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Backdoor

Refers to a draw that needs to catch two consecutive cards in order to complete. See the glossary entry for examples on how backdoor equity works.

Bad Beat

To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest of luck that they managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot. We won't give any examples; you will hear plenty of them during your poker career.

Bet

The first chips placed in the pot on any street. Pre-flop, the small blind would be classified as the first bet.

Big Blind

The larger of the two blinds typically used in a Hold'em game. The big blind is normally a full first round bet. See also "blind" and "small blind."

Blank

A board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the hand. If the flop is A-J-T, then a turn card of 2 would be considered a blank.

Blind

A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the button. See also "live blind."

Bluff

To bet or raise holding a hand you believe to be weaker than that of your opponent, with the intention of getting them to fold their stronger hand.

Board

All the community cards in a Hold'em game - the flop, turn, and river cards together. Example: "There wasn't a single heart on the board."

Bottom Pair

A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have A-6, and the flop comes K-T-6, you have flopped bottom pair.

Burn

To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.

Button

A marker that indicates the (nominal) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: "Oh, the button raised."

Buy

(1) As in "buy the pot." To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called. (2) As in "buy the button." To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to act last on subsequent betting rounds.

CALL

To contribute the minimum amount of money to the pot necessary to continue playing a hand.

CHECK

To pass on betting. If there's no action (bet) to you, there's nothing to call. If you don't want to bet, you can just "check." If there's subsequent action from your fellow players in the betting round, then the action will come back to you to either call, fold or raise.

CHECK-RAISE

A check-raise is made when a player checks on the first opportunity to bet and later raises any subsequent bet in the same betting round.

COLD CALL

To call two or more bets on your turn. If a pot has been bet and raised before it gets to you, and then you call, you're cold calling.

CONNECTOR

Sequential pocket cards. A 5 of clubs and 6 of hearts would be connectors. If the connectors are the same suit, they are "suited connectors" - e.g., 5 and 6 of clubs.

COMMUNITY CARDS

Cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table, available for all players to use in making a hand.

COUNTERFEIT

A duplicate card on the board that greatly devalues your hand. If you have a pair of 6's in your hand, and the board is ace-ace-7-4, and the river card is a 7, you've been "counterfeited." You had two pairs, but now the board has two better pairs. Any other player with a card higher than a 6 in his hand now beats your hand.

CUT-OFF

The position to the immediate right of the button.

DEALER

The player who shuffles the deck and deals the cards.

DEALER BUTTON

The button (often a plastic disk in live poker) that indicates the dealer. It is passed clockwise after every hand.

DONK BET

A bet made in early position by a player who did not take the initiative in the previous betting round.

DRAW

Remaining in a hand in the hopes of improving it. For example, you don't have anything concrete yet, but need one or more cards for a straight or a flush. If you call (or raise) a round of betting to see if the needed card(s) come, you are said to be "drawing." The two most common draws are flush draws (drawing for a flush) and straight draws (drawing for a straight). You can also draw for a three of a kind, full house, or better.

DRAW OUT

To receive a card that transforms your hand from a losing hand to a winning hand.

DRAWING DEAD

You're drawing, but it's futile because there is not one card in the deck that will create a winning hand for you. If you have two pairs and hope to make a full house on the river, but your opponent already has four of a kind, you are "drawing dead."

DRY BOARD

A measure of texture of the community cards. A board is considered dry when the cards on the table mean that is unlikely or impossible that any player has made a strong hand like a straight or flush. Compare with wet board.

DRY POT

A side pot with no money created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. If subsequent betting occurs, the money will go to the dry pot.

EQUITY

Your "rightful" share of a pot. If the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can "expect" to win.

FLOP

The first three community cards dealt out after the first round of betting is complete.

FLUSH

A poker hand consisting of five cards of the same suit.

FOLD

To give up by placing your cards face down on the table, losing whatever you have bet so far. You only fold when you think your hand is too weak to compete against the other players.

FOUR OF A KIND

A hand containing all four cards of the same rank.

FULL HOUSE

A hand consisting of a three of a kind and a (different) pair.

GUTSHOT

A straight completed from "inside" by one possible card. For example, if your pocket cards are 5 and 6 and the flop shows 4-8-king, a 7 and only a 7 on the turn or river would complete your "gutshot" straight. It is the opposite of an open-ended straight, which is completed by any one of two cards from the outside. A gutshot is half as likely to hit as an open-ended straight.

HEADS-UP

Playing a pot or tournament against only one other player.

IMPLIED ODDS

Taking future calls from your fellow players into consideration when you are drawing to something. If you draw successfully, you expect they'll call with their hands. These funds are speculative and not concrete, as they aren't in the middle yet and won't be unless you hit your card and they call your bets - hence, "implied."

KICKER

If you have the same hand as another player at showdown, the one with the highest kicker wins the pot. If the board is 7-7-5-5-2, and you have ace-king and your opponent has king-queen, you win because your ace beats his king. Your ace is the "kicker." The highest card completing a five-card hand is the only determination between winning and losing in this example.

LIMP

Slang word for calling, implying it's not an aggressive move.

LIMIT

A structure of the game in which bets and raises are capped at a fixed amount.

MUCK

All the discarded cards in a hand. If a player folds, he tosses his hand "into the muck."

NO-LIMIT

A structure of the game in which players can bet their entire stack. There's a minimum to what you can bet, but not a maximum.

NUTS

The best possible hand one can have at a given moment. For example, if you have pocket 7's, and the flop is 7-6-2, you have the "nuts" at this point, as trip 7's would be the best possible hand. If the turn card is a 5, you would no longer have the nuts, as that honor now goes to anyone holding 8-9, making a straight. If the river is the last 7, you'd again have the nuts, as your hand is once again the best possible hand.

OFF-SUIT

Holding pocket cards of different suits.

OMAHA

A variety of hold'em in which players receive 4 hole cards and must use exactly two of them, together with 3 of the 5 board cards, to make a hand.

OPEN-HANDED

A category of games characterized by a part of each player's hand being exposed.

OVER-PAIR

In hold'em, a pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.

OPEN-ENDED

A straight completed from the outside by one of two possible cards. For example, if your pocket cards are 5-6 and the flop shows 4-7-king, either a 3 or an 8 on the turn or river would complete your open-ended straight. An open-ended straight is twice as likely to hit as a "gutshot."

ORBIT

After each player at a table has served as the dealer for a hand. Each time the button passes you is a complete orbit.

OUT

A card that will improve your hand. If all the money is in the middle, and you turn over a pair of kings and your opponent has a pair of aces, you need one of the two remaining kings - your two "outs" - to beat your opponent.

OVER-CARDS

Having cards higher than the board cards or your opponent's pocket. For example, if it's heads up and someone's all-in, the two remaining players would expose their cards. If it is a pair of sevens versus ace-king, the ace and king are referred to as "over-cards."

PAIR

Two cards of the same rank.

POCKET CARDS

The cards in your hand that are not part of the community cards. In hold'em, it's your two down cards. In Omaha, it's your four down cards. Also known as hole cards.

POST

To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds. Example: a player leaves one seat at a table and takes another in such a way that he moves farther from the blinds. He is required to post an extra blind to receive a hand. See also "extra blind."

POT-COMMITTED

A situation that likely requires you to call due to the amount of money in the pot vis-a-vis your remaining stack of chips. In these situations, it makes no sense to fold.

POT-LIMIT

A structure of the game in which bets and raises are capped by the current size of the pot.

POT ODDS

The ratio of money in the pot compared to what you need to call to keep playing. For example, suppose there is $100 in the pot. Somebody bets $10, so the pot now contains $110. It costs you $10 to call, so your pot odds are 11-to-1. Do you think the odds of your hand being the best are better than 11-to-1? If so, you should call. Similarly, if you are getting the same 11-to-1 odds and you don't have a made hand but the odds of drawing to a better hand are greater than 11-to-1, it would also be correct to call.

QUADS

Four of a kind.

RAINBOW

In flop games, a flop in which no two cards are of the same suit. E.g., "The flop was an ace-9-7 rainbow."

RAKE

The amount that the house takes out of a poker hand.

RING GAME

A standard poker game in which money is wagered during each hand.

RIVER

The final of the five community cards.

ROCK

Slang for a "tight" player. A rock can sit at a table orbit after orbit without playing for a pot. When he enters a pot, you know he's got the goods.

RAISE

To wager more than the minimum required to call, forcing other players to put in more money as well.

ROYAL FLUSH

An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in standard poker.

SEMI-BLUFF

A bluff with a hand that has the potential to improve should the bluff itself be ineffective.

SET

Having a pocket pair that hits on the board, making three of a kind.

SHORT STACK

Having fewer chips than the rest of the players at the table or in the tournament.

SHOWDOWN

When, after the final round of betting, players turn their hands face-up. A poker hand will only reach a showdown if there are callers in the last round of betting, or if someone is all-in prior to the last betting round.

SIDE POT

Separate from the main pot. If one or more players is all-in, the pot to which the all-in players contributed is the main pot. A side pot is created from any additional money bet by the remaining players. There can be many side pots if there are more than one all-in player. An all-in player is only eligible to win a pot to which he has contributed.

SIT-AND-GO

A poker tournament that starts whenever a specified number of players have registered. As the name suggests, you "sit" (register), and, when there are enough of your fellow players to start the game, you begin, or "go."

SLOW PLAY

When, in an attempt to have other players stick around and possibly call your bets, you play your hand less aggressively than necessary. For example, if you flop a full house, it is unlikely anyone is going to beat your hand. Slow-playing the hand may allow the other players to make their hands and therefore continue to call your bets.

SMALL BLIND

The smaller of two blind bets. The position to the immediate left of the dealer button position, and to the right of the big blind position.

SPLIT POT

When two or more players make the same hand and the pot is divided between equivalent high hands.

STRADDLE

An optional pre-deal bet, typically made by the player to the left of the big blind. The straddle amount is twice the big blind (same as a legal raise). The straddler earns the "option" from the big blind. He may re-raise when the action comes around to him. A straddle is a cash game convention and is not usually permitted in a tournament.

STRING BET

Placing a bet on the table in a staggered motion or multiple motions. String bets are not allowed, and the dealer will remove the added amount of the bet if he determines a bet to be a string bet. It's not permitted because it could be used to gauge the reaction of other players before you commit the entire intended amount of the raise.

STRAIGHT

A hand consisting of 5 cards in sequence but not in suit.

STRAIGHT FLUSH

A hand consisting of 5 cards in sequence and the same suit.

TELL

An interpretation of a physical action or a betting pattern that seemingly reveals how strong or weak a player's hand is. The best players do not provide many tells themselves and have an ability to detect tells of their opponents in order to determine how to play a hand.

TILT

Usually the result of taking a bad beat or series of bad beats, a player is said to be "on tilt" when he plays with reckless abandon. Presumably, the term derives from tilting a pinball machine.

TIME

Requesting more time to think. A player will call for time to avoid the dealer killing the hand due to inactivity. Conversely, a player that takes excessive time to make decisions may have a "clock" called on them by the other players who seek to keep the flow of the game going.

TOP PAIR

A pair with the highest card on the board. For example, if you have an ace and 7 in the hole, and it's a 3-4-7 flop, you've got a "top pair" with an ace kicker. If you had a pair greater than sevens in your pocket, you'd have an over-pair.

TRIPS

Slang for three of a kind.

TURN

The fourth community card. Put out face-up, by itself. Also known as "Fourth Street."

UNDER THE GUN

Player sitting in the first-to-act position. It's the position immediately to the left of the big blind, pre-flop, and to the left of the button for subsequent betting rounds.

WET BOARD

A wet board is when the cards on the table make it possible for players to have hit strong hands. Compare with dry board

VALUE

As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally, it's because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw that, given enough callers, has a positive expectation.