| Term |
Description |
| ace-to-five, ace-to-six | In what is commonly referred to low poker (or lowball), these are variations in which low poker hands are rewarded. Ace-to-five is a hand that goes as follows: 5, 4, 3, 2, A and ace-to six is a s follows: 6, 4, 3, 2, A. |
| act | To act is to take the appropriate action when it is your turn, whether you decide to bet, to call, to raise, or to fold, to act is the action you take when it is your turn. |
| action | This can mean any of a number of things depending on the context. When it is a player's turn to play then the action is said to be on them. Generally speaking, action is used to refer to the wagering dynamics of any given game, who is betting what and wha |
| action button | This is much like a kill button, where one of the players must place a compulsory bet. In seven-card stud the action button is given to the player who has taken a scoop pot of over a certain designated amount, in the following pot that player will be obli |
| action card | In community card games such as Texas hold 'em, an action card is a card that inspires a great deal of betting due to the fact that it is valuable to two or more players in the game. |
| action only | This is a practice where only a full, or a half bet may be re-raised. Any thing below this mark is taken as being action only. In order words other players at the table are allowed to call the bet but are not permitted to re-raise it. |
| active player | This is a player who still has a chance at the pot. In the case of side pots all-in players can have access to certain pots but be excluded from others. |
| Add-on | When playing live an add-on is when you buy more chips in anticipation of going bust. When involved in a tournament, an add-on is usually permitted only one time, with all players being allowed to take advantage of it. Also, it usually yields more chips f |
| advertising | Advertising is a form of deceptive play in poker whereby a player purposefully reveals something that he hopes others will think is his style of play, like constantly bluffing in order to give that impression, even though it may not necessarily be the cas |
| aggressive, aggression | Aggressive play is a style of play in poker thought to be generally superior to passive play. Players who regularly open and raise are said to be aggressive players or to have an aggressive game. It is important to bear in mind though, that unpredictable |
| air | When playing lowball poker, to give air to get another player who is looking like he might fold, to call. This is accomplished by leaking to him that you plan to draw another one or two cards. Air is also sometimes used in poker slang interchangeably with |
| All-in | To bet all the chips you have on one hand. |
| angle | This is the practice of deliberately misleading other players with a variety of techniques from verbalizing untruths about your situation to erratic wagering, causing other players to fold or encouraging them to call you in the process. These techniques a |
| ante | Ante is a compulsory bet where all players contribute a set amount of money (usually a small sum) to the pot before the deal of each round. The practice is a way of making sure that players ho choose to fold in each round, make a small loss each and every |
| ante off | In a tournament situation situation ante off is when players who are away from the table are nevertheless required to continue paying antes, as well as all other forced bets so that as the game progresses it is fair to all involved. |
| back in | Entering a pot by checking and then calling another players open on the first round of betting. |
| back into | Winning a pot with a weak hand that under different circumstances would've lost to any other hand |
| backdoor | A draw that needs two or more rounds in order to fill, or when a hand is accidentally made, contrary to the expectations of the player involved. |
| backraise | This is to call a bet by a player who has gone before you and then reraise the bet if a player after you should choose to raise. |
| bad beat | When a player who has a seemingly strong hand losses against the odds |
| bank | The designated person for giving out the chips and paying winning players at the end of each game. Also referred to as the house. |
| bankroll | The money that a poker player uses to gamble with. |
| behind | When a player does not have the best hand at any given point in the game he is said to be behind. Behind also refers to cash that is currently in play even though it may not be visible as poker chips on the table. |
| bet | Money that is wagered during a game of poker or the fixed wagering amount. |
| blind off, blinded | Another way of saying ante off. When a players chips are consistently being lost by continually paying blinds. |
| blocker | A card that you hold that your opponent needs to complete his own hand. |
| blocking bet | Unusually small bats placed by players who are out of position for the reason of blocking another player's larger bet. |
| bluff | The act of misleading your opponents by raising when you have a less than ideal hand. |
| boat | A synonym for full house. |
| both ways | This refers to the two halves of a split pot and is voiced by a player who feels they have an opportunity to win both. |
| bottom end | This is the weakest, or lowest in value of several straights. A player holding 2, 3, with 4, 5, 6 on the board has a bottom end straight. |
| bottom pair, bottom set | A pair or a set assembled from the lowest ranking card on the table. |
| bounty | In some tournaments players are awarded bonuses for knocking-out other players. This is usually a fixed sum for ever player they knock out. The bonus they receive for doing this is referred to as the bounty. |
| box | Refers to the tray that holds the chips, located in front of the house dealer, and by extension also the house dealer's position on the table. |
| boxed card | A card that is face up in the deck while dealing. This cards is usually discarded and not used in the game. |
| break | To discard an otherwise good card in the hope of drawing an even stronger one. To bring a poker session to a close. An interval during play. |
| brick | Similar to 'blank' although more often than not used to describe a bad card rather than one of no use |
| brick & mortar | This refers to a real casino, one made of bricks and mortar rather than an online casino. This term is often found abbreviated to B&M |
| bridge order | While suits are not assigned a value in poker, when picking the dealer at the beginning of the game, and when setting the bring-in in stud poker. The way suits are ranked in bridge is adhered to. This order goes: spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs. |
| bring in | The opening bet in a round of poker betting. Also a forced bet in the first round of stud games. |
| broadway | A 10, J, Q, K, A straight. |
| brush | An empoloyee in a casino who acts as something of an usher, meeting and greeting players, showing them to their seats when one should open up at a table and also traditionally brushing down tables to get them ready for a new game.. |
| bubble | Finishing in a position just short of the payout in a poker tournament. |
| buck | Also known as a 'button' this is a marker that designates who the dealer is. |
| bug | A form of wild card in some poker variations where the pack jokers are used as stand ins for certain cards depending on the poker variation being played. |
| bully | An aggressive player who constantly raises in order to force out other players with a tighter game. When a bully is also blessed with a big stack they are referred to as 'big stack bullies” |
| burn card, burn | A card pulled from the top of the deck and discarded to stop forms of cheating such as card marking. |
| busted | Either when a player looses all of their chips, or when a player never gets the firth vital card to completing their hand. |
| button | Also known as a 'buck', it is a marker that designates who the dealer is. |
| Buy-in | This refers to the least amount of chips a player is obliged to purchase before entering a poker tournament. |
| buy short | To buy-in with less than the minimum required amount, this may only be done if the casino allows it and if all the other players currently seated at the table also agree. |
| buy the button | This is when an absent player reenters a game by buying both blinds from the small-blind position. The players seated to his left are now not required to post any blind on that round and on the following hand the player who paid, gets the button. |
| buy the pot | To make a wager when other player at the table are not betting in order to force them to fold and take the pot. |
| call | This simply means to either match a bet or a raise. |
| call the clock | This is to dissuade players from taking to long when it's their turn. For it to come into effect one of the other players at the table needs to call the clock and from that point onwards the player in question has a set amount of time to make their move o |
| calling station | A derogatory term for a player who is always calling and never raising. |
| cap | An arbitrary limit to the amount of times players may raise in a given round. Also an object placed on top of a players cards to indicate that they are still involved in the hand. |
| cap game | A no limit or pot limit game with a limit on what a player may wager in a single hand. |
| cards speak | A game where all players reveal their hands at the showdown with the highest hand taking the high pot and the lowest the low pot. It also refers to the practice of misleading other by verbalizing your apparent hand, cards speak is the casino policy of al |
| cash game | Cash games, 'ring' games and 'live action' games are poker games where real money is at stake, there is no time limit and players may come and go as they please. |
| cash plays | When a player has requested to buy more chips and so can be with cash until his chips arrive. This is usually announced by the dealer. |
| catch | To get the cards you need on a draw. |
| catch perfect | To get the only two hands that will complete your hand, normally in Texas hold 'em with a straight flush. |
| catch up | To defeat a player with a stronger hand on the draw by getting the cards you need. |
| center pot | In a table stakes game of poker this is the main pot when there are one or more players who are all in. |
| chase | Calling a bet with a drawing hand against the pot odds in order to see the next card. Can also mean to carry on playing a drawing hand over more than one betting round. Carrying on with a less than strong hand due to the fact that you have already put chi |
| check-raise | The act of checking early in an effort to make another player open, and then raising after they have opened. |
| check | This either refers to a casino chip or to not wagering anything. |
| check out | To fold when it is your turn even though there is no wager currently on you. |
| chip-race | Usually done in poker tournaments with ever-increasing blinds, it is the practice of getting rid of the smaller denomination chips from the table by cashing them in for higher denomination chips. This will reduce the physical stack size of all players. |
| chip | Small metal or clay tokens used as stand ins for money at casinos and poker tables. |
| chip declare | In a split-pot game this is to let the table know that you will be playing either high or low. |
| chip dumping | The act of two players working in cahoots, usually in the early stages of a poker tournament. They will go all in, making other players fold and then choose to split the pot. |
| chip leader | The player currently holding the most chips in a tournament (or occasionally a live no limit game). |
| chip up | Exchanging lower chips for the equivalent in higher chips during a poker tournament. Also refers to the slow but steady gaining of chips from low-risk small pot wagers. |
| chop | Splitting the pot for whatever reason is to chop it. Also, changing a large chip for smaller ones or an agreement between players in a poker tournament, more often than not in the final round, to divide the pot according to an agreed upon ratio. |
| chopping the blinds | The practice of folding to and removing the blinds before the flop, bringing a close to the round. This is not permitted in poker tournaments or in online poker. |
| closed | A round is said to be closed when a player calls but the player immediately after him was the last player to raise. |
| coffee housing | This is talk during a game that is purposefully geared at misleading opponents as to the strength of a players hand. |
| cold call | This is calling an amount that refers not only to a single bet, but to the sum of bets or raises. |
| cold deck | When a 'stacked' deck, which is a deck that has been prearranged in a certain way to give a certain outcome, is switched with the real deck, thus affecting the outcome of a proper game it is a cold deck. |
| collusion | When two or more players play together in an attempt to cheat the table. |
| color change, color up | Changing up smaller chips for larger ones. |
| combo, combination game | A table at which a set of different poker varieties are played continually in rotation. |
| come bet, on the come | When a drawing hand wagers or raises, helping to raise what is in the pot because the player anticipates filling the draw. |
| community card | Any card that is placed face up on the table and made available to all players is called a community card. This comes form community card poker varieties such as Texas hold' em where players assemble their hands against each other based on the community c |
| complete hand | See made hand. |
| completion | Raising a small bet so that it becomes equivalent to a bet of normal size. |
| connectors | This refers to two or more cards that follow in rank, one from the other. |
| continuation bet | This is a wager placed in Texas and Omaha hold 'em by a player who, before the flop, took the lead as far as wagers are concerned. |
| cooler | Another synonym for a cold deck, which is a pre-arranged deck that has been switched with the proper deck in order to control the outcome of a game. |
| countdown | Carrying on with the cards that are left in the stub after all the other cards have run out. |
| counterfeit | See counterfeit. Also "duplicate". |
| cow | The act of sharing a buy-in with a player with a view to also sharing the winnings is commonly referred to as 'going cow'. Cow is the player with which this arrangement has been made. |
| cripple | In community cards crippling the deck is when you have a hand that no-one can ever hope to match. |
| crying call | Calling when you do not think your hand is the strongest. |
| cut | see cut |
| cut card | A plastic card shaped object placed at the bottom of the deck so as not to give away the bottom card. |
| cutoff | The seat to the right of the dealer in a game of poker. The player in this position is usually the one who cuts the cards in home games. |
| dark | Announcing information about what action you are taking before getting information that you are allowed. |
| dead blind | A blind that does not allow the player who posted it to raise his bet if other players at the table should choose to call. |
| dead button | This rule decides where the button should be placed in the event that a player (who is either in the button or the blinds) gets eliminate. The rule states that the big blind is to be posted by the following player and the small blind and button are to be |
| dead hand | A hand that has been disqualified. This occurs when the player with said hand has committed some sort of foul. For example touching another players cards, holding too many cards or running out of time when another player has called time on you. |
| dead man's hand | A two-pair hand consisting of aces and eights. Gets its name fro the legend of Wild Bill Hickok who is siad to have been holding this precise hand when he was killed. |
| dead money | Money in the pot that is not part of what currently active players have contributed to it. |
| deal | The sharing out of cards at the beginning of each round of play according to the rules of the game being played. An agreement players may reach between themselves to share the prize money out differently to the set payouts of the competition. Also used as |
| deal twice | When two players are vying for the pot in a cash game and of of them has gone all-in, sometimes they can agree to 'deal twice' or 'play twice'. If one player wins both deals he takes the whole pot, if each wins one they share the pot. |
| dealer's choice | A poker variation where the dealer may choose or invent a new variety to be played on each subsequent hand |
| dealer | The person who has been assigned to distribute the cards in a game of poker. |
| declare | To voice an action or plan. |
| deuce | A 2 card, (also referred to as a duck, a quack, or a swan, more generally it can be used to refer to any use of the number 2, eg, a 2 dollar chip etc. |
