Glossary of Poker

Poker is much more than a card game; it is a true language. To fully understand and master this game, it is essential to know the specific terms used. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, discover the keywords of poker in this guide.

Learning the Poker Vocabulary

When learning poker, it is useful to familiarize yourself with some specific terms related to the game:

Showdown: the moment in the game at the end of the fourth betting round, where the winner is determined among the players still in play.
Buying the button: betting or raising to encourage the players between the button and yourself to fold.
Buying the pot: bluffing by betting and hoping not to be called to win the pot.
Action: the moment to act for the player.
All-in: betting all your chips.
Ante: a small forced bet for one or all players in play, before the cards are dealt in certain variants of poker.
Rainbow: a flop consisting of three different suits or a five-card hand containing at most two cards of the same suit, which do not form any flush.
Suited: a starting hand consisting of two cards of the same suit (diamonds, hearts, clubs, or spades) in Texas Hold’em.
Backdoor: getting the desired cards to form a hand on the turn and the river.
Bad Beat: an initially “unfavorable” hand that ultimately beats a favorite hand.
Blank: a community card that does not change the players' hands.
Blind: a partial or total forced bet for two players before the cards are dealt.
Bluff: betting or raising with a hand weaker than that of one or more other players, hoping to force them to fold.
Button: a marker that indicates the dealer's position.
Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank.
Burn: discarding the top card of the deck face down.
Calling station: a type of passive player who often calls but rarely raises or folds.
Cap: maximum limit for a withdrawal.
Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
Scare card: a card capable of turning the best hand into a weak hand.
Free card: a card revealed after a betting round where the player could check, without betting, to see the card “for free”.
Community cards: cards placed face up on the table and shared by all players, in Texas Hold’em and Omaha games. They can also be called “board cards”.
Hole cards: cards dealt face down to players.
Player's cards: the player's personal cards.
Check-raise: checking, then raising after another player's bet.
Check: not betting, without folding, to see if other players also check or bet.
Cold call: following multiple bets during the same betting round.
Connectors: two cards whose values are consecutive in a starting hand in Texas Hold’em.
Counterfeit: a counterfeit hand is a hand that loses value on the turn or river due to duplicates.
Pot odds: comparison between the value of the pot and the amount the player must pay to stay in the game.
Implied odds: odds that can be determined and taken into account before the pot odds.
Crack: to beat a very strong hand.
Dealer: the player who deals the cards or the croupier in casinos.
Second pair: a pair formed with the second best card of the flop and a personal card.
Top two: two pairs formed with the two personal cards of the player and the two best cards of the flop.
Shared two pairs: a hand comprising two pairs, each constituted of one card from the flop and one personal card.
Offsuited: an offsuited starting hand is a hand of two cards of different suits in Texas Hold’em poker.
Stakes: the rule stating that a player can only use the money in front of them on the table to play a hand. If a player runs out of chips to continue betting, a side pot may be created that this player cannot claim.
Exploit the deck: to have the cards that a player would like to see on the ongoing flop.
Dead hand: a hand that cannot be played, for whatever reason.
Favorite: the hand that statistically has the best chance of winning the pot.
Flop: the first three community cards revealed on the table.
Free roll: a tournament where players can participate without paying an entry fee.
Heads-up: situation where only two players remain in play.
Jackpot: reward sometimes paid to the loser if they had a very strong hand.
Best hand: the best possible hand with the board.
Play the board: going to showdown with personal cards that do not improve the hand made with the five board cards. If multiple players play the board, the pot will be split between them.
Kicker: a standalone card used to break ties between two equal-strength hands.
Complete hand: a five-card hand (straight, flush, full house, or straight flush).
Maniac: a player who tends to bluff, bet, and raise aggressively.
Muck: a pile of “burned” and discarded cards.
No limit: a poker variant where players can bet as much as they want.
One-gapper: a starting hand consisting of two cards that are separated by one rank.
Option: a raise that is double the big blind, generally made by the player sitting to the left of the big blind.
Out: a card that allows the player's hand to win the pot.
Outrun: beat.
Overcard: a card whose value is higher than the cards on the table.
Overpair: a pair in hand whose value is higher than the other cards on the table.
Low pair: a pair made with the lowest card on the board.
Pocket pair: a starting hand forming a pair in Texas Hold’em poker.
Fold: to discard your cards rather than calling or raising, forfeiting your chances of winning the pot.
Call: to match another player's bet, even if the odds of beating them are low.
Pot limit: a variant of poker in which players are not allowed to bet more than the amount in the pot.
Family pot: a pot in which all players have called before the flop.
Split pot: a pot split between multiple players because they have equal-strength hands.
Price: the pot odds to be defined to call or draw.
Protect blinds: putting more money in the pot to avoid losing the blinds already paid.
Rake: the amount taken from each pot by the dealer to generate revenue for the card rooms.
Rank: the numerical value of a card.
Raise: to bet more than the current bet.
Represent: to play in a certain way to make it seem as if you have a certain hand.
Ring game: a poker game where real money is bet.
River: the fifth community card placed on the table, face up.
Runner-Runner: a hand obtained by hitting the right cards on the turn and river.
Semi-bluff: a concept created by David Sklansky, which involves betting or raising in the hope of not being called, while still having a starting hand that could improve, in case other players call.
Rock: a type of player who plays tight, only raising with very strong hands.
Smooth call: to call.
Slow play: to play passively so that other players continue to bet when holding a strong hand.
Spread-limit: a betting structure in which players can bet any amount, as long as it falls within a defined range in each betting round.
String bet: to bet or raise by placing chips in multiple motions.
Call: to bet an amount equal to the last bet or raise.
Board: the set of five community cards placed face up on the table in a game of Texas Hold’em.
Tilt: an unthinking and reckless way of playing.
Inside straight draw: waiting for a card of a specific value to complete a straight.
Drawing dead: waiting for a card to get a hand that cannot win the pot.
Draw: to play a hand that needs improvement, but could become a strong hand if the right cards are hit.
Toke: a small tip that the winner of the pot gives to the dealer. Generally, these small amounts constitute a significant part of their salary.
Top and bottom: two pair consisting of the player's two hole cards, the highest community card, and the lowest community card.
Hit: when the flop contains cards that improve a player's starting hand, it is said that they have "hit the flop".
Turn: the fourth community card.
Under the gun: the position of the player sitting to the left of the big blind, who will be the first to act during the betting round.
Underdog: a hand or player that has little chance of winning the pot.
Value: betting for value means that the player wants their opponents to call their bet because they have a good hand.
Selling a hand: betting less than the maximum sum in spread-limit to entice other players to bet when holding a very strong hand.

By understanding the vocabulary of poker, you are now better equipped to follow games and engage with other enthusiasts. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, knowing these terms will allow you to appreciate the world of poker even more. Now check out our selection of video poker!