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
Range
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Merged range
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Polarized range
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In the notation Ax the x is assumed to be
Suited
Fifth Street
AKA The river. The final community card
Fish
A fish, aka recreational player, is a less-experienced, weaker player when compared to someone who regularly plays poker.
Flush Draw
A flush draw is when you have four cards of the same suit and only need one more card to complete the flush, which is five cards of the same suit.
Fold
When you surrender your hand and exit a pot, that action is known as folding.
Forced bet
A forced bet is a mandatory wager in the first round of betting. It occurs in different forms in poker variants, such as ante, blind, or bring-in.
Four of a kind
A 4-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of 4 of the same ranking cards
Fourth Street
AKA the turn. Fourth street is the fourth community card.
Full house
A hand with three-of-a-kind and another pair. Expressed as (trip rank) full of (pair rank)
GG
Commonly used in online poker games, GG means “good game.”
GTO poker
“Game Theory Optimal,” a theoretically mathematically perfect way to play poker.
Gunshot
A gutshot refers to a straight draw with four outs, which needs one of the middle cards of the straight to come in. For example, 6♠5♥3♣2♥ represents a gutshot straight draw, needing a four to come in to complete the straight.
Heads-up
Refers to a pot or game involving only two players.
Hole cards
Cards that are dealt face-down and only seen by the player to which they’re dealt are known as hole cards. In Texas Hold’em, each player is dealt two hole cards.
Inside Straight
An inside straight is a type of hand in poker when the player has four of the five cards needed for a straight but is missing the one in the middle.
Kicker
A kicker, also referred to as a side card, is a card that does not take part in determining the rank of the hand. However, a kicker may be used to break ties between equally ranking hands. In this scenario, it would be the next highest card.
Limping
When a player opens the preflop betting round by calling, instead of raising, that player is said to be limping, or limping in.
Muck
Under dispute: Surrendering your hand at any time is known as mucking. Muck and “fold” can be used interchangeably, but you can also muck at showdown.
No Limit
Games that allow players to bet their entire stack at any time are played with a No-Limit betting structure.
Nuts
The nuts is a popular term used to describe the best possible hand once all the cards are dealt. This can be anything from the top set possible to a royal flush. The nuts is a hand that can’t be beat.
Open
An open, aka open raise, refers to when a player raises a pot after no other player has previously called or raised. An open is also sometimes known as “raise first in.”
Open-Ended-Straight-Draw
A straight draw with eight outs, needing a card to complete one end or the other, is known as an open-ended straight draw. For instance, 6♠5♥4♣3♥ represents an open-ended straight draw, needing a seven or a two to make the straight.
Outs
An out is a card that turns your holding into the winning hand. For example, if you hold A♠K♥, your opponent holds Q♠Q♥, and the board reads J♠9♥6♣3♥, the aces and kings remaining in the deck are your outs.
Over card
An over card is any card that you can pair that’s higher than a card on board. So for example, if you have King-Queen on a flop that’s ten high, you have two over cards, as either card would give you the top pair on board if hit.
Pocket Pair
A pocket pair is when you are dealt two cards of the same ranking in your starting hand, such as 6-62 or Jack-Jack. They make a good starting point for a hand.
Poker rooms
Poker rooms are the locations in casinos where they spread poker for the public. It’s a specific section of tables that run poker cash games or tournaments. The term can technically apply to online websites as well, but it most often describes physical rooms, like these 10 best poker rooms in Las Vegas.
Pot limit
Pot-limit (PL) is a betting structure that allows a poker player to bet or raise any amount between a set minimum bet and the current pot size.
Pot odds
Pot odds are the ratio between the total pot size and the size of the bet.
Quads
Another way of saying four of a kind in a poker game
Rake
The house cut of any cash game pot or tournament entry fee is known as the rake.
Rebuy
A rebuy is when a player busts out of a tournament but they want to buy in again for the same amount as the original buy-in. Players will receive a fresh stack of chips, and usually keep their seats. This is different from a re-entry event, where a player gets a brand-new seat.
Ring game
A ring game is another term for a poker cash game. The key is that it’s not related to a tournament in any way. Ring games often come with looser rules, with no set time or number of hands to finish, and can apply to any poker game.
River
The fifth and final community card placed faced up on the table in Hold’em
Royal Flush
Under dispute: A royal flush is one of the best possible hands in poker. It is a set of cards that are all of the same suit while also being the most valuable cards (ace, king, queen, jack, and ten).
Satellite
Satellite tournaments award entry to larger buy-in tournaments as prizes, rather than cash.
Semi-Bluff
Seems odd: A semi-bluff is a bet made when a player doesn’t have a high-value poker hand, but can still win the pot by getting their opponents to fold to their bet.
Short handed
Short handed describes any poker table that isn’t fully seated with nine players. Short handed is most often seen in six-max tournaments or cash games, and is usually more popular in online formats. It can also describe a tournament table that has seen multiple knockouts.
Side pot
The side pot is separate from the main pot. Only actively betting players can play for it, while any remaining players that have gone all-in can only win the main pot.
Small Blind
The small blind is a forced bet placed by the player to the left of the dealer button. The big blind (referenced above) is then posted by the next player to the left. In general, the big blind equals the minimum bet and the small blind is typically half the amount of the big blind.
Split pot
A split pot is when the pot is evenly divided among the winners.
Squeeze
Raising against a previous raiser and at least one caller is known as squeezing
Straddle
Some cash games allow players to post a blind bet, at least double the big blind amount, before the cards are dealt. This action is known as a straddle.
Straight
A straight is a poker hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, but of different suits.
Straight flush
A straight flush is when a player has a hand consisting of five sequential cards of the same suit.
Three bet
The first re-raise in a pot is known as a three-bet. Raising against a three-bet is known as a four-bet, raising a four-bet is called a five-bet, and so on.
Three of a kind
A 3-of-a-kind is a poker hand consisting of 3 of the same ranking cards.
Top pair
Top pair is the best possible pair on the board. It’s not often the winning hand, but is usually a strong hand to have after the flop comes down. If you pair the top card on board but then a higher card comes, you no longer have the top pair available.
Under the gun
Being “under the gun” (UTG) is a reference to the position immediately left of the big blind. It occurs in flop games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker. This means that the under the gun player is the first to act before the flop. The term acknowledges the pressure that goes along with acting before anyone else.
Value bet
A value bet aims to prompt another player to call. You should only make value bets when you think you have the best hand.
VPIP
VPIP is a popular term in poker analytics and it stands for Voluntarily Put in Pot. A player with a high VPIP is very active preflop and is more likely to put chips into the pot outside of the forced blinds. Meanwhile, a player with a low VPIP is often seen as tight and plays only premium cards.
Pocket rockets
Pocket aces
