| Ante | The initial bet that all players must make in order to play. |
| All-in | To run out of chips while betting or calling. |
| Bad beat | When a lesser hand beats a better one. |
| Bet to call dealer | The player doubles his ante bet if he thinks his hand will beat the Dealer's. |
| Blind bet | A forced bet (or partial) bet made by one or more players before cards are dealt. |
| Burn card | First card of the deck that as a security against accidental or, of course, intentional peeks at the first card of the deck it is discarded face down between each betting round, before dealing out the next community card(s). |
| Button | A white acrylic disk that indicates who is the dealer. |
| Buy | Buy the Pot
Bluffing, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called. |
| Buy the Button | Betting or raising in hopes of making players between you and the button fold, consequently allowing you to place the last wager for subsequent rounds. |
| Cap | Placing the last raise allowed on a betting round (typically the third or fourth raise) |
| Case | The final card of any given rank. The last Jack, the last King... |
| Center/Main pot | The first pot created in a hand; as opposed to one or more "side" pots created by a player(s) who goes all-in. |
| Check | Not betting, while keeping the right to call or raise later in the round. |
| Check raise | Checking, but waiting until a player behind you bets, and then raising. |
| Come hand | Drawing hand. |
| Complete hand | A hand defined by all five cards, i.e. straight, flush, full house, etc. |
| Crack | Beating a big hand. |
| Cripple | Refers to having the majority or all of the cards someone else wants with the current board. |
| Dealer's bet | The Dealer can continue to play only with an Ace/King or higher. If the Dealer is unable to open, meaning he doesn't qualify, the hand is over, and the remaining Players are paid their antes. |
| Equity | The amount you can win from a given pot. Let's say there is a $200 pot. A 50% chance of winning gives you $100 equity in the pot. |
| Family pot | A pot in which most of the players call before the flop. |
| Flop | The first three community cards that are dealt face up. Flop refers to all three of the cards. |
| Fold | Quitting the hand. If the player thinks his hand will lose to the Dealer's, he can decide to give up his ante bet after the cards have been dealt. |
| Foul | A hand that has been judged unplayable due to a factor that breaks the rules. The player who commits the foul or who has a foul hand is forbidden any win from the pot. |
| Heads up | A pot that is being contested by only two players. |
| Hit | used to describe a flop that produced a card that helped your hand. |
| House | The casino where you are playing, or the establishment that is running your game. |
| Implied odds | Odds you may include in your calculations but that will only become true if you hit your hand. Used when your hand is significantly stronger than usual. |
| Kicker | An unpaired card used to determine your strategy when choosing between two similar hands. |
| Live blind | A forced bet made before any cards are dealt. The word "live" refers to the player's or players' reserved right to raise when their turn comes up again. |
| Muck | The pile of folded and burned cards that have been placed in front of the dealer. |
| Nuts | The best possible hand that has been given on the board. |
| Pay off | Calling a bet even though the bettor has a hand you can't beat. The reason for doing this is that the pot is large enough to justify a call. |
| Pocket | The unique cards you hold that no one else can see. |
| Post | A blind bet. Usually required when you first join a card game. Some houses require you to post when you change seats. |
| Progressive jackpot bet | Some casinos offer a Progressive Jackpot, in which the jackpot value increases with each game. Each Player can place an additional specified bet to be included in the progressive jackpot. |
| Quads | Four of a kind. |
| Ragged | A flop/board that doesn't really help anyone. |
| Rainbow | A flop with three different suits, or a complete five-card board that has no more than two of any suit (thus impossible to get a flush). Can also mean a complete five-card board that has no more than two of any suit, therefore no flush is possible. |
| Rake | The amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer, this money is his revenue. |
| Rank | A card's numerical value. |
| Represent | Playing as if you hold a specific hand. This is as a bluff or simply because you are positive you have winning cards. |
| Ring game | A regular poker game using money and not chips. Also called "live". |
| River | The fifth and final community card, dealt alone and face up. Also called "fifth street". |
| Rock | A very uncreative, stiff, rather predictable player. |
| Scare card | A card that can turn the best hand bad. |
| Second pair | A pair including the second highest card on the flop. |
| Semi-bluff | A bet or raise that you hope will not be called - but, even if it is, you still have some outs. A player might use this tactic when betting for value is not appropriate. |
| Set | Three of a kind with two of the rank in your hand and one on the board. |
| Showdown | The point after the fourth round of betting is completed that everyone reveals hands. If no final bet or raise is called, there is no showdown. |
| Side pot |
A pot that has been created but that a player has no interest in because the same player has run out of chips.
For instance:
Judy bets $8, Ronny calls the $8, and Danny calls, but Danny has only $4 left.So, a $12 side pot is created that either Judy or Ronny can win, but not Danny.All other bets that Judy and Ronny make go into the side pot and are prohibited to Danny.Danny is only playing now for the center pot. |
| Slow play | Playing a strong hand as if you have a weak hand in order to keep more players in the pot. |
| Split pot | A pot that is shared by any number of players because they have equal hands. |
| Split two pair | A two pair that has one of each of your cards' ranks on the board as well. |
| Spread limit | A betting structure designed to allow players to bet any amount, within a specific spread limit structure, on every betting round. Typical spread limit structure: $2 - $6. |
| String bet | This bet is more typically a raise. The player doesn't move all the chips required for the raise into the pot at once. The player must verbally declare the raise or he can be forced to withdraw and call. This system prevents players from putting out enough chips to call, reviewing the effect, and then considering a further raise; this would be unethical. |
| Table Stakes | The rule that states that during a hand, a player must not dig into his pocket for money. |
| Tell | A player's involuntary giveaway about the next move or strategy he plans to use. |
| Tilt | Playing out of control or real consideration for the things he should be doing in certain circumstance, like raising when he just can't possibly outwit or beat his opponents. |
| Time | 1. A player's request for time to decide about the next act or tactic he will take.
2. Either every hour or every half, the house collects an amount of money. This is another way for the house to make its money (see Rake). |
| Toke | This is a small amount of money paid by the winner of the pot to the dealer. |
| Top pair | The pair that has the highest card on the flop. |
| Trips | Three of a kind. |
| Turn | The fourth community card, dealt face up and by itself. Also called "4th street". |
| Under the gun | the player who initiates a betting round. |
| Underdog | Any team or person mathematically disfavored to win the pot. |
| Value | The opposite of bluff. With value, or when "Betting on Value," you want other players to call your bet, because you believe your hand will beat the others. |
| Variance | An evaluation of the rise and fall in your bankroll. |
INCREASING YOUR ODDS...
