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Glossary: A - Z
Action
(1) Opportunity to act. If a player appears not to realize it's
his turn, the dealer will say "Your action, sir."
(2) Bets and raises. "If a third heart hits the board and
there's a lot of action, you have to assume that somebody has
made the flush."
Ante
A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the
pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most hold'em games do not
have an ante; they use "blinds" to get initial money into the
pot.
All-In
To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes
games, a player may not go into his pocket for more money during
a hand. If he runs out, a side pot is created in which he has no
interest. However, he can still win the pot for which he had the
chips. Example: "Poor Bob - he made quads against the big full
house, but he was all-in on the second bet."
Glossary: B
Backdoor
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand.
For instance, suppose you have As- 7s. The flop comes Ad-6c-4s.
You bet and are called. The turn is the Ts, which everybody
checks, and then the river is the Js. You've made a "backdoor"
nut flush. See also "runner."
Bad Beat
To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored
hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot
had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest
of luck that he managed to catch the one card in the deck that
would win the pot. We won't give any examples, you will hear
plenty of them during your poker career.
Blank
A board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the
hand. If the flop is As-Jd-Ts, then a turn card of 2h would be
considered a blank. On the other hand, the 2s would not be.
Blind
A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players
before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by
players immediately to the left of the button. See also "Live
blind."
Board
All the community cards in a hold'em game - the flop, turn, and
river cards together. Example: "There wasn't a single heart on
the board."
Bottom
Pair A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s,
and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair.
Burn
To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done
between each betting round before putting out the next community
card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or
glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.
Button
A white acrylic disk to indicate who is the (nominal) dealer.
Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: "Oh,
the button raised."
Buy
(1) As in "buy the pot." To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot
without being called.
(2) As in "buy the button." To bet or raise, hoping to make
players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to
act last on subsequent betting rounds.
Glossary: C
Calling Station
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold
much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.
Cap
To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. This is
typically the third or fourth raise. Dealers in California are
fond of saying "Capitola" or "Cappuccino".
Case
The last card of a certain rank in the deck. Example: "The flop
came J-8-3; I've got pocket jacks, he's got pocket 8's, and then
the case eight falls on the river and he beats my full house."
Center Pot
The first pot created during a poker hand. This is as opposed to
one or more "side" pots that are created if one or more players
goes all-in. Also "main pot."
Check
(1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the
betting round. Equivalent to betting zero dollars.
(2) Another word for "chip", as in poker chip.
Check Raise
To check and then raise when a player behind you bets.
Occasionally you will hear people say this is not fair or
ethical poker. Piffle. Almost all casinos permit check-raising,
and it is an important poker tactic. It is particularly useful
in low-limit hold'em where you need extra strength to narrow the
field when you have the best hand.
Cold Call
To call more than one bet in a single action. For instance,
suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now
any player acting after him must call two bets "cold." This is
different from calling a single bet and then calling a
subsequent raise.
Come Hand
A drawing hand (probably from the craps term).
Complete Hand
A hand that is defined by all five cards - a straight, flush,
full house, four of a kind, or straight flush.
Connector
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in
rank. Examples: KQs, 76.
Counterfeit
To make your hand less valuable because of board cards that
duplicate it. Example: you have 87 and the flop comes 9-T-J, so
you have a straight. Now an 8 comes on the turn. This has
counterfeited your hand and made it almost worthless.
Crack
To beat a hand - typically a big hand. You hear this most often
used to apply to pocket aces: "Third time tonight I've had
pocket aces cracked."
Cripple
As in to cripple the deck. Meaning that you have most or all of
the cards that somebody would want to have with the current
board. If you have pocket kings, and the other two kings flop,
you have crippled the deck.
Glossary: D
Dog
Shortened form of "Underdog".
Dominated Hand
A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people
usually play. For instance, K3 is "dominated" by KQ. With the
exception of strange flops (e.g. 3-3-x, K-3-x), it will always
lose to KQ.
Draw Dead
Try to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If
you're drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a
full house, you are "drawing dead". Of course, this is a bad
condition to be in.
Glossary: E
Equity
Your "rightful" share of a pot. If the pot contains $180, and you
have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $90 equity in the pot.
This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $180 or
$0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can "expect" to
win.
Expectation
(1) A term referring to the amount of you expect to gain on
average if you make a certain play. For instance, suppose you
put $10 into a $50 pot to draw at a hand that you will make 25%
of the time, and it will win every time you make it. Three out
of four times, you do not make your draw, and lose $10 each time
for a total of $30. The fourth time, you will make your draw,
winning $50. Your total gain over those four average hands is
$50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. Thus calling the $10
has a positive expectation of $5.
(2) The amount you expect to make at the poker table in a
specific time period. Perhaps in 100 hours play, you have won
$527. Then your expectation is $5.27/hr. Of course, you won't
make that exact amount each hour (and some hours you will lose),
but it's one measure of your anticipated earnings.
Glossary: F
Family Pot
A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before
the flop.
Fast
As in "play fast." To play a hand aggressively, betting and
raising as much as possible. Example: "When you flop a set but
there's a flush draw possible, you have to play it fast."
Flop
The first three community cards, put out face up, all together.
Foul
A hand which may not be played for one reason or another. A
player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of
the pot. Example: "He ended up with three cards after the flop,
so the dealer declared his hand foul."
Free Card
A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet
because of play earlier in the hand (or a reputation which you
have with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the
button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may
check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn,
you can bet. However, if you don't get it on the turn, you can
check as well - seeing the river card for "free."
Free Roll
For one player to have a shot at winning an entire pot when he
is currently tied with another player. For instance, suppose you
have Ac-Qc and your opponent has Ad-Qh. The flop is Qs-5c-Tc.
You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling
on him, because you can win the whole pot and he can't. If no
club comes, you split the pot with him - if it does come, you
win the whole thing.
Glossary: G
Gutshot
Straight An straight filled "inside". If you have 9s-8s, the
flop comes 7c-5h-2d, and the turn is the 6c, you've made your
gutshot straight.
Glossary: H
Heads
Up A pot that is being contested by only two players - "It was
heads up by the turn."
Hit
As in "the flop hit me." It means the flop contained cards that
help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit
you.
House
The establishment running the game. Example: "The $2 you put on
the button goes to the house."
Glossary: I
Implied Odds
Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in
your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit
your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the
turn even though the pot isn't offering you quite 4:1 odds (your
chance of making the flush) because you're sure you can win a
bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush.
Glossary: J
Jackpot
A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very
good hand beaten. In hold'em, the "loser" must typically get
aces full or better beaten. In some of the large southern
California card clubs, the jackpots have gotten over $50,000. Of
course, the jackpot is funded with money removed from the game
as part of the rake.
Glossary: K
Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two
near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and
your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both
have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be
vitally important in hold'em.
Glossary: L
Live Blind
A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are
dealt. The "live" means those players still have the option of
raising when the action gets back around to them.
Glossary: M
Maniac
A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting,
and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply
doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts
like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous.
Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer.
Example: "His hand hit the muck so the dealer ruled it folded
even though the guy wanted to get his cards back." Also used as
a verb - "He didn't have any outs so he mucked his hand."
Glossary: N
No-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips
(up to the number in front of him) whenever it is his turn to
act. It is a very different game than limit poker. The best
treatise on no-limit poker is in Doyle Brunson's Super/System.
Nuts
The best possible hand given the board. If the board is
Ks-Jd-Ts-4s-2h, then As-Xs is the nuts. You will occasionally
hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain
category, even though it isn't the overall nuts. For the above
example, somebody with Ah-Qc in the above hand might say they
had the "nut straight".
Glossary: O
Offsuit
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are of different
suits.
One-Gap
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are two apart in
rank. Examples: J9s, 64.
Out
A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the
plural. Example: "Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine
outs."
Outrun
To beat. Example: "Susie outran my set when her flush card hit
on the river."
Overcall
To call a bet after one or more others players have already
called.
Overcard
A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you
have AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you don't have a pair, but you
have two overcards.
Overpair
A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ
and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair.
Glossary: P
Pay Off
To call a bet where the bettor is representing a hand that you
can't beat, but the pot is sufficiently large to justify a call
anyway. Example: "He played it exactly like he made the flush,
but I had top set so I paid him off."
Play the Board
To show down a hand in hold'em when your cards don't make a hand
any better than is shown on the board. For instance, if you have
22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you
must "play the board" - the best possible hand you can make
doesn't use any of your cards. Note that if you play the board,
the best you can do is to split the pot with all remaining
players.
Pocket
Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, "He had
pocket sixes" (a pair of sixes), or "I had ace-king in the
pocket."
Post
To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit
down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a
blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you
away from the blinds.
Pot Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of
money in the pot whenever it is his turn to act. Like no-limit,
this is a very different game from limit poker. Pot Odds The
amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put
in the pot to continue playing. For example, suppose there is
$60 in the pot. Somebody bets $6, so the pot now contains $66.
It costs you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 11:1. If your
chance of having the best hand is at least one out of twelve,
you should call. Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance,
suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to
come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your
flush. If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be
about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make
your call correct.
Price
The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call. Example: "The
pot was laying me a high enough price, so I stayed in with my
gutshot straight draw."
Protect
(1) To keep your hand or a chip on your cards. This prevents
them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally
mucked by the dealer.
(2) To invest more money in a pot so blind money that you've
already put in isn't "wasted." Example: "He'll always protect
his blinds, no matter how bad his cards are."
Glossary: Q
Quads
Four of a kind.
Glossary: R
Ragged
A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much.
A flop that came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged.
Rainbow
A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be
made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that
has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.
Rake
An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer - this
is the cardroom's income.
Rank
The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit). Example:
"jack," "seven."
Represent
To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you
raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came
ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good
kicker.
Ring Game
A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament. Also referred
to as a "live" game since actual money is in play instead of
tournament chips.
River
The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself.
Also known as "fifth street". Metaphors involving the river are
some of poker's most treasured cliches - e.g. "He drowned in the
river."
Rock
A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises
only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable - if
he raises you on the end, you can throw away just about anything
but the nuts.
Runner
Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand which was made
only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the
river - "He made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips." See
also "Backdoor."
Glossary: S
Scare
Card A card which may well turn the best hand into trash. If you
have Tc-8c and the flop comes Qd- Jd-9s, you almost assuredly
have the best hand. However, a turn card of Td would be very
scary because it would almost guarantee that you are now beaten.
Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have
As-Ts, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second
pair.
Sell
As in "sell a hand". In a spread limit game, this means to bet
less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping
players will call whereas they would not have called a maximum
bet.
Semi-bluff
A powerful concept first discussed by David Sklansky. It is a
bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some
outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for
value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the
combination of the two may be a positive expectation play.
Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your
hand, and there is one on the board.
Short Stack
A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other
players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and
everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a
short stack.
Showdown
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their
cards over and determine who has the best hand - i.e. after the
fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet
or raise is not called, there is no showdown.
Side Pot
A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has
run out of chips. Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and
Carl calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created
that either Al or Beth can win, but not Carl. Furthermore, any
more bets that Al and Beth make go into that side pot. Carl,
however, can still win all the money in the original or "center"
pot.
Slow Play
To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the
pot.
Split Pot
A pot which is shared by two or more players because they have
equivalent hands.
Split Two Pair
A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks
appears on the board as well. Example: you have T9, the flop is
T-9-5, you have a split two pair. This is in comparison to two
pair where there is a pair on the board. Example: you have T9,
the flop is 9-5-5.
Spread Limit
A betting structure in which a player may bet any amount in a
range on every betting round. A typical spread limit structure
is $2-$6, where a player may bet as little as $2 or as much as
$6 on every betting round.
Straddle
An optional extra blind bet, typically made by the player one to
the left of the big blind, equal to twice the big blind. This is
effectively a raise, and forces any player who wants to play to
pay two bets. Furthermore, the straddler acts last before the
flop, and may "re-raise."
String Bet
A bet (more typically a raise) in which a player doesn't get all
the chips required for the raise into the pot in one motion.
Unless he verbally declared the raise, he can be forced to
withdraw it and just call. This prevents the unethical play of
putting out enough chips to call, seeing what effect that had,
and then possibly raising.
Structured
Used to apply to a certain betting structure in "flop" games
such as hold'em. The typical definition of a structured game is
a fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the
flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river. Example:
a $2-$4 structured hold'em game - bets and raises of $2 before
the flop and on the flop; $4 bets and raises on the turn and
river.
Suited
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are the same
suit. Example: "I had to play J-3 - it was suited."
Glossary: T
Table Stakes
A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into his
pocket for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount of
money in front of him into the current pot. If he runs out of
chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which he has no
interest. All casino poker is played table stakes. The
definition sometimes also includes the rule that a player may
not remove chips from the table during a game. While this rule
might not be referred to as "table stakes", it is enforced
almost universally in public poker games.
Tell
A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the
strength of his hand, his next action, etc. May originally be
from "telegraph" or the obvious use that he "tells" you what
he's going to do before he does it.
Tilt
To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt"
if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying
wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.
Time
(1) A request by a player to suspend play while he decides what
he's going to do. Simply, "Time please!" If a player doesn't
request time and there is a substantial amount of action behind
him, the dealer may rule that the player has folded.
(2) An amount of money collected either on the button or every
half hour by the cardroom. This is another way for the house to
make its money (see "rake").
Toke
A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the
dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the
great majority of a dealer's income.
Top Pair
A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and
the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Turn
The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also
known as "fourth street."
U:
Under the gun
The position of the player who acts first on a betting round.
For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you
are under the gun before the flop.
Underdog
A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot.
For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not
quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is,
you will make your flush about one in three times). See also
"dog."
Glossary: V
Value
As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like
your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff).
Generally it's because you have the best hand. However, it can
also be a draw which, given enough callers, has a positive
expectation.
Variance
A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through.
Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play.
However, the higher your variance, the wider swings you'll see
in your bankroll.
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