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Poker glossary

Poker terms and glossary: the words you will hear at the table

Every poker game has its own vocabulary. This is a plain-English list of the words you are most likely to hear, in alphabetical order, with the card rules behind them.

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For hand order, see the hand rankings. For how the streets run, see Hold'em rules and Omaha rules.

A

All-in
Betting every chip you have left. If other players have more chips, the extra goes into a side pot that you cannot win.
Ante
A small forced bet that every player puts in before the cards are dealt. Common in stud games and later stages of tournaments.

B

Backdoor
A hand that needs two more cards in a row to complete, such as a flush draw on the flop that needs both the turn and the river.
Bad beat
Losing with a very strong hand to a hand that was a big underdog when the money went in.
Bet
The first wager in a betting round. Anything after that is a call or a raise.
Big blind
The larger of the two forced bets in Hold'em and Omaha, posted by the player two seats to the dealer's left. It also sets the standard bet size.
Blinds
The forced bets, a small blind and a big blind, that start the action before the cards are dealt in games with no antes.
Bluff
Betting or raising with a weak hand to make better hands fold.
Board
The community cards that have been dealt face up in the middle of the table.
Boat
Slang for a full house.
Bottom pair
A pair made with the lowest card on the board.
Bring-in
The forced opening bet in Seven Card Stud, made by the player with the lowest door card. In Razz, the highest door card makes it.
Broadway
The highest possible straight, A-K-Q-J-10. Any ten-through-ace card is also called a broadway card.
Burn card
A card dealt face down and discarded before each round of community cards, to protect against marked cards or accidental exposure.
Button
The marker that shows which player is the dealer. It moves one seat clockwise after every hand. The player on the button acts last after the flop.

C

Call
Matching the current bet without raising.
Check
Passing the action without betting, when no bet has been made in the current round.
Check-raise
Checking first, then raising after an opponent bets.
Community cards
Cards dealt face up in the middle that every player can use, as in Hold'em and Omaha.
Connectors
Two cards of consecutive rank, such as 8-7 or Q-J, that can combine into straights.
Continuation bet
A bet on the flop by the player who raised before the flop, whether or not the flop helped them.
Cooler
A hand where you are very strong and still lose to someone who is even stronger, with nothing you could have done differently.
Cutoff
The seat directly to the right of the dealer button. It acts second to last after the flop.

D

Door card
In Seven Card Stud, the first face-up card you receive.
Draw
A hand that is not yet made but could improve with more cards, like four cards to a flush.
Drawing dead
Having no cards left in the deck that could make you the winner, however the rest of the board runs out.

E

Equity
Your share of the pot based on how often your hand wins if all the cards were dealt out. A hand with 60 percent equity wins 60 percent of the time.

F

Fish
Slang for a weak or inexperienced player.
Flop
The first three community cards, dealt together after the first round of betting.
Flush
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
Fold
Giving up your hand and any chance at the pot.
Fold equity
The chance of winning the pot because your opponent folds when you bet or raise.
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank. Also called quads.
Free card
A card you see without having to call a bet, because everyone checked.
Full house
Three cards of one rank and two of another, such as K-K-K-7-7. The three of a kind decides which full house is better.

G

Gutshot
A straight draw that needs one specific rank in the middle to complete, such as holding 9-8-6-5 and needing a 7. It has four outs.

H

Heads-up
A pot or match played between two players only.
High card
The weakest ranking, a hand with no pair or better. The highest card in it decides the winner.
Hole cards
Your private cards, dealt face down. In Hold'em you get two, in Omaha four.

I

Implied odds
The odds you get from the pot plus the extra money you expect to win on later streets if you hit your draw.

K

Kicker
The unpaired card that breaks ties. If two players both hold a pair of aces, the one with the higher side card wins.

L

Limit
A betting format with fixed bet sizes. Raises are in set amounts rather than any amount you like.
Limp
Calling the big blind before the flop instead of raising.

M

Muck
The pile of discarded cards. To muck your hand is to fold it or to give up without showing.

N

No-limit
A betting format where you can bet any amount, up to all of your chips, at any time.
Nuts
The best possible hand given the community cards. A hand is the nuts only until the next card arrives.

O

Offsuit
Two hole cards of different suits.
Open-ended straight draw
Four cards in a row that can be completed at either end, such as 5-6-7-8 needing a 4 or a 9. It has eight outs.
Outs
Unseen cards that would improve your hand to one that you expect to win.
Overpair
A pocket pair that is higher than every card on the board.

P

Pair
Two cards of the same rank.
Playing the board
Using all five community cards as your hand because no private card improves it. If someone else does the same, the pot is split.
Pocket pair
A pair in your two hole cards.
Position
Where you sit relative to the dealer button. Later positions act after more players, which is an advantage.
Pot odds
The price of a call compared to the size of the pot. If you must call 10 to win 40, you are getting four to one.
Pot-limit
A betting format where the biggest bet or raise allowed is the current size of the pot.
Preflop
The betting round before any community cards are dealt.

Q

Quads
Four of a kind.

R

Rainbow
A flop of three different suits, so no flush draw is possible yet.
Raise
Increasing the size of the current bet.
Rake
A small fee the game takes from each pot, common at public tables. Home games usually have none.
Razz
Seven Card Stud played for the lowest hand. A-2-3-4-5 is the best hand.
Re-raise
Raising after someone has already raised.
River
The fifth and final community card, followed by the last betting round.
Royal flush
A-K-Q-J-10 all of the same suit. It is the best hand in poker.
Run it twice
Dealing the remaining board cards two times when players are all-in, with each run winning half the pot.

S

Scoop
Winning both halves of a split pot, usually in a high-low game.
Semi-bluff
Betting with a hand that is not the best now but can improve to a strong one, such as a flush draw.
Set
Three of a kind made with a pocket pair and one matching card on the board.
Short stack
A player with few chips compared with the big blind or the other players.
Showdown
The point where remaining players reveal their hands to decide who wins the pot.
Side pot
A second pot made when one player is all-in for less than the others. Only players who put in the extra chips can win it.
Slowplay
Playing a strong hand quietly, by checking or calling instead of betting, to let others catch up or bluff.
Small blind
The smaller forced bet, posted by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button.
Split pot
A pot shared between players with equal hands, or between high and low winners.
Squeeze
A big re-raise before the flop after one player has raised and others have called.
Stack
The chips a player has in front of them.
Straddle
An optional extra blind posted before the deal, usually double the big blind, by the player left of the big blind.
Straight
Five cards in sequence, of mixed suits. The ace can be high or low.
Straight flush
Five cards in sequence, all in the same suit.
Street
One round of cards and betting. In Hold'em the streets are preflop, flop, turn and river. In Stud they are named third through seventh.
Suited
Two hole cards of the same suit.

T

Tell
A habit or reaction that gives away information about a player's hand.
Three-bet
The first re-raise before the flop. The big blind counts as the first bet and the opening raise as the second, so the re-raise is the third.
Tilt
Playing badly because of frustration, usually after a bad beat.
Top pair
A pair made with the highest card on the board.
Trips
Three of a kind made with one hole card and two matching board cards. Not the same as a set.
Turn
The fourth community card, also called fourth street.

U

Under the gun
The first player to act before the flop, sitting directly left of the big blind. Often shortened to UTG.

V

Value bet
Betting a strong hand so that weaker hands will call.

W

Wheel
The straight A-2-3-4-5, the lowest straight. It is also the best possible low hand in Hi-Lo games and Razz.

Questions

Quick answers

What does the nuts mean in poker?
The nuts is the best possible hand given the community cards on the board. If the board is 9-9-4-4-2, for example, the nuts is four nines, held by anyone with a nine in their hand. Having the nuts means no other hand can beat you right now.
What is the difference between the flop, turn and river?
They are the three stages of community cards in Hold'em and Omaha. The flop is the first three cards dealt face up, the turn is the fourth card, and the river is the fifth and last. There is a round of betting after each.
What does position mean in poker?
Position is where you sit relative to the dealer button, which decides when you act. Acting later in a betting round means you see what others do first, so late position is an advantage. The button acts last after the flop and is the best seat.
What does it mean to have outs?
Outs are the unseen cards that would improve your hand to one you think is best. If you have four hearts and need one more for a flush, there are nine hearts left in the deck, so you have nine outs.

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