Poker Dictionary

Check-Raise - To check, then raise when the action comes back round to you.

Cowboys - A pair of Kings

D

Dead Man's Hand - Two pair - Aces and Eights. This is named after the hand that Wild Bill was holding when he was shot.

Deuces - more than one 2

Down Cards - Called 'Hole Cards', these are the cards dealt face down so only the player can view them.

Doyle Brunson - 10-2 in a Hold 'Em hand - Named after the hand Brunson won the WSOP twice with.

Drawing - Playing a hand in the hope that it will improve.

Drop - To fold your cards.

Ducks - Two's

E

Early Position - Having to decide whether to bet or fold before the rest of the players.

EPT - European Poker Tour

F

Fifth Street - The final card to be dealt and the start of the final round of betting. Also known as 'The River'

Fill Up - Turn Three Of A Kind or Two Pairs into a full house.

Fishhook - A Jack

Flat Call - To match the bet of the previous player without raising

Flop - The first community cards to be dealt. Three cards are placed face up in the middle of the table, and each player can use these cards to improve their hand.

Flop Games - Games which use a flop are Texas Hold 'Em and Omaha.

Flush - Any five cards of the same suit.

Flush Draw - When a player has four cards of the same suit and is hoping for a fifth to be dealt.

Fold - To surrender your cards and any money that you have contributed to the pot.

Forced Bet - See 'Blind'

Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same value

Fourth Street - The fourth community cards to be dealt. Also known as 'The Turn'

Freeroll - A tournament which is free to enter.

Freezeout - A tournament you cannot re-buy into.

Full House - A five card hand containing three cards of one value and two cards of another value. EG 2-2-2-J-J

G

Grinding - When a player steadily increases their number of chips over a length of time.

Gut Shot A card that makes up an inside straight EG, 7 If the player has 4-5-6-8

H

Hand - The best five cards a player has

Heads-Up - When there are only two players involved in the betting.

Hit and Run - A player who leaves the table after scooping a big win

Hole Cards - These cards are dealt face down so that only the player can see them. Also see Down Cards

I

Image - What kind of player you are considered to be by the others at the table

Inside Straight - When the value of the final card to make a straight is in between the others. EG The player has 10-J-Q-A and a King is drawn.

Isolate - To raise in order to reduce the players in the betting to just two.

J

Jacks-or- Better - A form of poker that requires a pair of jacks or better to open the betting

K

Keep Them Honest - To call on the river, despite thinking you do not have the best hand.

Key Card - A card that will make your hand very strong. EG if you have 8-8-10-10 then either an 8 or a 10 will enable you to fill up (obtain a full house).

Kick It - To Raise

Kicker - The highest single card you have which does not contribute to your hand. EG A-A-A-10-4 would be three aces with a 10 kicker

Knock - To knock on the table suggests you wish to check.

Kojak - A King and a Jack

L

Ladies - Queens

Late Position - To be one of the last people at the table to bet. This allows the player to form opinions on what kind of hands the other players may have.

Lay Down Your Hand - To Fold

Limit Poker - Limit games have set rules as to what players can bet and raise.

Limp In - To call a big blind rather than to raise it on the first round of betting.

Live Hand - A hand that may be good enough to win the pot

Look - When the final bet is called

Loose - Playing more hands than average.

Low Limit - Limit poker for relatively small stakes

Lowball - A form of poker where the lowest hand wins

M

Main Pot - When a player goes all in and the betting continues, a separate pot is started (see side pot). If the all in player wins, they are only entitled to the main pot.

Maniac - An aggressive player who plays and raises a lot of hands.

Maverick - Hole cards consisting of a Queen and a Jack

Meet - To Call

Middle Pair - When the middle value card on the flop creates a pair with one of your hole cards.

Minimum Buy-In - The lowest amount of cash you can enter a game for.

Monster - A hand that is very strong - likely to win the pot.

Muck - To fold without showing the other players your cards.

N

No Limit - A game where you can wager as many of your chips as you like in a single bet

Nuts When you have the best possible hand at any point in the game. If you have A-A and the flop returns A-A-K then nobody else can possibly have a stronger hand at that point.

O

Offsuit - Two cards of different suits.

Omaha - A version of poker with four hole cards, 2 of which must make up your final hand.

On the Button - The dealer, this also means that you are the last player in the betting.

Open - Making the first bet

Open-ended Straight - See also Outside Straight. Four consecutive cards meaning a card either side would create a straight. EG 4-5-6-7. A 3 or an 8 would give the player a straight.

Outside Straight - See Open-Ended Straight

Overpair - A pair of cards in the hole that beat anything on the board

P

Paints - Picture cards

Pair - two cards of the same value

Pass - To Fold

Pay Off - To Call or raise when you do not think you have got the best hand

Picture Cards - Either a Jack, a Queen or a King

Play Back - To Raise or re-raise another player.

Playing the Board - When the community cards are the best hand you can make.

Pocket Cards - See Down Cards or Hole Cards

Pocket Rockets - A pair of aces in the pocket

Position - Where a player is sat in relation to the dealer

Post - To Bet

Pot - The total of the bets placed, all chips are placed into the pot and the winner takes the pot.

Pot Limit - The maximum bet you can place is to equal what is already in the pot

Put Down - To Fold

Q

Quads - Four of a kind

Qualifier - A satellite tournament. Also, in Hi-Lo Games, this is the requirement that the low hand must meet.

R

Rack - A holder for poker chips

Rail - The area around the poker table.

Railbird - Somebody who is watching the action without taking part

Rainbow - When the flop produces cards of different suits

Raise - To match the value of the previous players bet and to increase it, the next player must now match your bet.

Rake - The percentage of the pot taken by the poker room for hosting the game.

Rank - The value of the cards. EG a Jack is a higher rank than a 10

Rap - To knock on the table indicating that you want to check.

Re-buy - The amount a player pays to add another set of chips to his/her stack

Re-raise - To raise again after being raised

Reading - analysing the play of others, also a southern town.

Ring Game - A game that is not a tournament

River - The fifth and final community card. Also known as fifth street.

Rock - A player who does not give up their stack easily, will only play when holding good cards.

Round of Betting - The stage in the game where each player is given the opportunity to check, bet, call or raise depending on their opinion of their cards.

Rockets - Two aces in the hole - see pocket rockets

Rounders - People who play for a living

Royal Flush - A-K-Q-J-10 All in the same suit. The best possible hand.

Rush - To be on a rush is to have several winning hands in a short space of time

S

Sandbagging - To bet in a fashion that conceals the true strength of your hand, generally increases bets from other players, also called slowplayingSandbagging To bet in a fashion that conceals the true strength of your hand, generally increases bets from other players, also called slowplaying

Satellite - A low buy in tournament that gives the winner a seat in, or a route to the main event

Scoop - To win the pot

Seating List - The list of players waiting to sit at a full table.

Second Pair - When one of your pocket cards is paired with the second highest card in the community cards.

See - To call

Semi-Bluff - To bluff knowing that the hand you have could well improve later in the game.

Set - Having a pair in the pocket that matches one of the community cards.

Seven-card Stud - A form of poker where players are dealt 7 cards, the first two closed, then four open, the the last closed

Seventh Street - The final card dealt in seven card stud

Short-Handed - A game with not many players

Showdown - When all of the betting is finished and there are two or more players left in the hand, a showdown determines the winner. This involves all of the players showing their pocket cards and the winner taking the pot.

Slowplay - To conservatively bet when holding a strong hand. This generates more action from the other players, increases the pot and reduces the chance of other players folding.

Side Pot - When one player goes all in, any further betting contributes to a side pot. If the all in player wins, they only take the main pot - the side pot goes to the best hand of the rest. If one of the players who continued to bet wins, they take both pots.

Sixth Street - The sixth card dealt in seven card stud

Small Blind - The first compulsory bet. This bet is placed without any cards being dealt and is there to generate the action. The small blind is usually equal to half the minimum stake at the table.

Solid - See Rock

Speed Limit - A pair of fives, named after the american speed limit

Split - A tie, means the pot is split.

Stack - The number of chips you have

Stay - To Call

Steal Raise - A raise by someone in a late position. Usually to encourage others to fold and therefore 'steal' the pot.

Steamrolling - To re-raise again in order to get players to call more than once.

Steel Wheel - A-2-3-4-5 of the same suit

Straight - five consecutive cards, suit does not matter.

Straight Flush - Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Structure - In limit games, the structure sets out what the limits of the game are in terms of blind bets, raises etc.

Stuck - A player who is losing

Suit - Cards are either Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts or Spades.

T

Table - In the poker room there are a numbers of different tables that can be played for various stakes and limits. For example, you can find 2 Limit tables.

Tell - An unintentional sign given by a player which indicates the strength of his/her hand.

Texas Hold'em - A form of poker where the player is dealt two pocket cards and 5 community cards are also dealt. The player must then make the best five card hand from these seven cards.

Thirty Miles - Three tens

Three of a Kind - Three cards of the same value

Tight - See Rock

Tilt - On A player who is 'On tilt' has allowed their behaviour to change as a result of losing.

Top Pair - When one of your pocket cards is paired with the highest card in the community cards.

Top Two Pair - When one of your pocket cards is paired with the highest card in the community cards and your other pocket card is paired with the second highest.

Treys - A pair of threes

Trips - Three of a kind

Turn - The fourth community card dealt. Also known as fourth street

Two Pair - A hand containing two pairs of a different value. EG 2-2-9-9-Q

U

Under the Gun - The first person to act in the betting after the blind bets

Underpair - A pocket pair of a lower value than the cards on the board

Up Card - A card dealt face up.

W

Walking Sticks - Sevens

WPT - World Poker Tour

WSOP - World Series Of Poker - The world's biggest poker tournament

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