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	action betting activity advertise to give an impression of being a loose bettor, hoping to get other players to take one's bets less seriously later in the session all-in in a table stakes game, a player who puts all his or her remaining chips in the pot is "all-in" and cannot be driven out of the competition for the main pot by further raises (bets above the amount the all-in player puts in form a side pot that only the other players are eligible to win) ante a bet that all players must put into the pot before a hand; or to make such a bet back door in games (such as Hold 'em) in which the last two cards are dealt separately, a method of making a good hand by using both those cards  Back to Top back into to make an unexpectedly good hand different from the hand one was drawing for bankroll the amount of money a player brings to use in a game bet to wager money by putting it into the pot, which other players must at least match to stay in the game; or the amount of money so wagered bicycle another name for a wheel big bet in games with betting limits, the larger of the allowable bets, usually reserved for later rounds  Back to Top big blind the larger of two blind bets in Hold 'em, or the player making such a bet blind (or blind bet) a bet a player makes before looking at his or her cards; similar to an ante except that not all players make the bet, though they must at least match it to stay in bluff to bet with a poor hand in the hopes that the other player or players will fold rather than call board in Hold 'em or other flop games, the community cards; or the up cards in stud poker boat another name for a full house  Back to Top bottom pair in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the lowest of the three flop cards bullet another name for an ace bump another word for raise, as in "I'll bump you 10." burn the discard of a card from the top of the deck before a deal or at particular times during the hand, helping to insure the honesty of the deal; in Hold 'em, a card is typically burned before the flop, turn, and river cards are dealt busted hand a hand with nothing, typically one in which a player drew for a straight or flush and failed to even get a pair  Back to Top button a marker used to mark the dealer position, or the position of the player who acts last in a round of betting if, for example, there is a nonplaying house dealer buy a pot to make a large bet, usually early in a hand, in hopes of driving all the other players out buy-in the amount of money or chips a player brings to a game, or that is required to enter a tournament call to make a bet equal to the current bet, thereby staying in the hand (compare raise, fold) cap the maximum number of raises allowed in a round of betting, as determined by player agreement  Back to Top case the fourth (and final) card of a rank; "the case ten" check in effect, a bet of zero; an action taken by a player who does not wish to bet or fold, and who does not need to call because no one else has bet in the round. Sometimes a checking player will say "pass" to mean "check." check-raise a check followed by a raise by the same player in the same round of betting, sometimes prohibited in social games chip a round disc commonly used as a substitute for money during a game, with different colors being used to represent different denominations; a player normally buys into a game by exchanging cash for a chips, and cashes out by selling chips back (if the player has any left) at the end of the game community cards in certain forms of poker, cards that are dealt faceup and may be used by all the players as part of their hand; in Hold 'em, the last five cards are all community cards, and each player makes the best five-card hand possible from those five cards and his or her two hole cards  Back to Top cowboy another name for a king cut after a shuffle, the division of a deck into two stacks and placement of the stack that had been on the bottom on top; all cards remain facedown throughout the cut deal to give out cards to the players, as well as to turn over any community cards deal me in a phrase indicating that a player will play the next hand deal me out a phrase indicating that a player will not play the next hand  Back to Top dealer's choice a common form of poker in home games in which the dealer chooses the form of poker to play (including naming of any wild cards) each hand declare to indicate what one is attempting to win, as a decision of whether to "go high," "go low," or "go both ways" in a game of high low; declarations in a high-low are usually made simultaneously by each player taking two chips below the table and bringing up a closed fist containing zero (for low), one (for high), or two chips (both ways). deuce another name for a two discard to remove one or more cards from one's hand and place them facedown out of play, usually before drawing new cards to take their place draw to take one or more cards, usually after making a discard; any of several forms of poker in which players discard cards and take new ones, as distinguished from flop games and stud games; see five-card draw, jacks or better  Back to Top draw to (a particular kind of hand) draw in an attempt to make a certain hand, e.g., "drawing to a straight" drop another word for fold equity the expected value of a pot to a player; the product of the amount of money in the pot and the chance the player will win the hand favorite the hand most likely to win at a given point in a hand five-card draw the form of poker most often seen in movies and TV shows; each player receives five cards, then discards some or all of them and receives replacement cards from the deck (or the player may stand pat); rounds of betting occur before and after the draw. In some circles, a player is limited to discarding up to three cards, or four cards when retaining an ace or wild card. See jacks or better (a common version of five-card draw) and lowball (a variation where low hand wins)  Back to Top five-card stud a form of stud poker in which each player is dealt one hole card (facedown) followed by four up cards, with a round of betting after each up card. flop in Hold 'em, the three community cards that are dealt at once; also, any of several forms of poker played with community cards, as distinguished from draw games and stud games flush a hand in which all five cards share the same suit fold to drop from a hand (instead of calling) forced bet a bet that a player is required to make, such as a blind bet  Back to Top fourflush a hand with four cards of the same suit; normally worthless unless it can be improved to a flush, a fourflush has occasionally been ranked just above a pair by players following nonstandard rules four of a kind four cards of the same rank free card a card players need not pay to see, as when everyone checks in a round of bidding full house a hand consisting of three of a kind and a pair; in comparing full houses, the ranks of the threes of a kind are compared first, the pairs only being relevant if the threes of a kind are identical (i.e., in a game with wild cards or community cards) gutshot drawing to an inside straight, i.e., attempting to complete a straight when missing a card inside a sequence of held cards  Back to Top hand a deal and its play; also, the cards held by a particular player, or the best type of hand (pair, straight, etc.) a player can make with his or her cards heads-up playing with only two players high best in rank, said of a hand, a card, or a set of up cards; e.g., "a king-high straight"; or in a stud game "ace-jack is high" (and is therefore first to bet) high-low a game, such as seven-card stud high-low, in which the pot is split between the highest hand and the lowest hand, and in which each player must declare, prior to the final round of betting, whether he or she is trying to win as the high hand, the low hand, or both (in which case the player must, in most games, win both ways to win at all). In some games, straights (such as a wheel) and flushes are allowed to count as low hands (i.e., in going low, they are better than a pair). hit to make or improve a hand by getting a favorable draw or flop; opposite of miss  Back to Top Hold 'em (or Texas Hold 'em) a popular form of poker, and the one played at Yahoo! and many poker tournaments. Each player is dealt two pocket cards, then three community cards are turned faceup ("the flop"), then a fourth community card (the "turn card" or "fourth street") and finally a fifth community card (the "river card" or "fifth street"), with rounds of betting after the pocket cards, the flop, and each of the last two cards, as well as two blind bets at the start (instead of antes) hole the initial down card or pair of down cards in a stud game house the establishment where poker is played, which usually takes a cut, or "rake," from the pot and which determines house rules inside straight a kind of draw in which a player attempts to complete a straight missing one of the cards in the middle of a sequence, and which therefore has only half the chance of success of drawing to a straight open at both ends insurance a side bet to protect against a particular outcome, usually an outcome that is relatively unlikely  Back to Top jacks or better a form of five-card draw in which a player must Hold at least a pair of jacks to open the betting; if no one can open, players ante again, the deal rotates, and in many circles the opening requirements rotate to queens or better, followed by kings, aces, and back to jacks joker an extra card, two of which come with most standard decks of playing cards, sometimes used as a wild card kicker in a hand consisting of a pair, two pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind, the highest unpaired card; if players tie with identical pairs, trips, or quads, their kickers are compared to break the tie large bet another name for a big bet limit the maximum amount or fixed amount that may be bet or raised in a given round in a game; or, in general, any poker game in which there are limits, as distinguished from no-limit games. Some limits are "spread limits," which set minimum and maximum bets and raises instead of fixed amounts. See pot limit; no limit; table stakes.  Back to Top live card a card that has not been seen and which therefore still has a chance of being drawn or dealt live hand a hand still in the game lock a hand guaranteed to win at least a share of the pot loose an unconservative style of play in which a player stays in more and folds less often; compare tight low ranking below other hands, as is desirable in some games such as lowball and high-low seven-card stud; in some games, straights and flushes are allowed to count as low hands (i.e., worse than a pair), making a wheel the best possible low; a hand described as an "8 low" has an 8 as its highest card, with no pairs  Back to Top lowball five-card draw in which the low hand wins the pot main pot in a table stakes game, the portion of the pot matched by a player who goesall-in, as distinguished from the side pot--bets the all-in player could not match--which the all-in player is not eligible to win make to draw to or be dealt a good hand; e.g., "the player drew one card to a flush and made it" middle pair in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the middle ranking of the three flop cards miss fail to hit  Back to Top no-limit game a game in which no limit is placed on the amount that may be bet or raised; usually, however, a player is limited to money brought to the table (see table stakes) nuts another word for a lock odds a ratio expressing the likelihood of an outcome; e.g., "the odds were 4 to 1 against making the flush" means there was 1 chance in 5 of making it; see also pot odds open to make the first bet in a round open-ended straight a kind of draw in which a player attempts to complete a straight by drawing a card at either end of a four-card sequence, and which therefore has twice the chance of success of drawing to an inside straight  Back to Top out a card that is likely to make a hand a winner overcard in Hold 'em, a card of higher rank than the highest card on the board overpair in Hold 'em, a pocket pair higher than the highest card on the board. pair two cards of the same rank pass another word for fold; sometimes used to mean "check"  Back to Top pat in a draw game, a hand to which no cards are drawn pig in high-low poker, a player who declares both ways playing a hand staying in at least part way through a hand (instead of folding as soon as someone bets) playing the board in Hold 'em, staying in even though one's pocket cards are useless and one's best hand consists of the community cards pocket cards the two cards dealt facedown in Hold 'em, or the two hole cards dealt first in seven-card stud;  Back to Top pocket pair two pocket cards of the same rank pocket rockets a pair of aces in the pocket poker a large family of related card games normally played for stakes either in homes, casinos, or at Yahoo!, in which players attempt to form the best five-card hand; standard types of hands (full house, straight, pair, etc.) have relative rankings that are universally recognized, although the object of a poker game may be either to have the highest-ranking hand or the lowest-ranking. See draw, flop, and stud for three main categories of poker games. position a player's place at the table in relation to the order of betting; players "have position" on players who bet before them position bet a bet made at least in part because of one's position; e.g., if everyone before the dealer checks and the dealer bets, the dealer may be trying to steal the pot by taking advantage of his or her position  Back to Top pot the money (usually represented by chips) that goes to the winner or winners of a hand pot-limit a game in which bets and raises are limited to the current size of the pot pot odds the ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount of money a player must bet to call quads another word for four of a kind. qualifier in some high-low split games, a minimum requirement that a hand (usually the low hand) must meet to be eligible to win part of the pot (such as an 8 low or better).  Back to Top rack a device that holds poker chips raise to increase the size of a bet during a round of betting rake a cut taken by the house, most often by removing money from each pot or by charging an hourly rate to play rank a card's number or name; "ace," "two," "three," etc. are ranks read to understand how an opponent plays and thereby gain insight into what cards the opponent holds  Back to Top represent to bet as though one has a particular type of hand, whether or not it's true re-raise a raise that comes after another raise in the same round of betting river card the fifth and final community card dealt in Hold 'em or other flop games; also called "fifth street" round a series of actions by all the players in a game, beginning with a check or bet and ending when everyone has either called or folded; or a series of hands in which each player deals once royal flush an ace-high straight flush, the highest possible poker hand (unless wild cards are used, in which case five of a kind is higher)  Back to Top sandbag to bet a strong hand as though holding a weak hand, in hopes of encouraging other players to stay in and win a larger pot; slowplay semi-bluff a bluff made with some chance of winning the hand in a showdown set three of a kind, two of which are hidden in the hole seven-card stud a form of stud poker in which each player is dealt two hole cards (facedown) followed by four up cards, followed by a down card, with a round of betting after each up card and after the final card. showdown after the final round of betting, a comparison of the hands of the players still in the game to see who wins the pot  Back to Top shuffle to mix the cards before a deal slowplay another word for sandbag small bet in games with betting limits, the smaller of the allowable bets, usually reserved for later rounds small blind the smaller of two blind bets in Hold 'em, or the player making such a bet split pot a pot divided between two or more players, either because their hands tie or because of playing a high-low or other split-pot game  Back to Top stack a pile of chips or money steal a pot to win a pot by making a bet when everyone else has shown weakness, and which succeeds in driving everyone else out of the hand straight five cards of consecutive rank, with aces counting as either high or low straight flush five cards of consecutive ranks, all of the same suit street in Hold 'em, "fourth street" is the fourth community card and "fifth street" is the final community card; in seven-card stud, the first up card is called "third street," the next up card "fourth street," and so on  Back to Top structure the set of rules governing antes, blinds, and the betting limits in a game stud a form of poker with most cards dealt faceup one at a time and rounds of betting after each up card, as distinguished from draw games and flop games; see five-card stud and seven-card stud (the most common forms) suit the symbols on a card (clubs, diamonds, hearts, or spades) table the surface on which a game is played, or the group of players playing there; also used like "board" to refer to community cards table stakes the rule that limits a player's bets to the money he or she brings to the table  Back to Top Texas Hold 'em another name for Hold 'em three of a kind three cards of the same rank tight a conservative style of play in which a player stays in less and folds more often; compare loose top pair in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the top ranking of the three flop cards trips another word for three of a kind.  Back to Top trey another word for a three turn card the fourth community card dealt in Hold 'em or other flop games; also called fourth street two pair a hand consisting of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a fifth card of still another rank under the gun a term used to describe the position of the first player whose turn it is to bet after the blind(s)  Back to Top up when used after the name of a card rank, "up" indicates a holding of two pair, the higher ranking of which was just named; e.g., "aces up" means a pair of aces and another pair up card a card that is dealt faceup in a stud game wheel (also called bicycle or bicycle wheel) a hand consisting of A2345, the lowest possible straight; in some games played for low, the best possible hand wild card a card that can be used to stand for any other card; in a game with wild cards, five of a kind outranks a straight flush  Back to Top