Poker glossary
206 poker terms explained in plain words
A
- ABC PokerA basic winning poker strategy in which opponents’ images are taken into account only in general terms (regular, fish, maniac). It is used at the micro stakes or when playing…
- Add-onA purchase of additional chips in certain types of tournaments that can be made with any stack size at a strictly defined time. Unlike a rebuy, an add-on is usually allowed only…
- AirA situation where a poker player has no made hand at all. When people say a player was playing air, they mean he had nothing. Players usually stay in a hand with air in only two…
- All-inThe largest possible bet, equal either to the player’s entire stack or to the part of it that matches the largest stack among the opponents. When going all-in, a player puts all…
- AnteA mandatory bet that every player in the game must post before the cards are dealt. The size of the ante can range from 1/8 to 1/4 of one bet. The main purpose of this bet is to…
- Autoresponder (Calling Station)A weak, loose-passive player who often responds to opponents’ bets by calling. Such a player rarely bets and folds only the weakest hands. A calling station will never let go of a…
B
- BackdoorAn unfinished straight or flush that needs two specific cards to complete. For example, if a player holds Jh Kh and the flop comes 3d 8h Ts, they have a backdoor flush draw – a…
- Bad BeatA situation in poker where a player who started with the stronger hand loses to a player whose weaker hand unexpectedly improves and wins. For example, the first player with AA…
- BadugiA relatively young poker variant that combines features of draw poker, lowball and hold’em. Hands are made from four hole cards, there are no community cards, and players can draw…
- BetThe first bet in the current round. A bet is possible only if no one before the player making it has put money into the pot in this betting round. Preflop, the mandatory big blind…
- Betting RoundA stage of the game in which the players in the hand take turns making one of the following actions: fold, call, check, bet or raise. A betting round ends when all players have…
- BlankA board card that doesn’t improve any player’s hand and gives them no additional outs. For example, if one player holds Kh Ah, another holds 5d 6c, and the board is 4h 7h Jc, then…
- BlindA mandatory bet in poker that players post before the cards are dealt. The players in the positions that post these “blind” bets are also called blinds. Blinds are used in poker…
- Blind DefenseA preflop call or re-raise of an opponent’s bet from the small or big blind. Instead of folding and giving up, the player in the small or big blind defends his forced bet by…
- Blind LevelThe size of the small and big blind at the current stage of a poker tournament. In tournament poker the blind level increases regularly after a set amount of time or a certain…
- BluffA poker player’s action meant to show that their hand is stronger and to make opponents fold, while actually holding a weaker hand. Bluffing is an essential part of optimal…
- Bluff CatcherA very weak hand that can beat only an opponent’s bluff on the river. It can be a low pair or even just high card, such as an ace or a king. If a player calls an opponent’s bluff…
- BoardThe cards on the table that all players can use to make their hands in community-card poker variants. For example, in Hold’em and Omaha these are the flop, turn and river cards.…
- Bottom PairA pair made from the lowest-ranked card on the board and one hole card, or a pair of two hole cards of the same rank that is lower than the lowest card on the board. For example…
- Bounty TournamentsA type of multi-table tournament in which, in addition to the main prize pool, players receive an extra reward for eliminating each opponent. This reward, called a bounty, can be…
- BroadwayThe name of the ace-high straight: T J Q K A. Broadway is therefore the highest possible straight. The cards that make up Broadway are called Broadway cards. A distinction is also…
- BubbleThe stage of a poker tournament at which the last player to miss the prize zone is about to be eliminated. After the bubble bursts, every remaining player is guaranteed prize…
- Bubble BoyA player who is eliminated from a tournament on the bubble. In other words, the last player knocked out before reaching the prize zone. So in a tournament with 50 paid places, the…
- BumhuntingSelectively playing only against weak opponents. When bumhunting, a player looks for tables with so-called “fish” in order to profit at the expense of recreational players. Many…
- ButtonThe position of the player sitting in the dealer’s seat. In live games, the dealer chip itself is also called the button. The button is considered the most profitable position in…
- Buy-inThe amount of money required to enter a poker tournament or cash game. This money is usually exchanged for chips for convenience. In a tournament, buy-ins make up the total prize…
C
- CallA player’s action during a betting round that consists of matching the bet made by previous players in the hand. A call lets a player stay in the hand with minimal investment. To…
- Calling StationA slang term for a weak player who mostly just calls opponents’ bets and raises but almost never bets himself. Such loose-passive players fold only their weakest hands, which is…
- Cash GameA poker format that usually has no time limits and lets players sit down at the table or leave it at any moment. Unlike a tournament, where chips have only nominal value and the…
- Cash-outThe process of withdrawing money from a player’s account at a poker room. Withdrawals are usually allowed only to the payment method that was used to make the deposit, i.e. to…
- CheckOne of the possible actions during a betting round, meaning passing the turn: the player stays in the hand but puts no chips into the pot. A check is only possible if there have…
- Check BehindA poker action in which a player in position checks after an out-of-position opponent has checked. “Behind” literally means “after”, which fully explains the meaning of the term…
- Check/CallA poker action in which a player out of position checks and then calls after the opponent bets. Check/call is considered a weak line, because with a strong hand the player should…
- Check/RaiseA poker tactic in which a player out of position checks and, if the opponent bets, raises in response. The goal is to induce the opponent to bet while holding a strong hand, in…
- Chinese PokerA card game based on poker hand rankings. Chinese Poker was originally considered a purely recreational game. In recent years, however, more and more tournament series have been…
- ChipA small round disc used in live poker instead of money. Chips replace money at the poker table for several reasons: they are more convenient to use, harder to counterfeit and…
- Chip LeaderThe player with the biggest stack at the table in cash games or tournaments. The term is most often used for the player with the most chips in a tournament, since it is in…
- Coin FlipA situation in a poker hand where two players with roughly equal chances of winning go all-in. “Coin flip” literally means tossing a coin, where heads and tails have equal…
- Cold CallA call by a player who hasn’t yet put any money into the pot in the current betting round, when there has already been a bet and a raise from different opponents before him. For…
- CompleteA preflop action by the small blind player: adding enough chips to match the size of the big blind when there have been no raises before him. For example, at an NL200 cash table…
- ConnectorsTwo hole cards of consecutive ranks. For example, if a player is dealt 67 preflop, he holds connectors. Connectors have an advantage over unsuited non-consecutive cards, because…
- Continuation BetThe first bet in the current betting round by the player who was the aggressor on the previous street, also called a c-bet or conbet. For example, preflop Hero raises from the…
- CoolerA situation in which both players are dealt very strong cards and are forced to get all their chips in, but one of them wins by making a stronger hand. In a cooler both players…
- CutoffA poker position to the right of the dealer button. A player in the cutoff has the second-best position at the table, behind only the button. Literally, “cut-off” means “to cut…
D
- Dead MoneyA pot made up of the blinds and/or money from weak players that nobody is contesting. In other words, it is a pot that can easily be won through aggression alone, regardless of…
- DealerA poker term with two meanings. In online poker, the dealer is the latest position at the table, relative to which the blind positions are determined. In live poker, the dealer is…
- Discounted OutsAll of a player’s outs except the cards that won’t make his hand the best or that will simultaneously improve the opponent’s hand to the best one. For example, Hero holds 2c 3c…
- Dominated HandA hand with one card of the same rank as one of the opponent’s cards and a second card lower than the opponent’s corresponding hole card. Because the player with the dominated…
- Donk BetA bet out of position, usually small, made postflop by a player who was not the preflop aggressor. In other words, a donk bet is a bet made without the initiative, which is why it…
- DoperA slang name for two pair, often used by experienced poker players. This combination is made from two hole cards of different ranks and two board cards of the matching ranks. For…
- Double BarrelA continuation bet on the turn after a first bet was made on the flop. The second barrel is often used as a bluff, since this move represents a very strong hand. If the opponent…
- DownswingA period during which a poker player loses because of bad luck. Such “losing streaks” happen in poker because of the influence of variance on results. During a downswing the…
- DrawA hand that can turn into a very strong combination if the draw “gets there”. If the cards needed to complete the strong combination don’t come on the turn or river, such a hand…
- Draw PokerAny poker variant in which the player receives all his cards before the first betting round. On the following betting rounds players can exchange some or all of their cards for…
- Drawing DeadA situation in poker when a player cannot make a better hand than their opponent on the remaining streets, no matter what cards come. For example, Player 1 holds Ah Qh, Player 2…
- Dry BoardA board texture on which drawing hands are completely or almost completely impossible to make. Such boards consist of unsuited, unconnected cards. An example of a dry board: 8d Qh…
E
- EdgeA term that literally means “advantage”. In poker it refers to one player’s higher skill level compared with their opponent. To have an edge means to have an advantage over your…
- EquityThe share of the pot a player is due to win, which depends on their chance of winning. For example, if you have a 50% chance of winning, your equity is also 50%. Equity is a key…
- Expected Value (EV)The expected profit from a particular action in a specific hand. It is not necessarily positive; it can also be negative if the player makes a mistake while playing the hand. EV…
F
- Fast PokerAn online poker format in which a player who folds is immediately moved to another table where a new hand begins. Fast fold may be unavailable if the player is in the blinds and…
- Final TableThe last table of a multi-table poker tournament, where the remaining players gather. The number of players at the final table can range from 6 to 10 depending on the event…
- FishA player who sees poker not as a source of income but as entertainment. For such players poker is a way to have a good time, and they are willing to pay for it. Fish are the main…
- Fixed LimitA poker variant in which the bet size is equal to the big blind. Limit poker games are no different from no-limit ones except that you cannot bet any amount you like, including…
- FloatA line in which a player first calls an opponent’s bet and then bets themselves with a not-strong-enough hand to take the pot with a bluff. This move works well against opponents…
- FlopThe second street in community-card poker variants, when the first three cards are dealt face up on the table. After the community cards are revealed, the second betting round…
- FlushA poker hand made up of five cards of the same suit. In strength, the flush ranks sixth, beating high card, one pair, two pair, three of a kind and a straight. Depending on the…
- Flush DrawAn incomplete flush consisting of 4 cards of the same suit. That is, a flush draw becomes a flush if at least one card of the needed suit comes on the following streets. For…
- FoldOne of the possible actions during a betting round in poker, in which a player discards their cards and thus drops out of the current hand. All bets this player has made stay in…
- Fold EquityThe probability that an opponent folds in response to a bet or raise. Fold equity is one of the most important factors an aggressive player must consider before bluffing or…
- Free CardThe chance to see the next card on the turn or river without having to bet. For example, if in a heads-up pot the first player checks on the flop, the second player gets the…
- Free PlayA situation in poker when the player in the big blind can see the flop for free after one or more players in the hand have limped. The player doesn’t need to call or raise – they…
- Free PokerPlaying poker without having to invest money. You can play for free in various online apps or in poker rooms using play money, which is topped up if you lose it all. Free poker is…
- FreebuyA tournament that combines the features of a freeroll and a rebuy tournament. This means you can enter a freebuy for free, but if you lose your stack, you can buy a new one, this…
- FreerollA multi-table tournament you can enter for free or by paying the registration with special points. Such tournaments have a guaranteed prize pool – usually a small amount of money…
- FreezeoutThe standard tournament format in which a player who loses all their chips is eliminated, with no option to buy another stack. Most tournaments are held in this format, including…
- Full HouseA poker hand made up of five cards, three of which share the same rank and the other two are also of equal rank to each other. For example, the hand is 6d 8s and the board is 6h…
G
- Gapped ConnectorsA starting hand of two cards whose ranks are separated by one or more ranks. For example, K J is a gapped connector, because the sequence K J is split by the queen. Such hands are…
- GrinderA professional poker player who plays regularly and for long hours (grinds), making a living this way. Grinders could also be winning players at higher limits, but they prefer to…
- GutshotA straight draw that needs one specific card to complete. A gutshot is also often called an inside straight draw because of how it is built: the missing card is in the middle of…
H
- HandA poker player’s hole cards. In Texas Hold’em a hand consists of two cards, and in Omaha of four. There are several types of starting hands: pairs, connectors, suited, offsuit and…
- Heads-UpA one-on-one poker format, or a situation at a table with several players when only two players remain in the hand. Many professional players consider heads-up the most difficult…
- High CardThe term for the weakest hand in poker. It consists of five cards of different ranks. If two or more players have high card, the winner is determined by the highest-ranked card.…
- High RollerA poker player who plays the highest stakes, both live and online. High rollers may play tournaments with huge buy-ins as well as cash games with big blinds. The most expensive…
- Hit and RunA situation in poker when a player who has sat down at a cash table leaves it right after winning a big pot. The poker community considers this behavior a breach of etiquette, but…
I
- Implied OddsThe amount you expect to win if the outs you need come on the later streets of the hand. Knowing your implied odds helps you make the right decision about when it is profitable to…
- In PositionA term describing a player who acts after their opponent. Being in position on another player means being in a later position and acting after them postflop. A player in position…
- InitiativeThe display of the most aggression by one poker player compared with the other players in the hand. The initiative belongs to the player who made the last aggressive action (bet…
- Instant BetA bet made instantly, without any thinking. This move is used to represent a very strong hand and force the opponents to fold.
- IsolationAn aggressive action, usually a raise, aimed at forcing one or more opponents to fold so as to play heads-up against one of the players in the hand. For example, one of the…
- ITMA term for the prize zone of a poker tournament. A player who makes it ITM (“in the money”) is guaranteed a cash prize, and the higher they finish, the bigger the reward. ITM is…
J
K
L
- LAGA loose-aggressive poker player who plays a wide range of hands preflop through open raises and 3-bets. To use this style effectively, a player must be excellent at postflop play.…
- Lead BetA postflop bet by a player out of position, intended to take the initiative away from the preflop raiser. A lead bet is an excellent way to protect yourself against a continuation…
- LeakA mistake that a poker player makes regularly and that reduces his earnings. Eliminating all leaks from your game can significantly increase your win rate. To find and fix leaks…
- LimitThe stake level at cash tables, expressed in monetary terms. A limit can be written in two ways: as the buy-in size or as the size of the small and big blinds. The buy-in is…
- LimpCalling the big blind preflop when no previous player has raised. The main goal of a limp is to see the flop cheaply with hands that are not good enough. However, if there are…
- LimperA player who enters the hand by calling the big blind preflop. There can be several limpers in one hand if each of these players matched the bet preflop by completing to the big…
- Loose StyleA poker playing style in which a player plays a wide range of hands preflop. As a result, this leads to rather difficult postflop situations that require a high level of skill to…
M
- M-RatioA metric showing the ratio of a player’s stack to the forced bets, including blinds and antes. M shows how many orbits (from the small blind to the button) a player can survive in…
- Made HandA poker hand that already has showdown value at the moment and doesn’t need additional cards to complete a combination. Such a hand can still improve on later streets: for…
- ManiacA player who prefers a very aggressive and loose style. A maniac plays lots of hands already preflop, trying to push his opponents out of the hand and take the pot. Such a player…
- Middle PairA pair made with one hole card and a board card of middle rank. For example, holding 4d 8d with a board of Ks 8c 2h, you have a pair of eights, and since the eight is the…
- Middle PositionThe seats at a poker table between the early and late positions. Middle position is abbreviated “MP”. At a full table (9-max), middle position is occupied by the three players to…
- Monotone BoardA board texture on which relatively strong hands, such as top pair, lose their potential to become winning hands. For example, an Ah Kh 9h board is much less favorable for the…
- MonsterA very strong hand that in most cases wins for its holder. Preflop, the best pocket hands – AA and KK – are considered monsters. Postflop, a full house or better is usually…
- Monster DrawA drawing hand that, with one needed card on the turn or river, can improve to both a straight and a flush at the same time. A monster draw has 15 outs to improve, making it the…
- MTTA multi-table tournament (MTT) is a poker tournament whose participants play at several tables simultaneously. As players are eliminated, the number of tables shrinks until only…
- Multiway PotA pot contested postflop by three or more players. For example, if preflop a player in the UTG position limps, the other players fold, the small blind calls and the big blind…
N
- NitA player who prefers a very tight style. He takes part in a hand only when he is almost certain he will win. For example, a nit will raise preflop only with QQ, KK, AA and perhaps…
- NotesShort notes about a poker player containing the key information about his style, way of playing and tendencies. At a table of evenly matched players, a player who has notes on his…
- NutsThe strongest possible hand at a given stage of the game with specific board cards. On different flops the nuts can be completely different hands, ranging from a set to a Royal…
O
- OffsuitA term for cards of different suits. It is usually applied to describe starting hands in poker. Offsuit hole cards are marked with a lowercase “o” (short for “offsuit”); for…
- OmahaThe second most popular poker variant after Texas Hold’em. Its main feature and difference from Hold’em is that each player is dealt four cards, but only two hole cards are used…
- Open RaiseOpening the betting with a raise preflop. This action means being the first to voluntarily enter the betting (not counting the forced blind bets) by raising. That is, if nobody…
- Open-Ended Straight DrawA straight draw missing the first or last card of the sequence that would complete the straight. For example, the player holds 3h 4c and the flop is 2h 5d 8h. The player has an…
- OutAny card in the deck that will improve a player’s hand to a winning one. For example, if a player holds 5h 6d and the board is 7d 8c Ks, they have 8 outs (four fours and four…
- Out of PositionA term for a player who, in the current betting round, is in an earlier position than their opponent, i.e. has to make a decision first. Postflop, the small blind, or the first…
- OverbetA large bet that is bigger than the current pot. In poker this action is usually considered suboptimal, since it makes players with weaker hands fold and brings no profit. For…
- OvercallCalling a bet after a player who has already called a bet or raise from a previous player in the hand. An overcall is made only with the strongest hands, since this action creates…
- OvercardA card whose rank is higher than the highest card on the board. A board card can also be called an overcard if it ranks higher than the player’s highest card. For example, Hero…
- OverlayA situation in a poker tournament where the players’ buy-ins do not cover the prize pool announced by the organizers. An overlay is possible only in tournaments with a guaranteed…
- OverlimpCalling the big blind preflop after one or more players have already entered the hand by limping. This action is usually considered suboptimal, since an overlimp builds a multiway…
- OverpairA pocket pair made of cards ranked higher than the highest card on the board. An overpair is considered a very strong hand, since opponents without a made pocket hand cannot make…
P
- PFROne of the statistics that shows how often a player raises preflop (Pre-Flop Raise). It counts any bets made voluntarily preflop (raise, 3-bet, 4-bet), so the small and big…
- Play MoneyVirtual, non-real money in poker. Poker rooms offer play money games so that users can get familiar with the client’s interface and features before playing for real money. Playing…
- Pocket PairA pair dealt to the player as his hole cards. For example, if a player is dealt 33 preflop, he is said to have a pocket pair of threes. A pocket pair is the only made hand…
- Poker RoomAn online site that lets internet users from all over the world play poker for money. A poker room is the virtual counterpart of “live” poker clubs. You can play in a poker room…
- Poker TrackerA program that collects and analyzes statistics from played hands and presents information about the user and their opponents in an easy-to-read form (graphs, reports…
- PositionA player’s seat at the poker table relative to the dealer button. Since the button and the blinds move one player clockwise every hand, positions change as well. All positions at…
- PostflopThe stage of play in community-card poker variants that begins when the first three cards appear on the board. Postflop includes play on each of the following streets: flop, turn…
- PotThe common money on the poker table, made up of the individual bets of each player. The pot is taken by the winner of the hand. If two or more players have identical hands at…
- Pot ControlA playing tactic aimed at keeping the pot small when holding hands that are not strong enough. Pot control is mainly achieved through a passive line: check-calling out of…
- Pot OddsThe ratio of the pot to the size of the call needed to stay in the hand. By comparing pot odds with the chances of winning, a player decides whether to call the opponent’s bet or…
- Pot-LimitA betting structure in poker in which the maximum bet or raise cannot exceed the size of the pot. For example, if the pot is $50, a player cannot bet more than $50. Compared with…
- PreflopThe first stage of a poker hand, when the community cards have not yet been dealt to the table. Preflop begins when the dealer deals the hole cards to the players. This stage…
- PushA poker action in which a player puts all of their chips at stake. The term is usually used in tournaments rather than cash games and refers to an all-in bet by a short-stacked…
Q
- Q-RatioA tournament poker metric showing the ratio of a player’s stack to the average stack of all tournament participants. A low Q below 1 means the player’s stack is below average…
- QuadsA poker combination of four cards of the same rank, also known as four of a kind. It is the third-strongest of all combinations, beaten only by a Royal Flush and a Straight Flush.…
R
- RainbowA poker term for a board made up of cards of different suits. A flop with no two cards of the same suit makes neither a flush nor even a flush draw possible. An example of a…
- RaiseIncreasing the bet after one of the previous players has bet. Preflop, the first voluntary putting of chips into the pot counts as a raise, because the first bet is the big blind.…
- RakeThe share of the pot at cash tables that is taken by the poker room as a commission for its services. Rake is usually charged only on pots that reach the flop, so no commission is…
- RakebackA refund to a poker player of part of the rake they have generated. Rakeback is an important part of playing poker, since a player can earn extra money regardless of whether they…
- RangeAll the hands an opponent can have at the current moment of play. The opponent’s hand range is the most important factor determining a player’s further actions. Poker also has the…
- RankA card attribute that shows its value. In card notation the rank is written as the first character and the suit as the second. For example, 7d is a card of rank 7 in the suit of…
- RazzA poker variant in which each player receives seven cards and the hand is won by whoever makes the weakest hand by classic poker standards. Straights and flushes do not count in…
- Re-RaiseAnother increase of the bet after a previous player has already raised. A re-raise is also often called a 3-bet, because it is the third bet in the current betting round. For…
- Re-StealA raise in response to an opponent’s steal. The purpose of this bet is to defend the blinds against attempts to steal them from late positions. Opponents will often try to steal…
- RebuyBuying a stack again in a poker tournament after the initial stack has been completely lost. To rebuy, a player pays the buy-in amount and receives the starting number of chips.…
- RegularA player who plays poker regularly. The term is usually combined with a specific stake, for example “PLO50 regular” is a player who constantly plays Pot-Limit Omaha at cash tables…
- Reveal (Showdown)The final stage of a poker hand, in which the players still in the hand show their hole cards and the holder of the strongest combination takes the pot. If there was no aggressive…
- RiverThe final betting round in community-card poker variants, when the last, fifth card is placed on the table. The river is the third postflop street and the last chance to complete…
- RNGA random number generator: a device that produces random sequences of numbers, which are converted into the order of cards in the deck of an online poker room. In other words, the…
- RockA tight-passive player who sticks to their chosen strategy and never deviates from it. Such players cannot be made to change their tactics, just as a rock cannot be moved. A rock…
- ROIOne of the most important statistics for a tournament player, showing how profitable their game is. ROI (return on investment) is the ratio of winnings to buy-ins spent and is…
- Royal FlushThe strongest hand in poker, made up of five suited cards in sequence from 10 to A. A royal flush is the highest straight flush. The probability of making the strongest hand in…
- Runner-Runner DrawA draw that needs two cards of a specific suit or rank to complete. These cards must come on the turn and the river to make a straight or a flush. For example, Hero holds Qd Js…
S
- SatelliteA special tournament in which the winners receive not cash prizes but tickets to more expensive tournaments. Playing satellites lets you qualify for prestigious tournaments with…
- Scare CardA card on the turn or river that could potentially improve an opponent’s hand. For example, if Hero holds Jd 8s and the flop is 4c 7h Js, then the Ac on the turn is a scare card…
- Second PairA pair made with one of the player’s hole cards and the second-highest card on the board. For example, with J 6 in hand and a K J 3 flop, the player has made second pair (a pair…
- Semi-BluffA bet on the flop or turn with which a player wants to knock opponents out of the hand and take the pot before the showdown. Unlike a pure bluff, in a semi-bluff the player still…
- SetThree of a kind made with two hole cards and one card on the board. For example, holding 4d 4s with a board of 6s Td 4c, you have already made a set of fours on the flop. Compared…
- SharkA name for a strong, experienced poker player. A shark eats (beats) fish (recreational players) and profits at their expense. You can spot a shark at the table by their aggressive…
- Short StackA small number of chips compared with the stacks of the player’s opponents or with the current size of the blinds. A stack of 10–25 big blinds is considered short. The optimal…
- Short StackerA term for the player with the smallest stack compared with the chip counts of the other players at the table. Short-stack strategy comes down to push/fold: the player with the…
- ShowdownThe final stage of a poker hand, which comes after all river bets have been made and at least two players remain. At this stage the players show their hole cards in turn, and the…
- Side PotA pot formed from players’ bets after one of the players in the hand, who has a smaller stack, goes all-in. The side pot is played for separately from the main pot, only among the…
- Sit and GoA type of poker tournament that starts as soon as the required number of players have registered. Such tournaments can be played at a single table or at several tables. SNG…
- SlowplayPlaying a strong hand passively, letting the opponent connect with the board or inducing them to bluff. The main goal of slowplaying is to hide your hand’s strength in the early…
- SlowrollDeliberately stalling in live poker before calling an opponent’s all-in while holding the best hand. A slowroll is used to taunt the opponent and make them nervous. This behavior…
- Small BlindA forced bet in poker posted by the player sitting to the left of the dealer position. The next player clockwise posts the second forced bet – the big blind, which is usually…
- Split PotA situation in poker in which the whole pot is divided equally among several players in the hand who have made hands of identical strength. For example, Player 1 holds 5h 9d…
- SqueezeA preflop play in which a player makes a big re-raise after a raise and at least one call from the previous players. The aim of this play is to force the opponents to fold and…
- StackAll the chips at a player’s disposal that they can use to bet in a particular cash game or poker tournament. In cash games the stack is usually 100 big blinds, but at certain…
- StealA preflop raise by a player in late position aimed at winning a pot made up of the small and big blinds. The main condition for this move is that none of the previous players has…
- Stop and GoA tactical move in which a short-stacked player out of position calls a bet preflop in order to shove all-in first on the flop. The move got its name “Stop and Go” because the…
- StraddleA voluntary blind bet from the UTG1 position, made by a player before the hole cards are dealt. Its size is fixed at two big blinds. A straddle is usually allowed only in live…
- StraightA poker hand made of five cards in sequence. It ranks fifth in strength, beating high card, one pair, two pair and three of a kind. An example of a straight: 6 7 8 9 T. The lowest…
- Straight DrawAn unfinished straight that needs one more card to complete. A straight draw can be open-ended or a gutshot. An open-ended draw can be completed by either of two cards: for…
- Straight FlushA poker hand made up of five cards of the same suit in sequence. In other words, it combines the features of a straight and a flush. The highest straight flush ends with an ace…
- StreetOne of the stages of a poker hand in which new cards are dealt or cards in hand are exchanged, followed by a betting round. The number and names of streets differ between poker…
- StudOne of the oldest forms of poker, known for its fast pace and aggression. This variant has no community cards and no small or big blind; antes are used as forced bets. There are…
- SuitOne of the four attributes by which all cards in the deck are distinguished. A standard 52-card poker deck contains 13 cards of each suit: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. In…
- SuitedCards of the same suit. This term can refer both to a player’s starting hand and to the board cards. For example, AhKh are suited pocket connectors. Suited cards have an advantage…
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- TAGTight-aggressive, a poker playing style in which only the best hands are played, and they are played aggressively. TAG is the most effective style for beginners playing low…
- TellsReading the strength of an opponent’s hand from their behavior, emotions, facial expressions and gestures. In other words, a tell is a clue in live poker expressed through body…
- Tight StyleA poker playing style based on playing a narrow range of starting hands. Tight players choose only the strongest pocket hands to play, which helps them avoid difficult situations.…
- TiltAn emotional state of a poker player that leads to suboptimal play, a large number of mistakes and, as a result, frequent losses. This state can be triggered by a long losing…
- TournamentA poker format in which players pay entry fees (buy-ins) that form the prize pool. At the start of a tournament every player receives the same number of chips, and a player who…
- TripsThree of a kind made from two cards of the same rank on the board and one card of that rank in the player’s hand. For example, the player holds Jh Qs and the flop is Jd 4s Jc.…
- TurnThe third street in community card poker, which begins when the fourth card is dealt on the board. The third betting round takes place on the turn, after players have bet for the…
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- UnderdogA player who has a much worse hand than their opponent in the current hand and minimal chances of winning. For example, Player 1 holds 3h 3c, Player 2 holds 7d 7c, and the board…
- UnderpairA pocket pair made of cards lower in rank than the lowest community card. This hand can easily end up dominated if the opponent pairs any card on the board. For example, with 5h…
- UpswingA lucky streak in poker during which a player wins more often and more than usual. A player on an upswing keeps hitting the strongest hands, taking down pots and earning…
- UTGA term for early position at the poker table (Under the Gun). At a full table (9-max) there are three players in early position, labelled UTG-1, UTG-2 and UTG-3. At a short-handed…
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- ValueA basic poker term used in building strategies, referring to the profit a player can extract from their hand. It is closely tied to the value bet – a bet for value whose goal is…
- VarianceA poker term describing how far results deviate from the expected value. Because variance exists, poker has an element of luck and bad luck: sometimes the strongest hands lose…
- VODFirst-person poker video lessons. VODs are one of the most effective ways for beginner poker players to learn, since the experienced player recording the video gives clear…
- VPIPOne of the most important statistics, showing the percentage of hands a player plays preflop by voluntarily putting money in. It includes hands played with a bet, call, raise or…
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- WagerPutting chips or money into the pot. Bets can be forced (big and small blinds, antes) or voluntary. Depending on their purpose, all bets can be divided into three groups: value…
- WheelOne of the names for the lowest straight, made of the following cards: A 2 3 4 5. In this combination the ace plays as the lowest card, starting the sequence. In Hi-Low games the…
- WinrateA measure of a player’s earnings in cash games over a certain period of time or a certain number of hands. Winrate is most often expressed as big blinds won per 100 hands…
- WSOPThe World Series of Poker, a series of poker tournaments held every year in Las Vegas and the biggest event in the poker world. Although there is no official world poker…
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- 2-7 LowballA variant of draw poker (with no community cards) in which the weakest hands, by the standards of classic poker variants, are the strongest. Therefore the best hand in Lowball is…
- 3-BetThe third bet (raise) in the current betting round. Preflop, a 3-bet is a re-raise after the first voluntary bet, since the 1st bet is the big blind and the 2nd bet is the first…
- 5-Card DrawA poker variant without community cards in which each player is dealt five cards. After a betting round, each player may exchange any number of their cards for the same number of…