Playing poker online is not something unusual even in our part of the world. If you’re just starting out with poker you may have some trouble at the beginning with understanding all the different slang poker terms. Mainly English words are used throughout the game and so we’ve decided to help you out and we’ll prepare a clear dictionary of poker terms for you. We’ll be adding to it continuously and we hope that you’ll find what you need in it.
A
- Add-on – The last buy-in of chips during poker tournaments (not mandatory).
- Air – Pure bluffing in case the player hasn’t got a winning combination.
- All-in – Betting all your chips into the game (also used – push, shove).
- Ante – The mandatory bet of all players even before dealing the cards.
- ATC – An acronym for Any Two Cards.
B
- Bad beat (suckout) – A situation in which you go all in and yet you lose despite having very good cards.
- Bankroll – Your total funds for the game.
- Bankroll management – Managing your financial funds
- Bet – The amount you’ll wager
- Big blind – The base (large) blind bet that each player has to pay once a round, the chair following the small blind.
- Bluff – A situation in which you’re trying to convince an opponent to fold his cards, such as for example when the opponent has a better hand than you.
- Board – Mutual cards.
- Boat – A different way of saying Full House.
- Bubble – A player in first place behind the paid positions in the tournament.
- Button – The most advantageous place for a player – the dealer reacts advantageously last.
- Buy-in – The entry deposit, the starting fee during tournaments, cash during cash-games that you’ll be able to utilize on the table.
C
- Call – Matching the current amount of the bet.
- Calling station – A player who repeatedly calls (even in situations when it’s disadvantageous situation).
- Cash game – The opposite of a tournament. A pure game for money.
- Cold deck – A long time interval when you didn’t get any good cards.
- Community Cards – See also “Board” - the mutual cards on the table.
- Continuation bet, C-bet – A situation in which you are betting even after a flop not taking into account the strength of the cards (an aggressive technique).
- Connectors – Cards with values following each other (9-8, 6-8, 5-4 etc.).
- Cut-off – The second most advantageous position right behind the dealer.
D
- Dealer – See also “Button” - an employee of the casino or the player who deals the cards.
- Deep stack – A game variant in which you’re starting out with a higher amount of chips than usually.
- Donkey – A weak player (see also “Fish”).
- Draw – A situation in which a player is missing a single combination to complete a straight or another strong combination (flush, etc.).
- Drawing dead – A situation in which a player has no chance of winning even if he/she built a strong combination.
E
- Early position – A player position in the betting round in which he/she has to bet among the first ones.
- EV - expected value – The expected winnings/loss in a longer time interval.
- Edge – An advantage over the opponents.
- End – See also “River” - The last fifth card mutual card in a game of Hold’em.
F
- Fish – A newbie or beginner, a weak player (see also “Donkey”).
- Flat call – Matching the current amount without it being raised before.
- Flop – The first three open cards on the table.
- Flush – A combination of 5 cards of the same color.
- Fold – Giving up the game and folding one’s cards.
- Freeroll – A free tournament without any starting fee but played for financial prizes.
- Freezout – A tournament in which it’s not possible to buy additional chips.
- Full house – A card combination containing one pair and three-of-a-kind.
- Full ring – A game in which 9 to 10 players are seated.
G
- Grind – An intensive way of playing in which a player plays a large number of tournaments in a short amount of time.
- Gutshot – A situation (a draw for a straight) when you’re waiting for a single card to fill your straight, for example, 5-6-8-9.
H
- Hand, handa – The combination of cards at the beginning of the game. Someone also uses the term to refer to a single game.
- Heads-Up – A game in which only 2 players are playing each other.
- High roller – Tournaments for the best players with a high entrance deposit.
- Hole cards – Cards that the players hold in their hands for the duration of the game.
CH
- Check – Leaving the current value of the bet at the same value.
- Chip, chipy – Chips in a game of poker.
I
- Image – How the players around the table see you.
- In the money – A situation in which you’ve finished a tournament in an honored position.
- Isolate – With a single large bet, you’ve forced all the players besides one (isolated) to fold.
K
- Kicker – In situations where two players have an identical combination, this is the card that’s decisive.
L
- Leak – Your opponent's or your own mistakes that you make during a game.
- Limp – Entering a game by matching the large blind in which case you get to the flop.
- Lose – A care-free game despite the high probability of winning.
M
- Mechanic – A cheater who manipulates cards.
- Missdeal – Badly dealt cards.
- Monster hand – One of the strong initial combinations (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K).
- Muck – Discarded cards, cards that are no longer in the game.
- MTT, Multi Table Tournament – A tournament with a number of tables and a large number of players.
N
- Nuts – A situation in which a player has the highest possible card combination in the ongoing game, the best possible.
O
- Odds – The chance of winning in percent.
- Outs – Cards that might improve your card combination.
P
- Pocket pair – The pair of cards that we’re holding in our hand.
- Postflop – The first stage of the game after the flop is dealt.
- Pot – The current bank, the amount of money in the current game without the casino’s commission.
- Powerhouse – A very strong card combination.
- Prizepool – The sum of money split between the tournament players.
- Preflop – The stage of the game before the first three mutual cards are dealt.
- Push – all-in.
- Put down – Folding one’s cards.
Q
- Quorum – The minimum amount of players necessary for the game to open.
- Quitting time – The time intended for quitting the game.
R
- Raise – Increasing the bet.
- Rake – The casino’s commission for creating (organizing) the game.
- Re-buy – Buying additional chips in the tournament.
- River – The last, fifth, card in the game.
- Rush – A longer series of wins following each other.
S
- Set – A specific designation for three-of-a-kind.
- Showdown – The final reveal of one’s cards.
- Shortstack – A player with a small number of chips.
- Side pot – The second bank played for by the other active players in case one player is all in.
- Small blind – The small mandatory bet. The player on the dealer’s left side.
- Suited cards – Cards with the same color.
- Stack – All the chips of a single player.
- Streak – A longer series of winnings or losses following each other.
T
- Tap – Betting all of one’s chips (going all in).
- Tap city – To end up completely without funds.
- Tough player – A great poker player.
- Turn – The fourth mutual card in a game of Hold’em.
U
- Underdog – A card combination without a chance of winning.
- Under the gun (UTG) – The player following the big blind position who must bet first.
V
- Variance – The statistical scatter of winnings among players.
W
- Weak hand – A bad (weak) card combination.
- Winning streak - rush – A longer series of wins following each other (see also “rush”).
With this equipment, you’ll have no more problems playing. Bluff and strategize on your way to pleasant winnings. So c’mon “all in” and let’s get on it.