Poker Terms Flashcards
Broadway
Ace high straight
Royal flush
The best straight flush, AKQJ10
ABC poker
Playing sound, basic strategy. Tight, aggressive play and solid pre-flop hand selection. Usually wins low stakes games
Ace High
The best non-made hands. Contains an ace and other cards.
Add-On
CLARIFY: An add-on is used in rebuy tournaments as a way to give players more chips when registration closes. Every player has the option to spend a certain amount of money (usually a set fraction of the buy-in) in order to get more chips to add to their stacks. The add-on is optional and never required, but often recommended.
All-In
Putting all your chips in the pot. In no limit you can go all in at any time.
Angle Shooting
Actions that are against the rules or ethically frowned upon. For example, pushing a bet toward the pot, then pulling it back.
Ante
Forced bets that are made before any cards are dealt
Backdoor Draw
When the flop gives you three cards to a straight or flush, you hold a backdoor draw. Backdoor draws require both the turn and river to complete the draw.
Bad Beat
One of the most frequently used terms in the game; a bad beat happens when a hand that’s a big mathematical favorite ends up losing.
Bankroll
Bankroll is the amount of money a player has in their “bank” that they can spend specifically on poker. It’s essentially the amount of money that a player has set aside to use for buy-ins, either for tournaments or for cash games. Proper bankroll management is essential for players, especially starting out.
Belly Buster
A belly buster, or double gunshot, is a straight draw that doesn’t include consecutive cards and can be completed by two different rank cards.
Big Blind
The big blind is a mandatory bet that rotates around the table after each hand. The amount of the big blind determines the stakes of a game, as well as the minimum-allowed bet.
Blinds
The big blind is a mandatory bet that rotates around the table after each hand. The amount of the big blind determines the stakes of a game, as well as the minimum-allowed bet.
Bluff
Betting with a hand that’s likely not going to win unless you get your opponent to fold. Bluffs should be played the same way you would play a strong hand.
Bluff Catcher
A bluff catcher is a hand that’s played as a call, in an effort to catch your opponent bluffing.
Board Cards
Board cards are the opposite of hole cards. They are the community cards in games like Omaha and Texas Hold ’em, that are shared cards. They are the flop, the turn, and the river.
Button
Also known as the “dealer button” or “dealer,”, the button is a position at the poker table that always acts last in every postflop betting round. When you’re on the button, you’re said to be “in-position” on all other players.
Buy in
The cost of entering a poker game.
Call
A call matches the amount of the previous highest bet.
Calling Station
A poker term used to describe a player who consistently calls bets but rarely raises, regardless of the strength of their hand.
Check
If there’s not a bet to call, you can check, passing the action to the next player without putting money in the pot.
Check-raise
A check-raise is a deceptive poker strategy in which a player checks early in a betting round. The hope is to allow another player to open before further raising the bet in the same round.
Community Cards
Community cards are cards that are available for every player, or face up cards, in the pot to use as part of their poker hand. Community cards are mostly used in hold’em games.
Q: are these different than board cards?
Connectors
Connectors are cards that you can use together in order to make a straight. For example, 7-6 of hearts would be called a “suited connector”, because you’re more likely to make both a straight and a flush with that type of hand. Connectors are a popular hand for many to play.
Continuation Bet (aka c-bet)
When the player who made the last raise preflop also makes the first bet after the flop, that bet is known as a continuation bet or c-bet.
Dead Man’s Hand
Dead Man’s Hand is the nickname used to describe a specific combination of two pairs: aces and eights. It’s called that because it was supposedly the hand held by Wild Western gunfighter Wild Bill Hickock when he was shot dead at the table.
Deuce
Deuce is a popular slang word to describe a “2” card in poker, like the two of spades or clubs. This term is used most commonly in poker alternates where cards that are twos (also known as deuces) are wild, and therefore can be played as any card.
Donk bet
When a player other than the preflop aggressor makes the first bet postflop, that bet is known as a donk bet.
Down cards
The down cards are another way to describe the main board of cards used by all in poker: the flop, the turn, and the river. There are five in total, and a player can use them in any combination to make the best five card hand.
Drawing Hand
A drawing hand is one that is not currently made, but can improve on future community cards like the turn and river. This term is most often used to describe a hand that’s looking for a flush or a straight, as those are the two most common draws in poker
Effective Stack
When two players are in a pot, the smaller stack represents the maximum amount either player can win. This amount is called the effective stack.
Equity
Equity refers to the mathematical chance a player has to win a pot. For example, in a preflop all-in battle between pocket aces and pocket kings, the aces have 81.9% equity
Expected value
In its most basic usage, EV is the value of your decision in a poker hand or situation over time.
MTT
Multi Table Tournaments