Poker Terms
Written by the CardsChat Editorial Team
This poker glossary will give you definitions of a list of terms, abbreviations and acronyms that are commonly used in poker (including some specific to online poker). Poker terminology can seem daunting to new players. Our guide to the terms you need below will help you through the learning curve and get you talking like a poker pro in no time!
1-10
6MAX
6 maximum players
A
Add-on
In tournament play an opportunity to purchase additional chips regardless of your chip stack. This is usually offered only once after the first break/end of the rebuy period. The add-on usually offers more chips per dollar than the original buy-in and rebuys.
Adding-On/Add-On Period
“Adding On” to a tournament stack during the “Add-On” period (in a re-buy tournament)
AF
Aggression Factor
AI
All-in
AIPF
All-in pre-flop
All-in
To have all your chips in the middle; to bet everything you have left.
American Airlines
A poker nickname for a pair of aces, most commonly used when a player in Texas Hold’em has pocket aces.
Ante
A small bet that increases in increments with the blinds. It usually begins mid-way through a tournament to build the pot.
ATC
Any Two Cards
Ax
Ace with a 2nd card
B
B&M
Brick and Mortar (a physical, land-based casino or poker room)
Backdoor
A draw that requires two cards in a row to complete, e.g. having three of one suit on the flop in hold ’em means you have a backdoor flush draw: you will have a flush if two more of that suit come on the turn and the river.
Bad beat
A losing a hand that you were a (big) favorite to win, “I suffered a really bad beat when I moved all-in with my pocket aces and John hit his runner-runner flush”
Bankroll
The overall amount of money that a player has available to wager.
BB
1. Big Blind, the person two places left of the dealer has to put in an amount of chips before the cards are dealt. This amount is usually (but not always) twice the size of the small blind (SB).
2. Big Bet, most limit poker games double the bet sizes on the last betting round(s). The larger bet sizes are called “big bets.” See also SB.
B/C
Bet and Call
BDFD
Backdoor Flush Draw
BDSD
Backdoor Straight Draw
Bet
To put chips into the pot. Only used for the first such action during a betting round; the others may either “call”, “fold” or “raise.”
B/F
Bet and Fold
Big blind special
When the player in the big blind position hits a good flop or wins a hand despite holding bad cards. This is because, with chips already in the pot, the big blind is more likely to see a flop holding poor cards than any other position.
Big Slick
A nickname for AK.
Bingo Poker
Derogatory term for a poker game where the players have no skill, or perhaps a tournament where the blinds increase too quickly, meaning players are generally relying on luck to win any given hand.
Blank
A card that didn’t help you (and likely didn’t help anyone else).
Blind
1. The small and big blinds that are put into the pot before the cards are dealt, “I raised from the button, hoping to steal the blinds”
2. The person in one of the blind positions, “the big blind re-raised”
3. The relative position (which is always the first two after the dealer), “I don’t play QJo from the blinds”
4. In a live game, to make a move without looking at your cards, “I only had a few chips left so I went all-in blind from early position”
Bluff
Betting or raising in hopes of your opponent(s) folding, as you do not believe that you have the best hand. See also “semibluff”.
Board
The shared community cards in Hold’em and Omaha, e.g. the flop, turn, and river. “the board paired, giving me a full house against his flush”
Boat
A hand that consists of three of a kind and a pair, e.g. A-A-K-K-K. If two people both have full houses, the one with the higher trips win. Also known as a full house. “I flopped a boat, and decided to slowplay it”
Bot
A computer program that plays poker online with little or no assistance from a person.
Bottom Pair
A pair using the lowest card on the flop.
Bounty
Prizes awarded for eliminating players from a tournament.
Bring in
A forced bet in stud games.
Broadway
An ace-high straight (10, J, Q, K, A, non-suited). A Broadway is the highest straight in poker.
Bubble
The last spot in a tournament before payouts begin, or the person who finishes in that spot.
Bullets
1. Aces
2. Refers to how many times a player has bought into a tournament, via rebuys or re-entries.
Burn
The top card that is discarded from the deck before dealing any community cards is referred to as the burn card and is discarded to safeguard against players accidentally seeing the top card.
Bust, Go Bust, Busted
1. When a bluffing player is called and loses the pot.
2. Could also refer to getting a great hand busted by a player on the come.
3. To lose or have lost all of one’s chips, money, or bankroll.
Button
1. A little marker showing who’s currently the dealer. This person has the advantage to always act last (not in Stud). A person can be said to be “on the button”, as in “I was on the button and looked down to see pocket nines in the hole”
2. The dealer position.
3. The player in the dealer position, “the button raised and we all folded”
Buy-in
1. The amount of chips you buy to join a ring game, “my usual buy-in at a $3/$6 table is $600.”
2. The cost or entry fee of a tournament, “the main event at the WSOP has a $10,000 buy-in.”
Buying the button
When your bet or raise makes all players behind you fold, giving you last position (a huge advantage). “My raise on the flop bought me the button, so I could take the free card on the turn”
C
Call
To match someone else’s bet, as opposed to raising or folding. “He went all-in, and with the odds I was getting, I had to call despite probably having the worst hand.”
Calling Station
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn’t raise or fold much. Hard to bluff.
Cap
In a game with limited raises, to put in the last raise permitted on a betting round (typically the third or fourth raise).
Case
The last card of a certain rank in the deck. For example if 3 Q’s are already in the game the 4th Q is the case queen.
Cash game
A regular poker game for cash, that you can join or leave at any time, as opposed to a tournament. A ring game.
Catch
To get one of the cards you needed to win the hand, “I caught the 9 on the river, giving me the nut straight”
Chase
To call with the worst hand, hoping to improve. Often used in a derogatory sense, to mark someone as desperate. “You just keep chasing those inside straights, kid – it will bust you eventually”
Check
To stay in the hand without betting – can only be done if you’re first to act, or if no one else has yet bet (if they had you could only call, raise or fold). “On the river, I knew he wouldn’t call with a worse hand, so when he checked, I just checked behind”
Check-call
When you check, a player acting behind you bets, and you call their bet.
Check-fold
When you check and then fold after a player acting behind you bets.
Check-raise
When you check, someone else bets behind you, and then you raise when the action gets back to you. “I check-raised her on the flop with my top pair”
Chip dumping
A form of collusion between two or more players, where some players deliberately lose chips to their ‘partners’. In a tournament, the winner ends up with all the chips from the other colluders increasing their chance of cashing. The winnings are then split among the colluders.
Chip leader
The player currently holding the most chips in a tournament.
Chop
An agreement by all players remaining in a tournament to divide the remaining money in the prize pool, usually in proportion to their current chip stacks.
CK
Check
CO
The position to the right of the button. See “cut-off”.
Cold streak
The opposite of a hot streak – when someone is getting a bad run of cards, they are said to be on a cold streak, “I won a lot of hands early on in the tournament, but then I went on a cold streak and eventually had to go all-in with rags to survive”
Cold-call
When one person bets, another raises and you call both the bet and the raise, you are said to be cold-calling. This is usually done only with monster hands or very powerful draws, as most other holdings should usually be either raised or folded at these times. “John raised pre-flop from under the gun, and I cold-called with my KQ-suited”
Collusion
A form of cheating involving two or more players working together in some way.
Combo Draw
Having multiple draws at the same time.
Continuation bet
A bet made on the flop by the player who was the preflop aggressor.
Cooler
When two very strong hands are involved in a big pot (e.g., KK gets coolered by AA when AA wins)
Counterfeit
If I hold A-A in the hole in hold’em, and you have 3-6, with a board of 3-6-9-K-9, you will have had two pair on the flop, but I will have made a better two pair on the river. The 9 on the river is said to have “counterfeited” your hand. A similar situation can happen with low or medium pocket pairs, say 6-6 on a board of 7-7-8-8-Q, where the board makes it easy to beat a hand that was strong on the flop.
Cowboys
Slang for a pair of kings, most commonly used when a player in Texas Hold’em has pocket kings.
CR
See check-raise.
Cut-off
The seat just to the right of the button is called the cut-off. The second-to-last position in a hold’em game.
D
Dead
A tournament chipstack that is undefended (i.e. the player is registered but not seated), or a space on a tournament table that is empty but considered to be occupied in terms of position of button and blinds.
Dead Man’s Hand
Two pair, Aces and Eights. Derives from speculation that it was this hand (in black suits) that Wild West legend Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot and killed at the poker table.
Dead Money
1. An inexperienced player who has little to no chance of winning.
2. Money in the pot that was contributed by players no longer in the hand.
Dead outs
Outs which improve one players hand, but at the same time give their opponent a stronger hand. For example, if a card completes one player’s straight, but gives a flush to the other, that card is considered a dead out to the first player.
Deuce
A poker player’s way of saying “a two,”, e.g. “the deuce of hearts came on the turn”
Dime
Dime is a common slang term used in gambling and other activities that are involved heavily with money. The 10 cent coin is used to describe one thousand dollars (e.g. 10 x hundreds). A “big dime” would refer to $10,000.
Dog
The player with the lowest chance of winning hand; an underdog. “When she called my all-in and showed a higher set, I was a 43-1 dog to win; only the remaining five could help me”
Donk
1. A bad player, or a good player who suddenly did something stupid. “I played that hand like a complete donk”
2. To bet from out of position. “I donked the ace on the turn, hoping that the player behind me who raised on the flop would fold”
Donk Stack
A large tournament stack won by a poor player using dumb luck, and considered vulnerable to a more skilled player.
Double-up
When a player goes all-in, is called by a bigger stack and wins the hand, thus doubling their stack.
Draw/drawing
To check or call bets with a hand that is unlikely to be the best at the moment, but has chances of improving with the cards to come. “I flopped a straight draw, but on the turn I realized my opponent was drawing as well, so I raised them on the river and they folded”
Drawing dead
When no remaining cards can give you the best hand, you are said to be drawing dead. “I hit my straight on the river, but the big blind had flopped the nut flush, so I had been drawing dead the whole time”
Dry pot
A side pot containing no chips, created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised.
E
Effective Stack
The actual number of chips played for in a hand between players with unequal stacks. E.g. one player has a 12,000 chip stack and the other player has a 6,000 chip stack. The effective stack is 6,000 since that is the most that either player can win in the hand.
EP
Early position.
Equity
Your share/value of a pot. If the pot contains $100, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $50 equity in the pot. How to calculate equity.
EV
See “expected value”.
Expected Value
Expected value is the average outcome in terms of chips or money earned when taking into account the probability of certain events.
F
Fake Think
When a player makes it appear they are thinking long and hard about a decision for a given hand, when in truth the decision is already made, they are just acting as part of some greater purpose.
FD
Flush draw.
FE
See “fold equity”.
Fifth street
The last card dealt up in Hold ’em or Omaha (also known as the river), or the third card dealt up in 7-card stud.
Fish
A common (derogatory) term for bad players. By the same token, good players are sometimes called sharks, because they prey on the fish.
Fixed Limit
Any poker game where the betting is restricted to predetermined units, as opposed to no limit or pot limit.
FL
See “fixed limit”.
Flat call
To just call a bet when one might be expected to raise.
Float
Calling a bet without particularly strong cards, usually on the flop, in order to take the pot down later in the hand (perhaps with a bluff, or by improving your hand using the cards to come).
Flop
1. The first three community cards in Hold ’em and Omaha that are dealt face up at the same time (followed by the turn and the river). “The flop showed a king, a nine and a deuce, so unless someone had a set, I believed my pair of kings to be good”
2. The verb used to describe hitting a hand on the flop: “I flopped the nut flush – now I just needed to keep the opponents in the hand so they could pay me off”
Flush
A hand that consists of cards that are all of one suit. A flush is better than a straight but worse than a full house.
Fold
To surrender your cards and quit the current hand.
Fold Equity
The extra value you get from betting when it may force an opponent to fold.
Four-bet (4bet)
In any given betting round, the 4th bet (but 3rd raise), or the raise of the re-raise.
Four-of-a-kind
Exactly what it sounds like: For instance 2-2-2-2-7 is a four-of-a-kind hand. The only hand that beats four-of-a-king (or quads) is a straight flush.
Fourth street
The fourth card dealt in stud poker, and the next community card after the flop in Hold ’em and Omaha (where it is also known as the turn).
FR
A full ring game (generally 9 or 10 seats in No Limit Hold’em)
Free card
When everybody checks and the next card is dealt without any chips being bet, that is called a free card. “I checked, intending to check-raise the preflop raiser with my vulnerable top pair. Unfortunately, she checked behind and I ended up giving her a free card which gave my opponent a flush”
Freeroll
1. When a player can’t lose, but can improve to win more of the pot. For example, if a player has at least half the pot won in a Hi/Lo split game, and is now drawing to win the other half, they can be said to be on a freeroll.
2. Similarly, if two players with AKs get all their money into the pot before the flop, but one of them flops three to a flush, they are on a freeroll. They can’t lose, with half the pot guaranteed, but could still win it all.
3. Sticking with the “can’t lose, but can win it all” definition, there are popular online tournaments that are provided by poker rooms and poker sites which cost nothing to enter. These tournaments award cash prizes, are essentially a marketing tool, and are called freeroll tournaments or freerolls.
Freeze-out
The most common form of tournament. Once you’ve lost all your chips, you’re out. As opposed to re-buy or re-entry tournaments.
FT
Final Table.
Full house
A hand that consists of three of a kind and a pair, e.g. A-A-K-K-K. If two or more players each have a full house, the one with the higher trips win. Also called a boat.
G
Grinder
A grinder is a player who “grinds out” a profit over the long haul. This player is not a showboat or a loose cannon but rather does what it takes to make even a modest profit over the long term.
Guarantee
A tournament prize pool in which a certain amount is guaranteed to be paid out by the House. If not enough players register to cover the guarantee, it must still be honored (see “overlay”).
Gutshot
Drawing to a straight with one of the middle cards missing, e.g. if you have 9-7 in the hole in Hold ’em, and the flop shows 6-10-A, an 8 would give you a straight. This is called a gutshot straight draw (also inside straight draw). “Because there were so many people in the hand, I easily got the odds to continue with my gutshot”
H
Hand history
The written history of a hand (or hands) played.
HE
Common acronym for Hold ’em.
Heads-up
When there are only two players at the table, they are said to be playing heads-up. “Johnny and I got heads-up after Tim lost with his pair of jacks to my pocket queens.” A hand where everyone has folded except for two people is sometimes called a “heads-up pot”. “I suspected Johnny was attempting to steal the blinds, so I three-bet him, hoping to isolate him and take the pot heads-up with him”
Heater
Another term for a hot streak.
HH
See “Hand History”.
High-card hand
A hand without a pair, straight or flush is called a high-card hand. For instance, having AQ on a K-8-7-5-2 board is a high-card hand (ace-high). The worst hand in the hierarchy of poker hand rankings.
Hijack
The seat just to the right of the cut-off, two off the button.
Hole, hole cards
The cards that are dealt face-down to you in Hold’em, Omaha or SStud.
HORSE
A mixed game incorporating Holdem, Omaha/8, Razz, Stud and Stud Eight or better.
Hollywood
To take extra time to make a decision and act like you don’t know what you are doing, or that you are not sure of your hand; usually to try to trap your opponent.
Hooks
Slang for a pair of jacks, most commonly used when a player in Texas Hold’em has pocket jacks.
Hot streak
Catching great cards and winning big pots due to luck, variance or statistical fluctuation (no, hitting your flush draw three times in a row is not skill). Also known as a rush. The opposite of a cold streak.
House
The entity that is the host of the game, usually a casino or poker room.
HPFAP
Common acronym for David Sklansky’s and Mason Malmuth’s influential book “Hold ’em Poker for Advanced Players”.
HR
Hourly Rate. How much you win in a cash game over time, often described as big blinds per hour.
HU
Acronym for heads-up.
HUD
A Heads Up Display, sometimes used in online poker to collate and display information on player habits and tendencies.
I
ICM
The “Independent Chip Model”, a mathematically advanced model for calculating equity in late stage tournament play, which takes matters such as payout jumps into account.
Implied Odds
Pot odds that do not currently exist, but may be included in your calculations because of chips you expect to win if you hit your hand.
In the money (ITM)
To place high enough in a poker tournament to win prize money.
Inside straight draw
Drawing to a straight with one of the middle cards missing, e.g. if you have 9-7 in the hole in Hold ’em, and the flop shows 6-10-A, an 8 would give you a straight. This is called an inside straight draw (also see “gutshot”).
J
Jam
To move all-in in a no-limit (or pot-limit) game.
K
Kicker
A hole card which does not formally change the rank of a hand is called a kicker. In Hold ’em, holding KT on a board of K-J-6, you are said to have a pair of kings with a 10 kicker. If someone else also has kings, it’s the rank of the kicker that decides who wins. “I decided to raise. There was a definite chance that they were bluffing, and even if they weren’t, I still had 3 outs to pair my kicker and take down the pot”
L
Lag, LAG
1. A “loose aggressive” style of play in which a player plays a wide range of starting hands and makes many raises in hopes of out-playing their opponents.
2. A loose aggressive player.
Lpa, LPA
A “Loose Passive” style, or player who adopts that style. Sometimes known as a “calling station”, they will often call but rarely raise, making them difficult players to bluff.
Laydown
Folding a good hand when you think your opponent has you beat.
Leak
A systematic mistake that a poker player makes is called a leak. This is because the mistake is costing them (leaking) money in the long run. “One of my biggest leaks was to constantly be folding overcards in a big pot on the flop”
LHE
Acronym for Limit Hold ’em.
Limp
To just call the big blind instead of raising it is known as a limp. “There were three limpers to me on the button, and I decided to raise with my pair of jacks”
Lock
A hand so strong that it’s either impossible, or at least highly unlikely, that it can lose no matter what comes on the coming streets. Having a lock on the pot means that it’s time to figure out how to extract the most money out of the other players in the hand.
Lojack
Slang term for the seat before the hijack.
Loose
A style of play that plays a wide range of hands. The opposite of tight.
Lowball
Any form of poker where the winning hand is the lowest possible hand, rather than the traditionally highest ranking poker hand.
LP
Late Position.
Luckbox
Mildly derogatory term for player who frequently gets lucky.
M
Made hand
A hand with more than high-card value, e.g. pair or up, which doesn’t need to improve to have a good chance of winning the pot. Usually used as the opposite of a draw: “I check-raised the flop with my flush draw figuring I could get my opponents to lay down if they missed, but when Johnny made it three bets to go, I was sure he had a made hand”
Maniac
Popular way to describe a very loose player who will seemingly bet or raise with any hand. “I really wanted to isolate the maniac, but unfortunately the big blind decided to come along too”
Micro-Limits
The lowest stakes available. Usually $.5-.10 and lower are referred to as “micro-limits” online.
Move in
To go all-in.
MP
Middle Position, or the players in the 3 to 5 seats off the button at a full table.
MTT
Multi-table tournament.
Muck
To fold your cards, or the actual pile of discarded cards at a physical poker table. “If your cards touch the muck, they’re considered dead and you’re out of the hand”
N
NFD
Nut Flush Draw.
Nit
A tight-passive player that does not take risks and is typically easy to read.
NLHE
No-limit Hold ’em.
No-Limit, NL
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips that they have when it is their turn.
Nuts
The strongest hand possible. Someone with the best possible hand is said to be holding the nuts. The best possible hand is always at least a set, but the nuts can change as more cards are dealt.
O
O8
Omaha 8-or-Better (also known as Omaha Hi/Lo or Omaha split).
OESD
Open Ended Straight Draw.
OESFD
Open Ended Straight Flush Draw.
Offsuit
Two hole cards that are not of the same suit. Popularly denoted “o”, as in AKo.
Omaha
A four-card variant of Hold’em, where two hole cards must be used with three community cards. Omaha can be played as a split hi-lo game, and is often played for pot limit stakes.
On the come
To bet or call with a draw. “On the flop, I thought he might be betting on the come with a flush draw. When the third heart came on the turn, I was willing to lay my pair down”
OOP
Out Of Position. Acting before your opponent(s).
Open
To bet first.
Open-ender/open-ended
A straight draw where a straight can be made if a card on either side of the sequence of 4 cards is drawn from the deck. For example, holding a combo of 4-5-6-7, you would make a straight if either the 3 or the 8 were to come.
Open Faced Chinese Poker, OFC
A short-handed, poker-related game in which players make multiple poker hands, face-up. Played for points, there are no betting rounds in OFC.
Open-limp
Being the first person to call preflop, but not raise.
Open-shove
Being the first person to bet, and going all-in.
OPP
Opponent.
OS
Offsuit.
Out
Even if you currently do not have the best hand, there may be ways for you to get the best hand at the table. A card that will give you that hand is called an out. If you have no outs, you are said to be drawing dead.
Overcall
On the river (or on 7th street in Stud), when someone bets and another player calls, you have to have a very strong hand to make an overcall, or to be the second person to call the first player’s bet. It’s possible that the person who bet is bluffing, but the first caller must have a hand which beats a bluff, at the very least.
Overcard, Overcards
Cards that rank higher than the cards on the board. For example, if the board shows 10-5-3, and you have AK, you hold two overcards.
Overlay
When the amount of buy-ins in a guaranteed tournament does not cover the guaranteed amount. In the case of an overlay, the House pays the difference between the buy-ins and guarantee, making it a good value tournament for players.
Overpair
A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop.
P
Pair
Two-of-a-kind. A pair is beaten by two pair, and can only in turn beat a high-card hand.
Passive
A style of play characterized by checking and calling, with little raising.
PF
Pre-flop.
PFR
Pre-flop Raise.
PFR%
Pre-flop Raise Percentage.
PL
Pot-limit.
PLHE
Pot-limit Hold ’em.
PLO, PLO8
Pot-limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha 8-or-Better.
Pocket pair
A pair in the hole in hold’em. “I had pocket jacks, but had to fold when the flop came A-K-7 suited”
Pocket Rockets
A pair of aces as your hole cards.
Position
Each player’s turn in the betting order is a different position. Being in first position means that you act first in the betting round, while being in last position means you act last. Having position, or acting after an opponent, is a tremendous advantage.
Pot
The chips that can be won. The player who shows down the best hand at the end, or who can make all the others fold, wins the pot.
Pot Odds
The amount of chips in the pot compared to the amount you must put in to continue playing. Comparing pot odds to the odds of hitting an out can help determine whether a call is correct or not.
Pot-Committed
A situation where you feel obliged to call with the rest of your stack because of the large size of the pot, the amount you have already put in, and the small size of your remaining stack.
Pot-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may raise up to the amount of chips in the pot whenever it is their turn to act.
PP
Pocket Pair.
Pre-flop
The point where players already have their pocket cards but no flop has been dealt yet.
Push
To go all-in.
R
RA
Rebuy/Add-on.
Rag
A low or insignificant card. “I started making serious money from poker when I learned not to play Ace-rag from early positions”
Rail
1. The spectator area of a poker room or game.
2. To watch a poker game without playing in it yourself.
Rainbow
When the cards on the board are all of different suits, it is said to be rainbow. “The flop came A-K-5 rainbow” means that the ace, the king and the five were all of different suits.
Raise
To increase the amount of the existing bet. “It was folded to me in the cut-off, and so I raised with a mediocre hand, hoping to steal the blinds”
Rake
The money that a poker room (or poker site) charges per pot. It’s usually a small percentage of the pot, 5% or so, with a clear maximum. It varies between different rooms and sites, so it pays to look into how much it costs to play at each site.
Rakeback
Payment to a player of a portion of the rake paid by that player, usually from a third-party source such as an affiliate.
Read
Having a read on someone means that you’ve picked up on something significant about the way they play. “From a read I picked up earlier, I knew that he slow-played trips on the flop, so his bet did not mean that he had the case 8. Instead, he was likely either semi-bluffing a draw or he was betting a small pocket pair. I raised”
Rebuy
1. An option to buy back into a tournament after you’ve lost all your chips, usually within a limited time-frame, restricted in number and limited by the size of your stack (i.e. you may be able to rebuy for 2 hours, up to 3 times each, and only when you have under 1,000 chips).
2. In a cash game, buying back into the game after “busting”.
Represent
To attempt to make your opponents believe you have a particular hand – often a strong hand when you are weak, or a weak hand when you are strong. “When the flop came all hearts, I bet out to represent strength”
Re-raise
If you raise another player’s raise, you are said to be re-raising.
Ring game
As opposed to a tournament, a ring game is played for the chips in each pot, not prizes awarded to the highest finishers. Players can leave whenever they like and cash in their chips. A cash game.
River
The last card dealt up. This is fifth street in Hold ’em and Omaha, and 7th street in Stud.
Rock
A very tight player is often called a rock. When a rock raises, you’d better have a strong hand to call or re-raise them.
ROI
Return on Investment.
ROW
Rest of the World.
Royal Flush
A Royal Flush is the highest possible straight flush, involving the 10, J, Q, K A of the same suit. The best hand in poker.
Runner-runner
When you need, or catch, ideal cards on both the turn and river to make your hand. Catching two cards in a row that you need to make a straight, for example, is called catching a runner-runner straight.
Running bad
When statistical fluctuations cause you to get bad hands and lose money. Also called a “cold streak”.
Rush
A run of good fortune or results. See “hot streak”.
S
S&G, SNG, Sit And Go
Sit and Go tournament. These begin as soon as the required number of players have registered, rather than at a specific time.
Sandbag
Synonymous with check-raising someone, “Sandbag” has a slightly negative feel to it, often used to imply there’s something unethical about this play.
Sandwich
To trap someone (or be trapped yourself) between two raisers. This can get very expensive for the person who is sandwiched.
Satellite
A tournament in which the prize is entry into another (larger) tournament.
SB
1. Small Blind, the player one position left of the dealer, who has to put in a predetermined amount of chips before the cards are dealt. This amount is usually (but not always) half of the size of the Big Blind.
2. Small Bet, how much you’re allowed to bet in the first rounds of limit poker.
SC
See “Suited Connectors”.
Scarecard
A card which likely completes someone’s draw. If you have been (falsely) representing a draw to this hand, a bet when the scarecard falls can win you the pot.
Scoop
To win both the Hi and the Lo in a split game.
Semi-bluff
Betting or raising on the come. The idea behind this tactic is that the combined chances of you hitting your draw and your opponent folding makes it profitable.
Set
A pair in the hole that gives you three-of-a-kind with one card on the board.
SF
Shootout
A poker tournament format where the last remaining player of a table goes on to play the remaining players of other tables, until a final table is reached.
Short Stack
A stack of chips that is relatively small for the stakes being played and/or compared to other’s chip stacks.
Shorthanded
A less-than-full table. A full table is usually 9-10 players, so anything less than that can be considered shorthanded.
Shove
Yet another term for all-in.
Showdown
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over to determine who has the best hand and wins the pot.
Side pot
When there are three or more players in a pot and one of them is all-in, a sidepot can be created by the players who still have chips. Since the all-in player is not entitled to win more of their opponents’ chips than they have put in, their opponents can gamble for the sidepot created by their surplus.
Sit Out, Sitting Out
To take a break from a cash table (removing one’s chips from play and not paying blinds or being dealt cards, but possibly retaining one’s seat), or not being present (seated) at a tournament table but continuing to pay blinds in one’s absence – a frequent occurrence online.
Slowplay
To check and call with a made hand, instead of betting or raising. Most often used as a way to trick opponents into thinking your hand is weaker than it really is.
Smooth call
Calling a bet or a raise with a strong hand, when one might usually expect you to raise.
Soft-Play
To go easy on another player at the table (e.g., not betting or raising against them). Considered a form of collusion.
Splashing the pot
In brick and mortar poker, when a player drops their chips into the pot in an unorganized manner which wouldn’t allow the other players to confirm the player is contributing the proper amount. Usually considered to be in poor taste.
Split Pot
A pot that is shared by two or more players because they have the same winning hand, or a pot split between the high and low hands in a hi-lo game.
SSHE
“Small Stakes Hold ’em”, an influential book by Ed Miller, David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth.
Stakes
A term which covers the amount one buys in for (“I sat down with my $100 stake in front of me”), the size of the blinds (“the stakes were $1/2”), or the way one can bet (“they were playing limit stakes, so I tried to find a no-limit table”).
Steal
Raising with a worse-than-usual hand, usually from late position, in an attempt to make everyone fold so one may pick up the blinds uncontested.
Straddle
In some ring games, an optional extra blind, at least twice the size of the big blind, posted by the player in the first position after the BB (UTG). This is considered a live blind, so if it has not been raised by the time the action passes back to the UTG player, they may check or raise. Straddles are rarely an option when playing online.
Straight
A hand where the five cards have consecutive values, e.g. 4-5-6-7-8, 10-J-Q-K-A, or A-2-3-4-5. A straight can not go “over the ace”, however, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Straight draw
Having 4 cards to a straight.
Straight flush
The strongest hand in poker. A straight with all the cards in the same suit.
STT
A single table tournament.
Stuck
Someone who has lost money is said to be stuck. “I was going to leave sooner, but I was stuck $130 and I wanted to win some of that money back”
Stud
A form of poker involving some cards face-up and some face-down, with no communal cards. Seven Card Stud is the most commonly played form of Stud poker today, and is called Razz when played for low, and Stud Eight-or-Better when played as a split game.
Suckout
When someone draws against the odds to beat your hand and hits, you are the victim of a suckout. It is also sometimes used about a person, “You’re such a suckout!”
Suit
Clubs, Spades, Hearts or Diamonds.
Suited
When cards all share a suit, they are said to be suited. “the flop came 6-7-8 suited. Someone had to have a strong draw, but it wasn’t me – I folded”
Suited Connectors
A pair of hole cards that are of the same suit and also in sequential rank, for example 8-9 of clubs, or J-Q of hearts. Good drawing potential.
T
TAG
1. Tight Aggressive player
2. Playing in a Tight Aggressive style
Tank
To become quiet and pensive for a time while making a decision.
Tell
A poker tell is a noticeable mannerism or a quirk in someone’s behavior that signals the strength of their hand.
Third street
The first face-up card in Stud.
Three-bet
The first reraise in a betting round (as it is the third bet after 1) the initial bet and 2) the raise).
Three-of-a-kind
A hand where three of the cards have the same value. This hand is stronger than two pair, and weaker than a straight.
Tight
A playing style where only good starting poker hands are played, and few risks taken.
Tilt
Going on tilt or tilting is when, often due to a bad beat, a suckout or series of losses, you’re not thinking straight. Your judgment gets clouded and you begin making the wrong decisions.
Top kicker
The best possible kicker for a given hand.
Top Pair
A pair using the highest card on the flop.
Top Set
Three-of-a-kind using a pair in the hole and the highest card on the board.
Top Up
Buying chips on a cash table to bring one’s chip stack up to the table limit.
Tournament
As opposed to cash games. A tournament can have any number of entrants, and any number of buy-ins, but once started you’re there until you’ve either been knocked out or won it.
TPFAP
The book “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players”, by David Sklansky.
TPTK
Top Pair, Top Kicker
Trap
When you slowplay a big hand in order to get someone else to make a big bet (typically making someone bluff at the pot), you’ve set a trap.
Trey
What poker players call a 3.
Trips
In flop games, three-of-a-kind using one or no hole cards in combination with the board. Otherwise, synonymous with three-of-a-kind.
Turn
The fourth community card in Hold ’em and Omaha, after the flop and before the river.
Two pair
A hand like A-Q-Q-6-6, with two pairs of matching cards. This hand is stronger than one pair, and weaker than three-of-a-kind.
U
Under the gun, UTG
The position at the table just left of the big blind, e.g. the first person to act pre-flop in Texas Hold ’em and Omaha.
UTG+1, UTG+2
The table positions immediately following the player under the gun. For example, UTG+1 represents the position one place left of UTG; UTG+3 would be the position three places to the left.
Underdog
A person or hand which is statistically less likely to win a pot, or a tournament.
V
Value bet
A bet made by a player with a good hand, who wants it to be called.
Variance
A measure of the up and down swings your poker bankroll goes through. Luck.
VP, VPIP
Voluntarily Put Money In Pot. A key metric displayed in a poker HUD, which conveys information regarding how generally tight or loose a player is.
W-Z
W
Won money at showdown, as used in hand histories or compiled play statistics.
WA/WB
Way ahead/Way behind
Wheel
The lowest straight – A-2-3-4-5. In O8, this hand is likely to win both the Hi and the Lo, because it’s the lowest possible hand while simultaneously having very strong high-hand potential. Some lowball games disqualify hands which are flushes or straights, in which case the Wheel would be 2-3-4-5-7.
WLLHE
“Winning Low Limit Hold ‘Em”, a beginner’s strategy book by Lee Jones.
WPT
The World Poker Tour.
WR
Win Rate
WSD
Went to Showdown. An abbreviation one might find in a hand history.