Poker Terms

To listen to poker players talk you could be forgiven for thinking that they are speaking a foreign language. Perhaps that it is part of the appeal of this absorbing and fascinating card game; that you become part of a culture that outsiders simply do not understand. Fortunately for those of us who love poker it is easy to learn this mysterious language and become part of a new culture that is poker.

12 Colors : In Chinese Poker, a Clean Sweep hand consisting of exactly 12 cards of one color and a 13th of the other.

13 Colors : In Chinese Poker, a Clean Sweep hand consisting entirely of either hearts and diamonds; OR clubs and spades.

A

Aces Full : A full house with three aces and any pair.

Ace-High : A five card hand that contains one Ace, with no straight or flush or a or a hand with no pair in it.

Aces Up : A hand that contains two pairs, one of which are Aces.

Ace Magnets : A pair of Kings.

Action : Checking/Betting/Raising. A game in which players are playing a lot of games is considered to be an ''action'' game

Active Player : Any player who is still in the hand.                   

Add-on : A purchase of more chips (optional) at the end of the re-buy period in a tournament.

Ajax : Ace/Jack.

All-In : When a player bets all his/her chips. In online poker, you may be deemed ''All-In'' when you are disconected (even if you have chips remaining).

American Airlines : Two Aces.

Ante : Money placed in the pot before the hand is begun.

Ashtray : Ace/3.

Assistant : In Big 2, the Player who plays immediately before the winner’s final discard. If the assistant fails to play the best possible hand before the winner’s final hand, the assistant must cover the other Players’ losses.

B

Bachelor's Hand : K/J off suit. or Jack King off.

Back Door : When a player makes a hand late on that he wasn't trying to draw to.

Back Hand : In Chinese Poker, the backhand is defined as the highest hand of the bottom set in the series of three - Also referred to as the "Big Behind".

Back Raise : A re-raise.

Bad Beat : When a hand is beaten by a lucky draw.

Bank Roll : The total funds available to a player.

Barn : Short for Full Barn meaning a full house.

Baskin Robbins : Ace/3 because they have 31 flavours of ice cream.

Bear Hand : The worst hand in Holdem so it's time to get the bears in if you're dealt this.

Belly Buster : A draw and/or catch to an Inside Straight.

Bet : To place chips in the pot

Bet the Pot : When a player bets the amount in the pot.

Bicycle : A straight that is A-2-3-4-5.

Big Al : K/T. Big Al Emerson was a Poker player from Wisconsin.

Big Bet : Amount of money wagered in the later betting rounds. In $10/$20 Hold ‘Em, the big bet is $20.

Big Blind : A designated amount that is placed by the player sitting in the second position, clockwise from the dealer, before any cards are dealt. (Players joining a game in progress must post a Big Blind, but may do so from any position.)

Big Bobtail : An open ended four card straight flush.

Big Chick : Ace/Queen.

Big Fritz : K/2 after the German poker player Andreas Fritz.

Big Lick : 9/6 Sexual innuendo.

Big Slick : A hand that contains an A-K.

Bitches : A pair of Queens.

Blackjack : Ace/Jack.

Blank : A card that does not add value to a hand.

Blind : The bet(s) that must be made by the two players sitting directly to the dealer's left which will start the action on the first round of betting. The blinds are posted before any cards are dealt. (A ''Blind'' bet is one that is made in the dark without looking at your cards.)

Blind Raise : When a player raises without looking at his hand.

Blocky : 6/3.

Bluff : To make other players believe that one has a better hand than he/she might otherwise have by betting or raising when they do not have the best hand.

Board : The exposed community cards.

Boardcard : The cards that are dealt-face up in a poker game for all players to see. In flop games, five cards are dealt face up in the centre of the table. In seven card stud four cards are dealt face-up in front of each player.

Boat : Short for Full Boat meaning Full House.

Bobtail Straight : An open ended straight - four consecutive cards that a card either end would turn into a straight.

Bookends : Ace/Ten.

Bottom Pair : When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one of his own cards.

Broadway : An Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10).

Bowling Hand : T/7. The T 7 split in bowling is also difficult.

Bring-In : The forced bet made on the first round of betting by the player who is dealt the lowest card showing in seven card stud and Stud 8 or Better. In Razz (L

Bring In : Initial bet. In stud games the player with the lowest card showing on the first round must bring in. (In the event of a tie, the player closest to the dealer’s left brings in.)... the highest card showing.

Bring It In : To start the betting on the first round.

Broderick Crawford : T/4. From ''Highway Patrol in which his catchphrase was 10-4.

Broomcorn's Uncle : A player who antes himself broke.

Bug : A wild card joker.

Bullets : A pair of Aces.

Bully Johnson : 5/3. Played this hand and got a straight on the flop after being raised pre-flop beating a three Ace hand.

Bump : To raise.

Burn : To discard the top card of the deck before dealing to stop cheating.

Button : Also known as the dealers button, it is a small round disk that is moved round from player to player in a clockwise direction following each hand, to theoretically indicate the dealer of each hand.

Buy-In : The minimum amount of money required by a player to sit down in a particular poker game.

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C

Call : When a player chooses to match the previous bet.

Call Cold : To call both a bet and a raise.

Calling Station : A passive player who calls all the time.

Cambodian Big Slick : 7/4.

Canine : K/9.

Cap : The pot is capped when the last allowable raise has been taken. There is usually no cap during heads up or in tournaments.

Cardroom : The room or space in a casino where poker is played.

Card Set : A group of cards that a Player may discard from his hand at once during a round of Big 2.

Cards Speak: As in its what the cards say that counts not the player.

Case Card : The fourth and final card of a particular rank to become available.

Case Chips : A players last chips.

Cash Out : To leave a game and convert your chips to cash.

Change Gears : Changing your style of play.

Chase : To continue playing a hand against the run of play.

Check : When it is a players turn to act and there has been no action in front of him and he opts not to bet, he ''checks''.

Check-Raise : When a player first checks and then raises in a betting round.

Cherries : A pair of 6's.

Chip : The tokens used for gambling with.

Chop : To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next hand if no other players call. It also means to split the pot.

Clean Sweep : In Chinese Poker, a special hand that automatically wins. Clean Sweep hands include Dragon, 13 Colors, 12 Colors, 6 Pair, 3 Straights, and 3 Flushes.

Cold Call : When a player who only has an ante invested in the pot calls a raise and re-raise for his first bet.

Collusion : When two or more players conspire to cheat in a poker game.

Columbia River : K/7 sounds like ''king salmon''  which is the Columbia River's knickname.

Come Hand : An incomplete hand.

Community Cards : Cards that are face up and used by all the players.

Computer Hand : According to calculations this is the average hand.

Concealed Pair : Both cards in the pair are face down.

Countdown : T/9. As in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6

Court Card : A picture card.

Cowboys : Two Kings.

Crabs : A pair of 3's.

Crying Call : To call and make a whinging remark at the same time to lure the other players into the hand.

Cut the Deck : To split the deck roughly in two.

D

Dark Bet : To make a bet without looking at the Down cards.

Dead Card : In stud, a card that has already been seen.

Dead Hand :  A misdealt hand which is therefore void.

Dead Man's Hand : Two pair-Aces and Eights (Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back while playing this hand).

Deuce : A two.

Dimes : A pair of Tens.

Dog : A hand unlikely to win the pot.

Dog Balls : A pair of 8's.

Dolly Parton : 9/5. Dolly starred in the film Working 9 to 5.

Door Card : This is the first exposed card, or ''up'' card, in a player's hand in stud games.

Double Belly Buster : A post flop hand in which there are two gaps in the series of cards the filling of either of which would make the straight. Also Known as a Double Gutshot.

Double Pop : A re-raise by the second player.

Down Card : Hole cards. Cards that are dealt face down.

Down To The Green : Going All In.

Doyle Brunson : It's a Holdem hand consisting of a 10-2 (Brunson won the world championship two years in a row on the final hand with these cards).

Dragon : The highest possible hand in Chinese Poker. It contains one card of every rank.

Draw : To exchange a number of cards.

Drawing Dead : A very poor draw.

Draw Lowball : Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards down with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones in the attempt to make a better hand.

Draw Out : A draw to a winning hand.

Drop : Fold.

Ducks : A pair of Twos.

Deuces : A pair of Twos.

E    

Early Position : Position on a round of betting where a player must act before most of the other players at the table. (It's considered the two positions located to the left of the blinds.)

Exposed Pair : A pair on the board.

F

Family Pot : A pot in which everyone plays and no one folds.

Fifth Street : Also known as the ''river'' card in flop games..

 represents fifth community card on the table and the final round o

Finky Dink : 8/5.

Fish : A player who looses because they don't know the game. If you can't spot the fish at the table it's because you are the fish.

Five-Card Draw : A poker game in which each player is dealt five cards down. They have one draw to replace them and the best high hand wins the pot.

Flat Call : Calling a bet without raising.

Flat Limit : A form of limit poker where all bets are the same amount.

Flat Tyre : J/4 because that's what a Jack is for.

Floorman : A casino employee in charge of an area of the casinocard room.

Flop : In Holdem and Omaha, the first three community cards that are dealt face up in the centre of the table all at one time. The ''flop'' also indicates the second round of betting.

Flop Games : Poker games (Hold'em and Omaha) that are played using community cards that are dealt face up in the centre of the table.

Floorman : An employee of the cardroom that makes rulings and decisions.         

Flush : Any five cards of the same suit.

Flush Draw : When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to make a flush by taking a fifth. e.g. 2 4 5 8 J.

Fold (or Muck) : To throw your hand away when it's your turn to act.

Forced Bet : A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand.

Forced Bring-In : A mandatory bet; the player facing a forced bring-in can neither check nor fold. Usually used in stud to start the action on the 1st round of betting by the player with the lowest card showing.

Fork : K/4. Four King sounds like fork.

Four Flush : A hand one card short of a five card flush.

Four of a Kind : Four cards of the same number or face value (''quads'').

Fourth Street : In flop games, it is the fourth community card dealt (also known as ''the turn'') and represents the third round of betting. In Stud games, it is the fourth card dealt to each player and represents the second round of betting.

Four Tits : A pair of Queens.

Free Card : A card dealt after all the other players checked in a round of betting.

Freeroll : Having a lock on the pot. You are in an unbeatable position.

Freeze Out : A one man takes all game.

Front Hand : In Chinese Poker, a 3-card hand created from the 13 cards a Player is dealt. The front hand must be outranked by the middle hand.

Full Barn : A full house.

Full Boat : A full house.

Full House : Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the same number or face value.  e.g. 3 3 3 6 6

G

Grifter : A cheat.

Gut Shot Draw (or Inside Straight Draw) - Drawing to a straight that needs one of the middle cards to complete it, e.g. if you hold 5 6 8 9 , any 7 completes a straight inside.

H

Hand : A player's best five cards.

Head(s) Up : Playing a single opponent.

Heinz : 7/5. Heinz has 57 different products.

Help Card : A card that improves a hand.

Henry Bowen : 8/6. After a famous gambler from Texas.

High-Card : To decide the first dealer in the flop tournaments each player is dealt a single card and the player with the highest card (based on the card and suit order - of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs) becomes the theoretical dealer.

High Low Split : A form of poker in which the pot is split between the best hand and the best lowball hand.

High Five : Ace/Five.

High-Low : Split pot games.

Hockey Sticks : A pair of 7's.

Hold 'em : Also known as Texas Hold 'em, where the players get two down cards and five community cards. See our complete Hold 'em rules in our Game Rules section.

Hole Cards : These are Down Cards in front of the players.

Hooks : A pair of Jacks.

House : The casino or cardroom that is hosting the poker game.

House Cut : The profits made by the cardroom for hosting the game.

Hunting Season : Ace/2 because Aces are bullets and 2's are ducks.

I

Ignorant End : The bottom end of a straight that has community cards.

Implied Odds : A development on pot odds basing the calculation on the estimated final pot.

Inside Straight : Four cards that require another between the top and bottom card to complete a straight. Players who catch this card make an Inside Straight.

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J

Jackass : Ace/Jack.

Jackpot Poker : A form of poker in which the casino or cardroom offers a Jackpot to a player who has lost with a really big hand (usually Aces full) or better.

Jacks-or-Better : A form of poker in which a player needs to have at least a pair of Jacks or better to open the betting.

Jam : An increasing pot with several players raising.

Jeffery Dahmer : J/8 because he ate Jack.

Jessie James : 5/4. James was shot with a Colt .45.

J-Birds : A pair of Jacks.

J Hook : A Jack.

Joe Montana Banana : 9/4. Joe played for the 49'ers.

Johnny Moss : Ace/Ten. He started playing at ten years old.

Joker : The wild card in a deck that is sometimes used.

K

Katie : K/T.

Kansas City Lowball : Form of lowball poker in which the worst hand (2,3,4,5,7 of different suits) is the best hand. It's also known as Deuce to Seven.

Keep Them Honest : To call at the end of a hand to prevent someone from bluffing.

Key Card : A card that gives you a big draw or makes your hand.

Key Hand : In a session or tournament, the one hand that turns out to be the turning point for the player, either for the better or the worse.

Kicker ( or Side card) : The highest unpaired side card in a players' hand.

Kick It : Raise.

Kill Pot : A method to stimulate action. It is a forced bet by someone who has just won a pot(s).

King Crab : K/3.

King Kong : A pair of Kings

Knock : Check

Kojak : A hand that contains a K-J.

Kokomo : K/8.

L

Ladies : Two Queens.

Late Position : Position in a round of betting where a player must act after most of the other players have acted (usually considered to be the two positions next to the button).

Lay Down Your Hand When a player folds.

Lay Odds : To give good odds to another player.

Lead : The first player to bet into a pot.

Leak : To allow your hole cards to be seen.

Lid : The top card in a deck.

Liner : A face card because you can see a line when a facw down card has its corner lifted.

Limit Poker : A game that has fixed maximum and minimum betting intervals along with a prescribed number of raises.

Limper : The first player who calls a bet.

Limp In : To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. (The usual concept of Limp In is when the first person to speak just calls the Big Blind).

Little Oldsmobile : A pair of 8's.

Live Blind : An instance when a player puts in a dark bet and is allowed to raise, even if no other player raises. It's also known as an ''option''.

Live Card(s) : In Stud Games, cards that have not yet been seen and are presumed to be still in play.

Live Hand : A hand that could still win the pot.

Live One : A not so knowledgeable person who plays a lot of hands.

Lock : An unbeatable hand also called the nuts.

Look : When a player calls the final bet before the showdown.

Loose : Is a player who plays a lot of hands.

Lowball : Is a form of draw poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot.

Lumberman's Hand : 4/2. After a 4 by 2 piece of wood.

M

Magnum : A pair of 4's. After the ''Magnum 44 the most powerful handgun in the world punk''.

Main Pot : The centre pot. Any other bets are placed in a side pot(s) and are contested among the remaining players. This occurs when a player(s)  goes all in.

Make : To make the deck is to shuffle the deck.

Maniac : A very aggressive player who plays a lot of hands with little regard for their quality.

Marked Cards : Cards that have been illegally tampered with to reveal their rank.

Marriage : K/Q or divorce if it doesn't hold up.

Maverick : Q/J because the theme tune to the Maverick Wild West TV show was called ''Livin on Jacks and Queens''.

Mechanic : A cheat that manipulates the cards to improve the cards he deals either to himself or to another player.

Merfs : T/5. Merfs is a form of poker in which tens and fives are wild.

Middle Hand : In Chinese Poker, one of two 5-card hands created from the 13 cards a Player is dealt. The middle hand must outrank a Player’s front hand, and be outranked by the Player’s back hand.

Middle Pair : In flop games, when a player makes a pair with one of his/her down cards and the middle card on the flop.

Middle Position : Somewhere between the early and late positions on a round of betting (the fifth, sixth, and seventh seats to the left of the button).

Minimum Buy-In : The minimum amount of money that a player can buy into a game for. e.g., in $10/$20 limit, the minimum buy-in is $100.

Misdeal : A hand that has been wrongly dealt and is therefore void.

Mississippi Slick : 3/2.

Mites and Lice : A hand with two pairs one of threes and one of twos.

Motown : J/5. The Jackson Five were on the Motown Label.

Muck : To discard or throw away your hand. It's also a pile of cards that are no longer in play

Minimum Buy-In : The least amount you can start a game with.

Monster : A very big hand. In a tournament, a player who begins to accumulate chips after having a small stack is considered to be a monster.

Mullets : A pair of 7's.

N

Nickel : Five dollars usually a red poker chip.

No Limit : A game where players can bet as much as they like (as long as they have it in front of them) on any round of betting.

Nuts : The best possible hand at any point of the game. A hand that cannot be beaten; e.g. In a Hold ‘Em game where 3 5 7 9 are visible, the nuts would be three 9’s.

Nut Player : A very tight player that only plays great hands.

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O

Odds : The probability of making a hand vs. the probability of not making a hand.

Offsuit : Cards of a different suit.

Oldsmobile : 9/8 this was a larger model than the 88 oldsmobile.

Omaha : A game in which each player is dealt four down cards with five community cards. To make your hand, you must play two cards from your hand and three from the board.

Online Poker : Poker played over the internet.

On The Come : Where a player is hoping to improve his/her hand.

On The Tilt : When a players play begins to deteriorate as they become upset.

Open : To make the first bet.

Open-ended Straight : Four consecutive cards whereby one additional (consecutive) card at either end is needed to make a straight; e.g., if you hold 5 6 7 8 , any 4 or 9 completes the straight outside.

Open Card : A card that is dealt face-up in Stud.

Open Poker : A game in which some cards are dealt face up.

Open Pair : A pair that has been dealt face-up.

Opener : The player that opens the betting, usually in draw poker.

Openers : Cards in a hand that qualify him to open the betting.

Open Game : A game in which anyone can play.

Open Seat :  An empty seat in a game that anyone can sit in and play at.

Option : An option is a Live Blind made in the dark before any cards are dealt. If no one raises, the ''option'' player may raise the pot.

Overcall : To call a bet that has already been called.

Overcard :  A card higher than any visible card.

Overpair : When the Hole cards are a pair of higher rank than any of the community cards.

Orwell : 8/4. After the author of 1984.

Out Button : A disc that is placed in front of a player that wants to sit out of a hand(s) but wants to remain in the game.

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P

Paints : Face or picture cards (Jack, Queen, and King).

Pair : Two cards of the same face or number value.

Partypoker : The worlds largest online poker room.

Pass : To fold.

Pat Hand : A complete hand or holding.

Pay Off : To call on the final round of betting when you may or may not think you have the best hand.

Pay Station : A player that rarely folds and so loses a lot.

Picture Cards : Face cards (Jack, Queen, and King).

Picked Off : To have your bluff called.

Pigeon : An easy player.

Play Back : To raise or re-raise another player's bet.

Playing the Board In flop games when your best five card hand is all five of the community cards.

Pocket : The down cards or hole cards.

Pocket Rockets : A pair of Aces in the pocket or hole.

Poker Room : The cardroom where poker is played.

Poker Rules : The rules by which poker is played. See the  poker rules section.

Polish Big Slick : 3/2.

Popeye's : A pair of nines.

Position : Where a player is seated in relation to the dealer, therefore establishing a player's place in the betting order.

Post : When you post a bet, you place your chips in the pot. (You must post the Blinds.)

Pot : The money or chips in the centre of the table that players try to win.

Pot Limit : This is a game where the maximum bet can equal the pot.

Pot Odds : The ratio of the pot to the bet you must place  to challenge for it.

Premium Hands : The best possible hands.

Presto : A pair of 5's. ( from the rec.gambling newsgroup ).

Proposition player/Prop : A person hired by the cardroom to work as a shill although they take niether wins or loses they help to keep the game in play.

Puck : The button , it shows the dealer position.

Puppy Feet/Pups : a Club Flush.

Push : When the dealer pushes the chips toward the winning player at the end of a hand. It's also when dealers rotate to other tables.

Put Down : To fold a hand.

Q

Quads : Four of a kind.

Qualifier : In High-Low games, it is a requirement the Low hand must meet to win the pot.

Quarter : 5/2. A 25 cent coin  is called a Quarter.

Quartered : To split a split pot .

Quinine : Q/9 because it sounds like the anti-malarial drug.

R

Rabbit  (The) : 6/4.

Rack : A tray that holds 100 poker chips in five stacks of 20 chips each.

Rags : Board cards of low non suited rank.

Rail : The rim of a poker table or a barrier outside a poker area.

Railbird : Someone who hangs around a poker room who watches the games and/or is looking to get into action.

Railroad : 9/6.

Rainbow : A small group of cards of different suits.

Raise : To increase the previous bet.

Rake : Chips taken from the pot by the cardroom for compensation for hosting the game.

Rank : The value of each card and hand.

Rap : When a player knocks on the table indicating that he/she has checked.

Raquel Welsh : 8/3. As she is still 38 years old.

Rat Hole : Taking chips off the table during play.

Razz : Seven Card Stud where the lowest five cards win the pot.

Read : Judging a players hand from their play and body language.

Re-Buy : The amount of money a player pays to add a fixed number of chips to his/her stack in a tournament.

Redraw :  A draw to an even better hand when you currently hold the nuts.

Represent : Using body language and style of play to indicate that you have a particular hand.

Re-raise : To raise a raise.

Ribbon Clerk : A small time gambler.

Ring Game : A ''live' game that is not a tournament.

River : This is the last card given in all games. In Hold'em and Omaha, it is also known as the 5th street. In Stud games it is also known as 7th street.

Rock : A very tight solid player.

Rolled up : Getting a three of a kind as the first three cards in seven card stud.

Round of Betting : This is when players have the opportunity to bet, check, or raise. Each round of betting ends when the last bet or raise has been called.

Rounders : Guys who hustle for a living. this is also the name of a popular poker movie starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton.

Royal Flush : This is an Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10) of the same suit. It is the best possible hand in poker.

RPM : 8/7. After the early records that span at 78 revolutions per minute.

Runner Runner : When both of the last two cards dealt improve the hand.

Rush : A winning streak.

S

Sailboats : A pair of 4's.

San Francisco : 9/4. After the football team and the goldrush.

San Francisco Busboy : Q/3.

Sandbag : Playing a good hand as though it was a poor one to lure players on to later rounds.

Satellite : It is a mini-tournament to gain entry into a larger tournament.

Scare Card : One which looks as though it may make a strong hand.

Scoop : To win the entire pot.

Seating List : A waiting list. A player would put his or her name on this list if there were no seats available at the table at which they wish to play.

Second Pair : In flop games, when you pair the second highest card on the board.

See : To call.

Semi-Bluff : To play a come hand strongly.

Set : Trips or Quads or one pair in your hand and another on the board.

Seven-Card Stud : A well-known poker game in which players get three down cards and four up cards. You play the best five of those seven cards. Click here for more on Seven Card Stud.

Seventh Street : This is the final round of betting in Seven Card Stud and Stud 8 or Better.

Shark : A cunning player who plays as a fish early on but turns out to be more aggressive.

Shills : Shills are paid props who help start and maintain poker games.

Short-Stacked : Playing with only a small amount of money left.

Showdown : At the end of the final betting round, it's when all active players turn their cards face-up to see who has won the pot.

Side Pot : A separate pot (s) which is contested by remaining active layers when one or more players are all-in.

Sigfried & Roy : A pair of Queens.

Sixth Street : In Seven-Card Stud, this is the fourth ''up'' card dealt to the player (their 6th card) it is also the 4th round of betting.

Slowplay : To play as carefully as possible to minimise losses.

Small Bet :  1st betting round. e.g., in $10/$20 Hold 'Em, small bet is $10.

Small Blind :  Money the 1st player to the left of the button must post before receiving cards. Small blind is usually ½ the big blind.

Snapped Off : To have a good hand beaten.

Snowmen : A pair of 8's.

Solid : A fairly tight player (and reasonably good).

Solid Player : A good all round player.

Speed Limit : A pair of fives.

Split : Tie.

Split Openers : to discard some openers to try and draw a straight or a flush in Draw poker.

Split Pair : In Stud poker its a pair with one card up and the other down.

Split Pot : A pot that is divided between more than one hand.

Spread : A casinos offering of games.

Stack : A pile of chips.

Stacked Deck : A deck so arranged to give a player an advantage.

Stake : The amount a player has allocated for a particular session or the buy-in amount.

Stand Off : To call a raise.

Stay : When a player remains in the game by calling rather than raising.

Steal : To win a pot with a bluff.

Steal Position : A very late position.

Steam : Playing erratically calling and raising all the time.

Steel Wheel : A five high straight (A-2-3-4-5) of the same suit.

Straddle : A straddle is a Blind bet which is usually twice the size of the Big Blind (and that player may raise when the action gets to him).

Straight : Five consecutive cards of any suit; e.g. 7 8 9 10 J .

Straight Flush : Five consecutive cards of the same suit; e.g. 5 6 7 8 9

String Bet : Unethically placing a stack of chips as if to call whilst gauging the reactions of the other players and then placing more chips to raise.

Stuck : A significant amount of money lost.

Suicide King : King of Hearts because during the draw he looks to be stabbing himself in the head.

Suited : Cards of the same suit.

Structure : The limits put on the blinds/ante, bets and raises in any particular game.

Stud Games : Games in which players get down cards and up cards.

Stuck : A player who is losing a game.

Surrender :  In Chinese Poker, discarding one’s hand from play and removing oneself from the current betting round. A Player who surrenders pays each opponent 3 units, but eliminates the risk of greater losses.

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T

Table Charge : A fee payed for playing.

Table Stakes : The money that players have at the start of a hand, available for that hand. Players may not add money to their stacks, nor bring more to the table while involved in a hand. Players may not be bet out of a hand, nor be forced to fold because they run out of money in the middle of a hand. (See all in.)

Tap : Betting all of ones stack on a single bet in No Limit Holdem.

Tapped Out : To have run out of money.

Tell : Body language or play that gives an indication of the hand of that player.

Tension : A pair of Tens.

Tetris : T/8.

Texas Hold'em : This is also the name for Hold'em, the most popular form of poker.

Third Street : In Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud 8 or Better, this is the first betting round on the first three cards.

Thirty Miles : Three tens.

Three of a Kind : Three cards of the same number or face value (''trips'').

Three Flush : Three suited cards.

Tied On : When a hand is good enough to play to the end.

Tight : A player who doesn't play many pots. A tight game is one that doesn't have much action.

TOC : Tournament of Champions.

Toke : Token of appreciation or tip.

Top Pair : In flop games, when the player pairs one of his down cards with the highest card on the board.

Two Top Pair : When the two hole cards match the top two ranking cards on the board to make two pairs.

Transvestite : So called because at first glance it looks like something it's not - a pair of Aces.

Treys : A pair of threes.

Trips : Three of a kind.

Trombones : 7/6. After the song 76 Trombones.

Turn : In flop games, this is the fourth card dealt. It is the third round of betting.

Two Bits : 5/2. A 25 cent coin is called Two Bits.

Two Flush : Two suited cards.

Two Pair : A hand consisting of two different pairs.

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U

Underdog : A hand not expected to draw to win with.

Under The Gun : The first position in a round of betting.

Union Oil : 7/6. After the petrol station Union 76.

Up Card : A card that is dealt face-up.

Up Hill : To chase or to try to out draw a better hand.

                      V-W 

Walk :  A pot won by the big blind after no one opens.                   

Walking Sticks : A pair of sevens.

Walking Back To Houston : An Ace / King hand. So called because players can overplay this and lose their car.

Waltz : 4/3. All waltz's are in 3/4 time.

Wheel : A 2 3 4 5 is the best possible low hand also known as a Bicycle.

Wild card : A card that can be played as any value usually the joker.

Wired Pair : A pair of hole cards or in five card stud a door card that pairs the hole card.

Woolworths : T/5. As it was a nickol and dime store.

Worst Hand : A losing hand.

WPT : World Poker Tour

WSOP : World Series of Poker