|
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."
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.
Big Blind
The larger of the two blinds
typically used in a hold'em game. The big blind is a full first round bet.
See also "blind" and "small blind."
Big Slick
A nickname for AK (suited or not).
Its origins are unknown (to me, anyway).
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."
Bot
Short for "robot". In a poker
context, a program that plays poker online with no (or minimal) human
intervention.
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.
Brick & Mortar
A "real" casino or cardroom with a
building, tables, dealers, etc. This is in contrast to an online poker
site.
Bubble
(1) The point at which only one
player must bust out before all others win some money. (2) The person who
was unfortunate enough to finish in that position.
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 that indicates
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.
Buy-In
An amount of money you pay to enter
a tournament. Often expressed as two numbers, such as $100+9, meaning that
it costs $109 to enter the tournament; $100 goes into the prize fund and
$9 goes to the house.
Call
To put into the pot an amount of
money equal to the most recent bet or raise. The term "see" (as in "I'll
see that bet") is considered colloquial.
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, as opposed to one or more "side" pots created if one or more
players goes all-in. Also "main pot."
Chat
Typed conversation that you can
have with other players at an online poker site (or any online gathering,
for that matter).
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 if you
have the best hand.
Chop
An agreement between the two
players with blinds to simply take their blinds back rather than playing
out the hand if nobody calls or raises in front of them.
Clean Out
A card that would almost certainly
make your hand best. If you are drawing at a straight, but there is a
flush draw possible, then the cards that make your straight but also the
flush are not clean outs.
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 that must call two bets "cold."
This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent
raise.
Come Hand
A drawing hand (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 applied 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.
Crying Call
A call that you make expecting to
lose, but feel that you must make anyway because of the pot odds.
Cut-Off
The position (or player) who acts
one before the button.
Dead Money
(1) Money contributed to a pot by a
player no longer in the pot. (2) A player in a tournament who has no
realistic chance of winning.
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
To play a hand that is not yet
good, but could become so if the right cards come. Example: "I'm not there
yet -- I'm drawing." Also used as a noun. Example: "I have to call because
I have a good draw."
Draw Dead
Trying 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.
Equity
Your "rightful" share of a pot. If
the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have
$40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will
either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can
"expect" to win.
Expectation
(1) The amount 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. Suppose in
100 hours of play, you win $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.
Extra Blind
A blind put in by a player just
entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his
position at the table. See also "blind" and "post."
Family Pot
A pot in which all (or almost all)
of the players call before the flop.
Fast Play
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."
Fish
A poor player -- one who gives his
money away. It's a well-known (though not well-followed) rule among good
players to not upset the bad players, because they'll stop having fun and
perhaps leave. Thus the phrase, "Don't tap on the aquarium."
Flop
The first three community cards,
put out face up, all together.
Fold Equity
The extra value you get from a hand
when you force an opponent to fold. That is, if you don't have to see a
showdown, your hand has more value than if you do.
Foul
A hand that 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 because
of your reputation 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. If you
don't get it on the turn, you can check as well, seeing the river card for
"free."
Free Roll
One player has 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, because
you can win the whole pot and your opponent can't. If no club comes, you
split the pot with him; if it does come, you win the whole thing.
Gap Hand
A starting hand with cards more
than one rank apart. For instance, T9 is a one-gap hand. 86 is a two-gap
hand.
Gutshot Straight
A 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.
Heads-Up
A pot that is being contested by
only two players. Example: "It was heads-up by the turn."
Hit
As in "the flop hit me," meaning
the flop contains 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."
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.
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, jackpots have gotten over $50,000. Of course, the
jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake.
Jam
To move all-in in a no-limit (or
pot-limit) game.
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.
Leak
A weakness in your game that causes
you to win less money than you would otherwise. Example: "She takes her
pocket pairs too far; it's a leak in her game."
Limp
To call. Generally the term refers
to pre-flop action. For instance: "He limped in early position with 77."
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.
Live
Cards that are not duplicated in an
opponent's stronger hand. For example, if you have A9 and your opponent
has AJ, then your ace is not "live" because making a pair of aces won't do
you any good. The nine, however, is live; making a pair of nines gives you
the better hand.
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.
Made Hand
A hand to which you're drawing, or
one good enough that it doesn't need to improve.
Micro-Limit
Games so small that they couldn't
be profitably dealt in a real cardroom. They exist only at online poker
sites. You might arbitrarily call games $.25-.50 and smaller
"micro-limit."
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. Example: "He didn't have any outs so he mucked his hand."
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 from limit
poker.
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 might say they had the "nut straight."
Offsuit
A hold'em starting hand with two
cards of different suits.
One-Gap
A hold'em starting hand with two
cards 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.
Pat
A hand that you make on the flop.
For instance, if you have two spades in your hand and the flop has three
spades, then you've flopped a pat spade flush.
Pay Off
To call a bet when 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 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."
Pocket Pair
A hold'em starting hand with two
cards of the same rank, making a pair. Example: "I had big pocket pairs
seven times in the first hour. What else can you ask for?"
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. Example: a player leaves one seat at a
table and takes another in such a way that he moves farther from the
blinds. He is required to post an extra blind to receive a hand. See also
"extra blind."
Pot-Committed
A state where you are essentially
forced to call the rest of your stack because of the size of the pot and
your remaining chips.
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 1 out of 12, 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."
Put On
To mentally assign a hand to a
player for the purposes of playing out your hand. Example: "He raised on
the flop, but I put him on a draw, so I re-raised and then bet the turn."
Quads
Four of a kind.
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."
Rebuy
An option to buy back into a
tournament after you've lost all your chips. Tournaments may offer one or
more rebuys or (often) none at all.
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 river, you can throw away just about
anything but the nuts.
Runner
Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand that was made only by
catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river. Example: "He
made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips." See also "backdoor."
Satellite
A tournament that does not award cash to its winners, but a seat (or
seats) in a subsequent "target" tournament.
Scare Card
A card that 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. See "top pair."
Sell
As in "sell a hand." In a
spread-limit game, this means betting 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. Example: you have Ks-Qs, and the flop is Th-5s-Jc. If
you bet now, it's a semi-bluff. You probably don't have the best hand, and
you'd like to see your opponents fold immediately. Nevertheless, if you do
get callers, you could still improve to the best hand.
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. 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.
Small Blind
The smaller of two blind bets typically used in a hold'em game. Normally,
the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first round bet. See also
"big blind" and "blind."
Smooth Call
To call. Smooth call often implies slow playing a strong hand. Example: "I
flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the guy in front of me
bet -- I didn't want to scare anybody out."
Soft-Play
To go easy on another player at the table (e.g., not betting or raising
against him). Suppose you and your brother are the last two people left in
a hand. On the river, you have the nuts, but he bets. If you don't raise,
you are "soft-playing" him. Please note that soft-playing is prohibited in
tournaments and can result in penalties, up to and including forfeiture of
winnings.
Splash the Pot
To toss chips directly into the pot rather than put them in a stack in
front of you. Don't do it.
Split Pot
A pot that 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.
Stop-and-Go
A play where you call (rather than
re-raising) a raise, but then come out betting on the next card.
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 poker games. The typical definition of a structured hold'em
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."
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.
Thin
As in "drawing thin." To be drawing to a very few outs, perhaps only one
or two.
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").
To Go
The amount a player must call if he
wishes to continue playing. Example: "The big blind was $20. Sarah raised
$40 more, making it $60 to go."
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. See "second pair."
Top Set
The highest possible trips.
Example: you have Tc-Ts, and the flop comes Td-8c-9h. You have flopped top
set.
Top Two
Two pair, with your two hole cards
pairing the two highest cards on the board.
Top and Bottom
Two pair, with your two hole cards
pairing the highest and lowest cards on the board.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Turn
The fourth community card. Put out
face up, by itself. Also known as "fourth street."
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 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."
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 that, 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.
Wheel
A straight from ace through five.
|
