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Poker Terms Glossary

Poker Terms Glossary

If you don't know your fold from your flop, your Open-Face from your Omaha, and your 'wp' from your 'gg', you'll need this handy glossary.

On this page, we have listed some of the most common terms used in poker today. We've even included some typical online phrases you will find at good poker sites in 2024 .

Why waste time getting the hang of the lingo when you can brush up on your glossary and start taking down pots even quicker?

Playing tight, conservative poker to ensure long-term profits
Action Player's chance to act
Add-On Extra chips given to tournament players at the end of a re-buy period
All-in Moving all your chips into the pot while calling, betting or raising
Ante Compulsory bet on top of the blinds
Hitting the turn and river cards to complete a hand
Bad Beat Unlucky loss by a player
Bankroll Player's total cash to play poker with
Big blind Compulsory bet made by player sitting two seats to the left of the dealer
Boat A full house
Blind Compulsory bet made before a hand
Bluff Bet made while holding an inferior hand
Board Community cards shared by all players
Bounty Special prize awarded for eliminating a tournament playe
Bring-In Used in Stud games: first player to make a bet
Bubble Player knocked out one place before the money in a tournament
Burn Card discarded by dealer before the flop, turn and river
Bust / Busto Gone broke or knocked out of a tournament
Button Indicates where the 'Dealer', or Seat 1 player, is sitting; button player is last to act
Buy-in Tournament or cash game entry
Area of casino where poker players can cash in chips
Call Match another player's bet
Calling Station A weak player who calls, but who doesn't raise their hands much. They won't fold much but they can catch you on the river if you let them.
Cashier Online poker site area to deposit and withdraw funds
Chatbox Area of online poker screen to talk to other players
Check Option not to act in a pot without any previous bets
Chinese Poker Popular variant of poker where players have to form three separate poker hands from 13 cards; infamous for high-stakes side action among professional players.
Continuation Bet (C-Bet) Following a pre-flop raise with a strong post-flop bet, regardless of whether it improved your hand
Crack Beat a dominant hand
Croupier Dealer overseeing a game
Cut-Off Last player to act before the dealer (Button)
Player on the Button or the croupier overseeing a live game of poker.
Deck Pack of cards used in a game
Deuce Term for the '2' card
Draw Complete a hand with a specific range of cards
Drawing Dead Player cannot win hand, whatever cards are left to be dealt
Draw Poker Form of poker where players improve 5-card hands by changing cards during the hand
Early Position (EP) Sitting in one of the first seats to make a decision (Small Blind, Big Blind etc)
Expected Value (EV) Amount a player expects to win or lose in a hand or session.

What is Expected Value?

What is Expected Value?

EV is the amount a player expects he will lose or win on a given hand. This figure can be positive (+EV) or negative (-EV) with -EV decisions ones to avoid.

For example, let's say a player puts $20 into a pot of $100, and your chance of the hand hitting is 25 percent. 75 percent of the time (or 3 out of four times), the player will lose, meaning he will lose 3x$20=$60 in total. On the fourth attempt he makes it, winning his $100.

The difference here is $100-$60=$40, or a win of $10 each hand ($40 divided by 4). Calling the $20 means his "expectation" is $10. Therefore, the move is +EV.

Expected value can be worked out quickly using pot odds; money already in the pot compared to the size of the bet needed to make the call. This can then be used to make a correct decision to call or fold.

Knocked out of a tournament
Fish Weak/loose player; fish are usually new players or who gamble recklessly Fifth street - River card
Flop First three community cards dealt
Flush 5-card hand all the same suit
Fold Ditch your hand and stop playing in a hand
Fourth street Turn card; fourth community card dealt
Full house hand consisting of three of a kind plus a pair
Freeroll Free-to-enter tournament; can sometimes carry small cash prizes
Freezeout game without rebuy option
FPP Frequent player points; reward points for online play
'Good Game' in online chatbox jargon; used at the end of a game or to needle recently-knocked out players
Grinder Player who makes a steady, regular income playing solid poker
Gutshot Straight with the middle card needed to complete it. (e.g. a starting hand of 10-J seeing a flop of A-K-3 needs a Queen to complete a gutshot straight 10-J-Q-K-A)
Chances of a player hitting the cards he needs to complete a hand; can be compared with Pot Odds to gauge whether to continue in a hand
Heads-up Two players remaining in a hand; a straight-up contest between two players.
Hold'em Poker variant played with two hole cards and five community cards (also see Texas Hold'em)
Hole cards Hidden cards dealt to players
HUD Heads-Up Display; allows online players to assess opponents
Hyper-Aggressive Maniac player who bluffs and raises the majority of the time
Similar to Pot Odds (see below), but refer to odds that have yet to exist in the game. If you're confident of winning against a player on the river after making your full house, your Implied Odds are good
Card used to decide the winner between two similar hands. For example, Player A has 10-10-2-2-A, and Player B has 10-10-2-2-K. Player A wins with the higher "kicker" of an ace as his fifth card
Loose-Aggressive player; a player who raises the majority of hands Late Position (LP) - Sitting in one of the last seats to make a decision (Cut-off or Button)
Limp Call the big blind pre-flop
Loose An aggressive or fishy player's style of play. Loose-aggressive players (LAG) will raise most pots, while Loose-Passive players will call and bet most hands
See Hyper-Aggressive
Mississippi Straddle Every cash game player at the table posting a blind bet before cards are dealt
MTT Multi-Table Tournament
Muck Fold at showdown without revealing cards if a player has lost; also the pile of discarded and burned cards on the table
Games with no limit on the level of bet; players may move all-in for all their chips, regardless of the bet in front of them
NLHE No Limit Hold'em (abbrev.)
Nuts The best hand
hole cards of different suits
Omaha Hold’em game with four cards each instead of two. Players MUST use two of their hole cards to form a hand
One-Outer Hitting the one card in the deck needed to make a winning hand
Open Starting the betting
Open-Ended Straight Draw A hand that needs a lower or higher card to complete a straight, e.g. a player has 10-J, the board is 3-Q-K, and they can complete a straight with either a 9 or Ace
Open-Face Chinese Poker (OFCP) Popular variant of Chinese Poker where players have to form three hands in ascending value. Starting to be introduced into tournament schedules
Out of Turn Acting before it's your turn to bet
Overpair Pocket pair higher than the community cards
All players in hand share the five community cards
Pocket pair Hole cards containing one pair
Pot Amount of cash in a hand
Pot Limit Game where the maximum raise is the amount of the pot; Pot Limit Omaha and Hold'em are popular variants
PLO Pot Limit Omaha (abbrev.)
Pot Odds Money in the pot compared to the size of the bet needed to call; can be compared with Hand Odds to gauge whether to continue in a hand
Position Player's seat around the table, or order that they make a decision
Post Place a blind at the start of the game
Post-flop All action taking place after the flop has been dealt
Pre-flop All action taking place before the flop is dealt
Price Odds needed to call a bet (good price means good enough odds to make the call)
Prizepool Total prize money in a tournament
Push Move all your chips in
Four of a kind
Bad hole cards
Rainbow Flop containing three cards of different suits
Raise To at least double the previous bet
Rake Percentage of pot taken by cardroom in a cash game or tournament
Re-Buy Tournament allowing players to buy more chips if they run out
Re-Entry Popular tournament variant allowing players to re-enter the game after they've bust
Represent Bluff or continue betting to give the impression you hold a strong hand
Ring game Cash poker game
River Fifth and final community card
Royal Flush Hand containing five connecting cards, 10-J-Q-K-A
Runner-Runner To catch the two cards needed to make a winning hand, on both the turn and river
Online or offline tournament with a low buy-in that awards seats into bigger tournaments
Set Three of a kind that includes both hole cards
Shark Experienced players who hunt out fish
Short Stack / Shortie Player with lowest chips in the tournament
Showdown Players reveal cards to decide the hand
Side pot Extra cash amounts decided by remaining players after a short-stacked player has moved all-in
Sit ‘n’ Go (SNG) Tournament that begins as soon as all available seats are filled. Normally single-table
Sit Down Take your seat at a table
Small blind Compulsory bet made by player sitting one seat to the left of the dealer
Split pot Tied hand which awards players equal amounts
Straddle Cash game term for a player posting an extra big blind before cards have been dealt
Straight Hand containing five connecting cards (e.g. 10-J-Q-K-A of different suits)
Straight Flush Hand containing five connecting cards of same suit
STT Single-table tournament
Super Straddle Second cash game player posting an extra big blind
Riling an opponent with abuse or making fun, usually to induce a reckless bet
Tell Physical clue about the strength of a hand; can be physical, verbal or deduced by patterns made by online players
Texas Hold’em Poker game played with two hole cards and five community cards
Tilt Psychological distress after a losing streak or bad beat
Top pair Pair which includes a hole card and a community card
Tracking software Program used to take notes on opponents
Trips Three of a kind that includes one hole card
Turn The fourth community card drawn
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, introduced in 2006 in the USA
UL 'Unlucky' in online chatbox jargon; can be used to taunt losing players
Under the Gun (UTG) First to act after the blinds
'Well Played' in online chatbox jargon; used by busted players

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