3,4
and 5.
Five of a kind In a game where wild
cards are used, this is an unbeatable hand of 5 cards of style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  the same rank.
Fixed limit, flat limit Where the betting amount
is fixed. The player simply decides whether to bet or not.
Flash Showing your hand after a
win or showing the bottom card of the deck while shuffling.
Flat call Calling when you would be
expected to raise.
Float Advanced bluffing play.
The strategy of calling a bet with a view to bluffing a win later.
Flop The first three cards in
games like Omaha and Texas Hold ‘em to be dealt before the next round of
bets.
Flop game Any community card game
Flush A hand with 5 cards all in suit
Flush Draw The player has 4 suited
cards and hopes to draw a fifth to make the flush
Fold Forfeit that hand and
give up on the pot
Fold Equity The value gained when
forcing opponents to fold before the showdown
Forced Bet All monies the player is
required to put into the pot as part of the game rules i.e. Blinds/antes etc.
Forced-move A move made as a
progression from a feeder table to the main table in a casino
Forward motion House rule in some
casinos dictating that any movement into the table with chips in hand
signifies a raise or bet and must be played as such.
Fouled Hand A hand that has become
illegal for reasons such as wrong number of cards etc
Four flush In some games four suited
cards are a winning hand but mostly seen as an incomplete drawing hand in
standard poker games.
Fourth Street The fourth card dealt in
community games, often referred to as the ‘turn’
Free card A bonus card dealt after
a betting round in which no player opened. This card will either go to a
player’s hand or to the board.
Freeroll Most commonly used to
describe tournaments with no entry fee.
Freezeout Tournament where there is
only one winner remaining with all the chips.
Full bet rule A house rule in some
casinos stipulating the player must raise the full amount of the initial
stake to constitute a raise.
Full house, Full boat, Full
hand		 Hand with three cards of
the same rank and two of a second rank
Gap hand A Texas Hold’em term for
a starting hand where a gap of at least one rank separates the two cards.
Garbage The muck or a worthless hand.
Going South Refers to sneaking some
of your chips off the table during play. Against the rules generally.
Grinder A conservative player who
makes enough small profit to make a living over a sustained period of
time. 
Guts/Guts to open Describes a game with no
opening requirement other than the guts to place your bet.
Gut-shot An inside straight draw -
where the missing card would be in the middle of the straight.
Gypsy Entering the pot cheaply
by only calling the blind and not raising.
H.O.R.S.E Abbreviation for a
combination game featuring Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hold’em,Razz, 7-Card Stud and
eight or better 7-Card Stud High-Low. 
Half bet rule In Casinos where a full
bet is required, a player raising only half the initial stake will be
required to increase the amount to make up the full bet.
Half-pot limit Similar to pot limit in
structure but allows maximum raises to be only half the total pot rather than
the full amount.
Hammer To bet and raise aggressively.
Hanger A sign that the dealer is
dealing from the bottom of the deck when the bottom card hangs out beyond the
rest of the pack.
Hard Style of play -
aggressive and unforgiving. Also refers to the chips as opposed to paper
money.
Heads up Two players competing
directly against each other
High Card Where no pairs are made,
the highest card wins
High Hand Traditionally the best
type of hand in poker
High Society Large denomination chips
High-low Split Games in which the pot is
divided between the players with the highest hand and the best lowball hand.
Hijack seat The seat second right of the dealer
Hit and run Also referred to as chopping a game. Playing aggressively to make a lot of money in a short space of time and then leaving.