Discover our complete poker glossary: 357 terms and expressions explained in plain words, with concrete examples, so you can follow any game like a regular at the tables.
Use the table of contents below to jump straight to the letter you are looking for.
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W
The terms to know before your first game
There is no need to learn the whole poker dictionary at once. To follow a game of Texas Hold'em without getting lost, a handful of words is enough:
- Blinds: the two forced bets posted before the deal.
- Flop, turn, river: the three stages in which the community cards are revealed (3, then 1, then 1).
- Check, call, raise, fold: pass, match the bet, increase the bet, give up the hand: the four possible actions.
- All-in: betting all of your chips.
- Dealer button: the disc that marks the dealer and the order of play.
- Board: all the community cards in the middle of the table.
- Showdown: the moment when players turn over their cards.
- Nuts: the best possible hand on a given board.
Poker glossary: the letter A
Poker terms starting with the letter A.
Aces full: A full house made of three Aces and a pair (e.g. A-A-A-K-K).
Aces up: Two pair in which the higher pair is a pair of Aces (e.g. A-A-7-7).
Acting: Behaviour faked by a player to mislead opponents about the strength of their hand: pretending to hesitate, to be disappointed or, on the contrary, to be confident.
Add-on: An optional purchase of extra chips offered to all players still in the tournament, usually once, at the end of the rebuy period. Its price and the number of chips are set by the tournament structure.
Aggressive (Aggro): A player who takes the initiative by betting and raising often, rather than checking or calling. This style puts pressure on opponents and wins pots without going to showdown.
Ajax: A starting hand made of an Ace and a Jack (A-J).
All-in: Betting all of your chips. An all-in player can no longer bet: if called by opponents with more chips, the excess bets form a side pot.
American Airlines: Nickname for pocket Aces (A-A), a reference to the airline's "AA" initials.
Angle shooting: A practice on the edge of the rules and against the spirit of the game, aimed at deceiving an opponent: false declaration, ambiguous gesture, hidden chips... Punishable in clubs and casinos alike.
ANJ (France): Autorité nationale des jeux, the French national gaming authority. Since 2020 it has regulated all gambling in France, including online poker, replacing ARJEL.
Ante: A small forced bet paid before the deal that seeds the pot from the start. In Texas Hold'em tournaments, antes usually appear from the intermediate levels to speed up play; many tournaments now use a "big blind ante", paid by the big blind alone for the whole table.
Any two cards (ATC): Said when a player decides to play, usually to raise, regardless of their hand, because the situation (position, stack, opponents) justifies it.
ARJEL (France): The former French online gaming regulator. Its duties were taken over by the ANJ in 2020.
Auto-rebuy: An option in online poker rooms that automatically tops up a cash-game player when their stack drops below a threshold they have set.
Autopilot player: A player who pays no attention to what is happening at the table and plays their cards without considering opponents.
Average stack: The average number of chips per player remaining in a tournament (total chips in play divided by the number of players). A useful benchmark for your own stack.
Ax: A starting hand made of an Ace and any other card, written "x". "Axs" means both cards are of the same suit.
Poker glossary: the letter B
Poker terms starting with the letter B.
Babies: The lowest cards in the deck (usually 2 to 5), especially sought after for low hands in Omaha Hi-Lo or Razz.
Back-to-back: Winning the same tournament two editions in a row, or winning twice consecutively.
Backdoor: A draw that needs two consecutive favourable cards, on the turn and the river, to complete. E.g. with two hearts in hand and one heart on the flop, you need a heart on the turn and on the river for a "backdoor" flush.
Bad beat: A hand lost when you were a huge favourite at the moment the chips went in, because of an unlikely card. Some casinos offer a "bad beat jackpot" to reward these situations.
Bad run: A series of negative results over a given period: weak cards, repeated bad beats... Synonym: downswing.
Bankroll: Money set aside exclusively for poker. Good bankroll management means only playing stakes suited to that capital, to absorb swings without risking ruin.
Belly buster: An inside straight draw: the missing card is in the middle of the sequence (e.g. with 5-6-8-9, only a 7 completes the straight). Only four cards improve the hand. Synonym: gutshot.
Bet: To wager. Refers to the first bet in a betting round.
Betting: All the betting actions in a round: bet, call, raise. A hand of Texas Hold'em has four betting rounds.
Betting pattern: The usual way a player bets depending on their hand and the situation. Analysing it helps estimate an opponent's holding.
Bicycle (Bike, Wheel): The lowest possible straight: Ace-2-3-4-5, with the Ace counting as the lowest card.
Big blind: The larger of the two forced bets, posted before the deal by the second player to the left of the button. It is usually twice the small blind and sets the minimum bet for the round.
Big slick: The Ace-King starting hand (A-K). Very strong, but it still needs to improve to beat a simple pair.
Blank (Brick): A board card that does not change the balance of power between the hands in play.
Blind: A forced bet posted before the deal by the two players to the left of the button (small blind and big blind). Blinds create something to play for from the start. In tournaments, they increase at regular intervals.
Blind raise: A raise made without looking at your cards.
Blocker: A card held by a player that reduces the number of possible combinations for the opponent. E.g. holding an Ace makes it much less likely that an opponent has pocket Aces.
Blocking bet: A small bet, often on the river, by a player who acts first, to set the price of the hand themselves and avoid facing a larger bet from the opponent.
Bluff: Betting or raising with a weak hand to make opponents with better hands fold.
Board: All the community cards dealt face up in the middle of the table (flop, turn and river in Texas Hold'em). All players can use them to make their hand.
Boat: Nickname for a full house.
Bomb: A very strong hand, often almost unbeatable. Synonym: monster.
Bottom pair: A pair made with the lowest card on the board. E.g. with 7-8 on a K-J-7 flop, the player has "bottom pair".
Bounty: A reward paid to the player who eliminates another in a bounty or knockout tournament. A bounty chip placed in front of a player shows the price on their head.
Brag: Boasting about a hand or a win. Also an old British card game, an ancestor of poker.
Break even: A player or period whose result is balanced: neither winning nor losing.
Bring-in: In Stud, the forced bet paid in the first round by the player whose up card is the lowest.
Broke: Said of a player who has lost their whole bankroll.
Bubble: The last unpaid place in a tournament. When that player is eliminated, the bubble "bursts" and all remaining players are guaranteed a prize.
Bullets: Nickname for pocket Aces.
Bully: A player who uses a big stack to intimidate the table by raising very often.
Bumhunter: A player who only sits at tables with weak players and leaves as soon as they do.
Bump: To raise (slang).
Burn: Discarding the top card of the deck face down before dealing the flop, turn and river. This rule prevents anyone from benefiting from a marked or glimpsed card.
Bust: To be eliminated from a tournament or lose your entire stack.
Buy-in: The amount paid to enter a tournament, or the amount brought to the table to sit in a cash game.
BvB (Blind versus blind): A hand contested only between the small blind and the big blind, all other players having folded.
Poker glossary: the letter C
Poker terms starting with the letter C.
Call: Matching the current bet or raise to stay in the hand.
Calling station: A passive player who calls almost every bet, whatever their hand, and rarely raises. No point bluffing them: you beat them by value betting.
Cap: In limit games, the maximum number of raises allowed per betting round (often one bet and three raises). Once reached, the betting is "capped".
Card guard (Card protector): An object or chip placed on your cards to protect them, so they are not mistakenly collected by the dealer or mixed with folded cards.
Cardroom: A room or area dedicated to card games, in a casino or a club.
Cash game: A game in which chips represent real money. Unlike tournaments, players can join or leave the table at any time, and the blinds stay fixed.
Cash out: Leaving a cash-game table and exchanging your chips for money.
Catch: Hitting a favourable card that greatly improves your hand.
Chase: Continuing to pay to try to complete a draw or improve a weak hand, often without the right odds to do so.
Check: Passing your turn without betting. Only possible if nobody has bet yet in the betting round.
Check-call: Checking, then calling if an opponent bets.
Check-fold: Checking, then folding if an opponent bets.
Check-raise: Checking, then raising when an opponent bets. A technique used to trap an aggressive player with a strong hand, or as a bluff.
Chip: A token used to bet.
Chip count: The tally of each player's chips at a given moment in a tournament, often published as a ranking.
Chip dumping: A fraudulent practice of deliberately losing chips to an accomplice. Forbidden and penalised.
Chip leader: The player with the biggest stack at the table or in the tournament.
Chip race: A tournament procedure removing the lowest-value chips from play once they become useless as the blinds rise. They are exchanged for higher-value chips; odd chips are awarded by dealing cards.
Chop: Splitting the pot in case of a tie, or splitting the remaining tournament prize money by agreement between the last players.
Clock: A request made to the tournament director when a player takes too long to act. The player then has a limited time (often one minute) to decide, otherwise their hand is folded.
Coin flip: A situation where two hands have roughly equal chances of winning, typically a pair against two higher cards (e.g. 8-8 vs A-K, about 55/45).
Cold call: Calling a bet and a raise in one go without having invested in the round yet. E.g. one player opens, another raises, a third calls it all: they "cold call".
Cold deck: A situation where two very strong hands clash, making a big loss inevitable for one of them. Originally, a rigged deck swapped for the real one.
Collusion: An agreement between two or more players to play together against the others (sharing information, squeezing with raises...). Strictly forbidden.
Combo: The number of possible combinations of a starting hand. E.g. there are 6 combos of pocket Aces and 16 combos of A-K. Also a combined draw (straight + flush).
Committed: Said of a player who has already put so much of their stack into the pot that they can no longer reasonably fold. Also called "pot committed".
Community cards: Cards dealt face up in the middle of the table, usable by all players. They make up the board.
Connectors: Two starting cards of consecutive ranks (e.g. 8-9).
Continuation bet (C-bet): A bet made on the flop by the player who raised before the flop, whether or not they hit, in order to keep the initiative.
Counterfeit: When a board card devalues a player's hand. E.g. two pair made with both hole cards loses value when the board itself forms a higher two pair.
Courchevel: An Omaha variant in which each player receives five hole cards and the first flop card is revealed before the first betting round. The final hand uses exactly two hole cards and three board cards.
Cowboys: Nickname for a pair of Kings (K-K).
Crazy Pineapple: A Texas Hold'em variant: each player receives three hole cards and must discard one after the flop betting round. The hand then continues as in classic Hold'em.
Crippled: Said of a player whose stack has been heavily reduced by a big losing hand, without being eliminated.
Croupier (Casino dealer): A professional who deals the cards, manages the pot and enforces the rules in a casino or club. When one is present, the dealer button still rotates to determine the order of play.
Crying call: Reluctantly calling a bet while thinking you are beaten, often to check for a possible bluff.
Cut-off: The seat immediately to the right of the button. It is the second best position at the table, ideal for stealing the blinds.
Poker glossary: the letter D
Poker terms starting with the letter D.
Dead man's hand: Two pair of black Aces and eights (Aces and eights of spades and clubs). According to legend, this was the hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot in Deadwood in 1876.
Dealer: The player holding the button; they act last from the flop onwards. When a croupier is present, the croupier deals, but the button keeps rotating among the players.
Dealer button: A disc marked "Dealer" placed in front of the player in the dealer position. It moves one seat clockwise each hand and determines the order of play and the position of the blinds.
Dealer's choice: A game format in which the player on the button chooses the variant (Hold'em, Omaha, Stud...) for the hand or the orbit.
Deck: A pack of cards. Poker is played with a 52-card deck.
Deck preparation: Shuffling and preparing the deck before the deal.
Deepstack: A tournament or game in which players start with a very large stack relative to the blinds (often 200 big blinds or more), leaving more room for skilful play.
Deuce: A card of rank 2. A pair of twos is called "deuces" or "ducks".
Diamonds: The ♦ suit.
Dominated hand: A hand that shares a card with the opponent's hand but has a weaker kicker (e.g. A-9 vs A-K). It only wins about one time in four.
Dominating hand: The opposite of a dominated hand: it shares a card with the opponent's hand and has the better kicker (e.g. A-K vs A-9).
Donk / Donkey: A weak player who makes big mistakes. A "donk bet" is a bet made out of position by a player when an opponent had the initiative in the previous round.
Donkament: A heavily attended tournament, often a freeroll or low buy-in, gathering many amateur players with unpredictable play.
Door card: In Stud, the first card dealt face up to each player.
Double or nothing: A sit & go format in which half the players double their entry fee while the other half win nothing.
Double-suited: In Omaha, a starting hand made of two suited pairs of cards (e.g. A♠-K♠-J♥-10♥), offering two possible flush draws.
Double-up: Doubling your stack by winning an all-in hand.
Down card: A card dealt face down, especially in Stud.
Downswing: An extended losing period, due to variance or a drop in level of play. Opposite: upswing.
Doyle Brunson: Nickname for the 10-2 hand, with which Doyle Brunson won the WSOP Main Event two years in a row (1976 and 1977).
Draw: A hand that is not yet made but can be completed by the cards to come (straight draw, flush draw...).
Draw lowball: A draw poker variant in which the lowest hand wins the pot.
Draw poker: A family of variants in which each player receives all their cards face down (five in Five Card Draw) and can exchange one or more between two betting rounds. There are no community cards.
Drawing dead: A situation in which none of the cards still to come can make a player win the hand.
Drop: To fold.
Ducks: A pair of twos, whose shape is said to resemble a duck.
Poker glossary: the letter E
Poker terms starting with the letter E.
Early position: The first seats to act before the flop, just after the blinds (UTG, UTG+1). They require tighter hand selection.
Edge: A player's advantage over another, whether technical, mathematical or informational.
Equity: The share of the pot that theoretically belongs to a player based on their chances of winning the hand at a given moment. E.g. 60% equity in a 100-chip pot is worth 60 chips in theory.
Poker glossary: the letter F
Poker terms starting with the letter F.
Face up: Showing your cards. Also said of a player so predictable that opponents can guess their hand from the way they play.
Feeler bet: A small bet meant to test an opponent's reaction in order to gain information about their hand.
Field: All the participants in a tournament.
Fifth street: In Stud, the fifth card dealt and the betting round that follows. In Hold'em, the term sometimes refers to the river.
Fish: A weak player whom opponents try to take advantage of. Opposite: shark.
Fixed limit: A format in which bets and raises have a preset amount (small bet in the first two rounds, big bet in the last two), with a capped number of raises.
Flashed card: A card accidentally exposed during the deal. Depending on the rules, it is usually replaced or burned.
Flat call: Just calling when you could raise, to disguise the strength of your hand or control the size of the pot.
Floating: Calling a bet on the flop, in position and with a weak hand, intending to win the pot later with a bet if the opponent shows weakness.
Floorman (Floor): The room manager who settles disputes and enforces the rules in live tournaments and games.
Flop: The first three community cards, turned over at once after the first betting round in Hold'em and Omaha. It is followed by the second betting round.
Flopping: Making a hand right on the flop (e.g. "flopping a set").
Flush: Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. It beats a straight and loses to a full house.
Fold: Giving up the hand by surrendering your cards. The player loses the chips already bet.
Forced bet: A compulsory bet: blinds, antes or bring-in.
Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank (e.g. J-J-J-J). The third strongest hand, behind the royal flush and the straight flush.
Fourth street: In Stud, the fourth card dealt and the betting round that follows. In Hold'em, the term sometimes refers to the turn.
Freeroll: A free tournament with prizes. By extension, a situation in which a player can no longer lose the hand but can still win all of it (e.g. same straight as the opponent plus a flush draw).
Freezeout: A tournament with no rebuys or add-ons: an eliminated player is out for good.
Full bring-in: In Stud, completing the bring-in up to the full small bet.
Full house: Three of a kind plus a pair (e.g. 9-9-9-4-4). Between two full houses, the higher three of a kind wins.
Full ring: A full table of 9 or 10 players, as opposed to short-handed (6 players maximum).
Poker glossary: the letter G
Poker terms starting with the letter G.
Gamble: Taking big risks, for example committing your stack on speculative hands. A "gambler" is a reckless player.
Good run: A period during which a player racks up good results. Synonyms: upswing, heater.
Grind: Playing a large volume of games in a disciplined way to make steady profit over time. Someone who plays like this is a "grinder".
Gutshot: An inside straight draw: the missing card is in the middle of the sequence (e.g. with 5-6-8-9, only a 7 completes the straight). Only four cards improve the hand.
Poker glossary: the letter H
Poker terms starting with the letter H.
H.O.R.S.E.: A mixed format in which five variants rotate: limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Stud Hi-Lo (Eight or better).
Hand: A player's best five cards, forming their combination. Also a complete deal, from dealing the cards to awarding the pot.
Hand history: A detailed record of a hand (positions, cards, actions, amounts), used to analyse your play.
Hand range: All the hands an opponent may hold given their actions. Thinking in ranges rather than specific hands is the foundation of modern poker.
Heads-up: A contest between only two players, in a single hand or a whole game.
Heater: A period when everything goes right for a player.
Hero call: Calling a big bet, often on the river, with a medium hand, betting that the opponent is bluffing.
Hero fold: Folding a very strong hand after correctly reading that the opponent has better.
Hi-lo (High-low): Variants in which the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand (Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo). The low hand usually has to be five different cards of rank 8 or lower.
High card: The weakest hand: no pair or combination, the hand is ranked by its highest card (e.g. "Ace high"). Also the draw of one card per player to assign the button at the start of a game.
High roller: A tournament with a very high entry fee, and by extension a player who plays such events.
High stakes: Cash games at very high limits.
Hijack: The seat just to the right of the cut-off, three seats before the button.
Hit and run: Leaving the table just after winning a big pot. Frowned upon in cash games.
Hole cards: Private cards dealt face down, known only to their owner.
Poker glossary: the letter I
Poker terms starting with the letter I.
Implied odds: Odds that take into account not only the current pot but also the additional winnings expected in later rounds if the draw comes in. They can justify calling a draw whose direct odds are insufficient.
In position: Said of a player who acts after their opponent in the betting rounds. It is a major strategic advantage, as they act with more information.
In the dark: Acting, for example checking or betting, before seeing the next card or your own cards.
Isolate (Iso-raise): Raising behind a weak player who has just called, to get heads-up against them, ideally in position.
ITM (In the money): Being in the paid places of a tournament.
Poker glossary: the letter J
Poker terms starting with the letter J.
Jackpot poker: Games in which part of the rake feeds a jackpot, paid in particular to a player who loses with a very strong hand (bad beat jackpot).
Jacks or better: A draw poker variant in which you need at least a pair of Jacks to open the betting. It is also the name of the most popular video poker game.
Jinx card: A card that greatly improves a player's hand, prompting them to bet more, but improves their opponent's hand even more.
Poker glossary: the letter K
Poker terms starting with the letter K.
Kansas City lowball (Deuce to seven): A draw variant in which the lowest hand wins. The Ace counts as high, and straights and flushes count against the player: the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of mixed suits.
Keep them honest: Calling on the river to discourage the opponent from bluffing.
Key card: A card that secures victory for a player or changes the outcome of a hand.
Key hand: A decisive hand that turns a game or a tournament, for better or worse.
Kick it: To raise.
Kicker: The card that breaks a tie between two hands of the same combination. E.g. on an A-7-3-9-2 board, A-K beats A-Q because the King kicker is higher than the Queen.
King Kong: Nickname for a pair of Kings.
Knock: Tapping the table to signal a check.
Knockout (KO): A tournament in which a bounty is paid for each opponent eliminated. In a "progressive knockout", part of the bounty won is added to the eliminating player's own bounty.
Kojak: Nickname for the King-Jack hand (K-J).
Poker glossary: the letter L
Poker terms starting with the letter L.
Ladies: Nickname for a pair of Queens.
Late position: The last seats to act, the cut-off and the button. These are the most advantageous positions at the table.
Lay down: Folding a very good hand because you believe you are beaten.
Lead: Betting first in a betting round.
Leak: A recurring mistake in a player's game that costs them money over time.
Limit poker: A fixed-bet format. See "Fixed limit".
Limp: Just calling the big blind before the flop instead of raising. A player who does this is a "limper".
Live cards: In Stud, cards a player needs that have not yet been seen among the up cards: they are therefore still available.
Live one: A weak, generous player who loses a lot: a prime target for the table.
Lock: A hand certain to win, whatever cards are to come.
Long shot: A draw or bet with very little chance of succeeding.
Look: Calling the last bet to see the opponent's cards.
Loose: A player who enters a lot of hands, with hands of every quality. Opposite: tight.
Luckbox: A player who seems outrageously lucky.
Poker glossary: the letter M
Poker terms starting with the letter M.
M (Harrington's M): A tournament survival indicator: stack ÷ (small blind + big blind + antes). It shows how many orbits a player can last without playing a hand. Below 10 you must tighten up; below 5 the game often comes down to "all-in or fold".
Made hand: A hand that is already complete (pair, three of a kind, straight...), as opposed to a draw that still needs cards.
Main event: The flagship tournament of a festival or tournament series, for example the WSOP Main Event.
Main pot: When a player is all-in, the pot they can win. Other players' extra bets form one or more side pots.
Maverick: Nickname for the Queen-Jack hand.
Meet: To call.
Merge: A betting range that mixes medium-strength hands and semi-bluffs, as opposed to a "polarised" range made up only of very strong hands and bluffs.
Metagame: The playing history between two players, allowing each to adapt their strategy to what they know of the other's habits.
Micro-stakes: The lowest cash-game limits, with blinds of a few cents.
Middle position: The seats between early and late position.
Milk: Extracting maximum value from a strong hand by betting amounts the opponent will be willing to call.
Minimum buy-in: The minimum amount required to sit at a cash-game table.
Monster: A very strong hand, very hard to beat.
Muck: Surrendering your cards without showing them. Also the pile of discarded cards.
Multiway: A hand contested by at least three players.
Poker glossary: the letter N
Poker terms starting with the letter N.
Narrow the field: Betting or raising to reduce the number of opponents in the hand.
Nit: An extremely tight player who only plays premium hands and takes very few risks.
No brain: An obvious decision that requires no thought.
No limit: A format in which a player can bet their whole stack at any time. The minimum bet equals the big blind. It is the most played Texas Hold'em format.
Noob: A beginner.
Nosebleed: The highest cash-game limits.
Nut flush draw: A draw to the best possible flush, usually with the Ace of that suit in hand.
Nut straight draw: A draw to the best possible straight on the board.
Nuts: The best possible hand given the board cards.
Poker glossary: the letter O
Poker terms starting with the letter O.
Odds: The ratio between the chances of losing and winning a hand. Compared with the pot odds, they show whether a call is profitable.
Offsuit: Two cards of different suits (e.g. A♠-K♦, written "AKo").
Omaha: A variant in which each player receives four hole cards and must make their hand with exactly two of them and three board cards. It is mostly played pot limit (PLO).
On the button: Sitting on the button, and therefore acting last from the flop onwards.
OOP (Out of position): Having to act before your opponent in the betting rounds.
Open: Being the first to enter the hand by betting or raising.
Open card: A card dealt face up.
Open limp: Being the first to enter the hand before the flop by just calling the big blind.
Open pair: A pair visible on the board or among a player's up cards in Stud.
Open raise: Being the first to enter the hand before the flop with a raise.
Option: The big blind's right, before the flop, to raise when the other players have only called.
Out button: A disc placed in front of a player who is away from the table. They are not dealt cards until they return.
Out of position: Said of a player who must act before their opponent in the betting rounds, and therefore acts with less information.
Outdraw: Beating a favourite hand thanks to the cards that follow.
Outs: Cards remaining in the deck that can turn your hand into a winner. E.g. a flush draw on the flop has 9 outs. Quick rule: outs × 4 on the flop, × 2 on the turn, to estimate your chances as a percentage.
Overbet: A bet larger than the size of the pot.
Overcard: A hole card higher than all the board cards. Also a board card higher than a player's pair.
Overlay: When the prize pool guaranteed by the organiser exceeds the total buy-ins collected: the organiser makes up the difference, which benefits the players.
Overpair: A pocket pair higher than all the board cards (e.g. Q-Q on a J-7-3 flop).
Poker glossary: the letter P
Poker terms starting with the letter P.
Package: A prize won in a qualifying tournament: entry to a major tournament, often with travel and accommodation.
Paired board: A board on which two cards of the same rank appear.
Pass: To fold.
Passive: A player who simply calls bets without ever taking the initiative.
Pay off: Calling a bet on the river while suspecting you are beaten.
Play back: Responding to an opponent's bet or raise with a re-raise.
Playing the board: When a player's best hand is made up of the five board cards. At best, they can only split the pot.
Pocket: A player's private cards, dealt face down.
Pocket cards: Each player's personal cards, known only to them.
Pocket rockets: Nickname for pocket Aces.
Poker face: The blank expression a player adopts so as not to give anything away about their hand.
Position: A player's place in the order of play. Acting last is a major advantage, as you act knowing the others' decisions.
Pot: All the players' bets, placed in the middle of the table and won by the winner of the hand.
Pot limit: A format in which the maximum bet equals the size of the pot, including the amount needed to call. It is the standard format for Omaha.
Pot odds: The ratio between the size of the pot and the amount needed to call. E.g. 20 to call into a pot of 100 gives odds of 5 to 1; the call is profitable if you win more than one time in six.
Preflop: The first betting round, after the hole cards are dealt and before the flop.
Prize pool: The total prize money to be shared among the paid players of a tournament.
Put down: To fold.
Putting on pressure: Pressuring opponents with large bets and raises to push them to fold.
Poker glossary: the letter Q
Poker terms starting with the letter Q.
Quads: Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
Poker glossary: the letter R
Poker terms starting with the letter R.
Rag: A small card with no effect on the hand.
Rail: The barrier (rope or fence) separating tournament tables from the public. A "railbird" is a spectator watching the game from the rail.
Rainbow: A flop made of three cards of different suits: it offers no immediate flush draw.
Raise: Increasing the current bet. In no limit, the minimum raise must be at least equal to the previous bet or raise.
Rake: The commission taken by the cardroom from each cash-game pot, or included in the tournament entry fee.
Rank: The value of a card or a combination relative to others.
Razz: A Seven Card Stud variant in which the lowest hand wins the pot. Straights and flushes do not count and the Ace is the lowest card: the best hand is A-2-3-4-5.
Re-entry: A tournament in which an eliminated player can register again and take a seat with a fresh stack, often at a new table.
Read: Deducing an opponent's hand or intentions from their bets, behaviour and tells.
Rebuy: The option, during a set period of a tournament, to buy more chips, especially after losing your stack.
Rebuy tournament: A tournament in which, for a set period, a player who is eliminated or short of chips can buy a new stack.
Ring game: Another name for a cash game.
River: The fifth and last community card in Hold'em and Omaha. It is followed by the final betting round.
Rock: A very tight player who only plays good hands and rarely raises.
Rockets: Nickname for a pair of Aces.
Round of betting: The sequence in which each player in turn checks, bets, calls, raises or folds.
Royal flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit. The best hand in poker.
Rundown: In Omaha, four consecutive hole cards (e.g. 9-10-J-Q).
Runner-up: The player who finishes second in a tournament.
Rush: A series of hands won in a row.
Poker glossary: the letter S
Poker terms starting with the letter S.
Sandbag: Playing a very strong hand weakly, by checking or calling, to trap opponents. Synonym: slow play.
Satellite: A tournament whose prizes are qualifying seats for a bigger tournament.
Scare card: A card that lands on the board and completes a likely draw (flush, straight), threatening the hands that were ahead.
Scared money: Money you are afraid to lose. A player playing with money they cannot afford to lose makes poor, overly cautious decisions.
Scary board: A threatening board that makes strong holdings likely for the opponent (completed draws, paired board...).
Semi-bluff: Betting or raising with a draw. The player wins immediately if the opponent folds, and still has chances to hit their hand if called.
Set: Three of a kind made with a pocket pair and one board card. Better disguised, and therefore more profitable, than trips.
Set over set: A clash between two players each holding a set of different rank. The lower set has almost no chance.
Shark: An experienced, winning player. Opposite: fish.
Ship it: "Send me the chips!" An expression used by a player who wins a pot.
Shootout: A tournament in which each table plays until only one player remains; the table winners then meet in the next phase. Tables are not rebalanced during play.
Short-handed: A game with six players maximum.
Shove: To go all-in.
Showdown: The moment when, after the last betting round, the players still in the hand turn over their cards to determine who wins the pot.
Shuffle: Mixing the cards.
Sit & go: A tournament with no fixed start time, which begins as soon as the required number of players has registered (often 6, 9 or 10).
Sit out: Being away from the table without leaving it: the player is no longer dealt cards. In tournaments, their blinds are still taken.
Slow play: Playing a very strong hand slowly, by checking or just calling, so as not to scare the opponent and encourage them to bet.
Slow roll: Deliberately delaying showing a winning hand at showdown to give the opponent false hope. Considered very unsportsmanlike.
Small blind: The smaller of the two forced bets, posted by the player immediately to the left of the button. It is usually half the big blind.
Soft play: Deliberately going easy on an opponent, often a friend, by avoiding raising or bluffing them. Forbidden in tournaments, as it distorts the game at the other players' expense.
Soft seat: An advantageous seat at a table of weak players.
Spades: The ♠ suit.
Speed limit: Nickname for a pair of fives, a reference to the old US speed limit of 55 mph.
Split: Sharing the pot between several tied players.
Squeeze: A big pre-flop raise made after a raise followed by one or more calls. It exploits the fact that the original raiser is caught in the middle.
Stack: All the chips a player has.
Stack (to stack someone): Winning an opponent's entire stack in a single hand.
Staking: Funding all or part of a player's entry fee by an investor, in exchange for a percentage of their winnings.
Steaming: Playing out of frustration, without thinking. Synonym: tilt.
Steel wheel: The Ace-2-3-4-5 straight flush.
Step tournament: A tiered tournament system: each win qualifies for the next step, up to the final tournament.
Stop loss: A loss limit beyond which a player forces themselves to end their session.
Straddle: A voluntary blind bet, usually twice the big blind, made before the deal by the player to the left of the big blind. It gives them the right to act last before the flop.
Straight: Five cards of consecutive ranks, of different suits (e.g. 5-6-7-8-9). The Ace can be low (A-2-3-4-5) or high (10-J-Q-K-A).
Straight flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g. 5♥-6♥-7♥-8♥-9♥). The second strongest hand in poker.
Structure: All the rules of a tournament: starting stack, blind levels and their duration, antes, rebuys, prize distribution.
Stubborn caller: A player who keeps betting even though they know they are beaten.
Stuck: Said of a player who is losing in the session.
Stud: A family of variants with no community cards, in which each player receives both hidden and visible cards. The most played is Seven Card Stud.
Suited connectors: Connectors of the same suit (e.g. 8♥-9♥), valued for their double straight and flush potential.
Poker glossary: the letter T
Poker terms starting with the letter T.
Table stack: The amount of chips a player sits down with at a cash-game table. To rebuy: to buy more chips.
TAG (Tight-aggressive): A tight and aggressive playing style: the player enters few hands but plays them by betting and raising. It is the benchmark winning style.
Take a beating: Losing a hand or a large amount in painful fashion (French slang: "prendre une cagoule").
Tank: Taking a long time to think before acting.
Tell: An involuntary behaviour (gesture, look, breathing, way of betting) that betrays the strength of a player's hand.
Texas Hold'em: The most played poker variant in the world. Each player receives two hole cards and makes their best five-card hand with the five community cards, over four betting rounds.
Textbook player: A player with a classic, predictable style who applies theoretical principles without taking risks or showing creativity.
Thirty miles: Nickname for three tens.
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g. 9-9-9). It is called a "set" when made with a pocket pair, and "trips" when it uses a pair on the board.
Tight: A player who enters few hands and only plays solid ones. Also said of a table where players are cautious. Opposite: loose.
Tilt: A state of frustration or irritation, often after losing hands, that pushes a player into reckless decisions. They are said to be "tilting" or "on tilt".
Time bank: Online, a reserve of extra time a player can use when they need to think longer than the normal limit.
Timing tell: A clue given by the time a player takes to act.
TOC (Tournament of Champions): A tournament reserved for the winners of previous events.
Top pair: A pair made with the highest card on the board.
Top two pair: Two pair made with the two highest board cards, thanks to the player's two hole cards.
TPTK (Top pair top kicker): A pair with the highest board card, plus the best possible kicker (e.g. A-K on a K-8-3 flop).
Trap: Playing a strong hand passively to encourage the opponent to bet.
Trash talk: Verbal provocation meant to unsettle an opponent or provoke a reaction to read their game better. Unsporting behaviour, punishable in tournaments.
Treys: A pair of threes.
Trips: Three of a kind made with a pair on the board and a single hole card. Less well hidden than a set.
Turbo: A tournament whose blind levels rise quickly, for a shorter playing time.
Turn: The fourth community card, dealt after the flop and followed by the third betting round.
Poker glossary: the letter U
Poker terms starting with the letter U.
Under the gun (UTG): The player immediately to the left of the big blind, first to act before the flop. The toughest position at the table.
Underdog: A hand or player who is not the favourite in a hand.
Up card: A card dealt face up, especially in Stud.
Upswing: A period in which a player racks up wins. Opposite: downswing.
Poker glossary: the letter V
Poker terms starting with the letter V.
Value bet: A bet made with a hand you believe is best, aiming to be called by a weaker hand.
Value owned: When a player bets for value and gets called or raised by a better hand.
Variance: The gap between a player's actual results and expected results, due to the element of chance in the game. It explains why a good player can lose over short periods.
Poker glossary: the letter W
Poker terms starting with the letter W.
Walk: A hand in which everyone folds to the big blind, who wins the blinds without playing.
Walking sticks: Nickname for a pair of sevens, whose shape resembles walking canes.
Way ahead / Way behind: A situation in which a hand is either far ahead of or far behind the opponent's, with few in-between scenarios. It usually calls for controlling the size of the pot.
Weak: A timid player who folds too often under pressure.
Wet board (Drawy board): A board offering many straight or flush draws (e.g. 9♥-8♥-7♠).
Wheel: The lowest possible straight: Ace-2-3-4-5. Synonym: bicycle.
Whine: A player's complaint blaming their losses on bad luck.
Winner takes all: A tournament in which only the winner takes all the prize money.
Worst hand: The weakest hand at the table in a given deal.
WSOP (World Series of Poker): An annual series of tournaments held in Las Vegas since 1970. Each winner receives a bracelet, and the Main Event is considered the world championship of poker.
Get equipped to play
Now that you speak poker, all that's left is to take a seat at the table. Browse our poker and casino chips, our poker and casino tables and our poker mats. To go further, read our guide to choosing a casino table and our casino mat buying guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does "all-in" mean in poker?
Going all-in means betting all of your chips. The player cannot bet any further: if opponents with more chips call, the excess bets form a side pot.
What is the difference between the small blind and the big blind?
They are the two forced bets posted before the deal by the two players to the left of the button. The big blind is usually twice the small blind and sets the minimum bet for the round.
What does "c-bet" mean in poker?
A continuation bet (c-bet) is a bet made on the flop by the player who raised before the flop, whether or not they hit the board, in order to keep the initiative.
What is the bubble in a poker tournament?
The bubble is the last unpaid place in a tournament. When that player is eliminated, the bubble "bursts" and all remaining players are guaranteed a prize.
What does "the nuts" mean in poker?
The nuts is the best possible hand given the board cards at a given moment. A player holding the nuts cannot lose the hand.