Poker Lingo
Poker lingo A-K
Poker like all things has a unique language with words that have a meaning all of their own.
To help you over come this hurdle we have compiled a useful user guide to the commonest phrases in use today. Download our free pdf booklet
A
Aces Full - A full house containing 3 aces and any pair.
Ace-High - a hand containing no other poker hand except a High card of an Ace.
Aces Up - Two pairs of which one pair is Aces.
Action - This is a game in which players are playing for lots of pots, this is considered an ‘Action Game’. Checking/Betting/Raising.
Active Player - Anyone still playing in thehand is an Active Player.
Add-on - An optional purchase of more chips at the end of a re-buy period in a tournament.
All-In - If player bets all his/her chips. they will be all in: When playing online, you may be deemed all in if you become disconnected. Even if you have chips left.
American Airlines - 2 Aces.
Ante - The money placed in the pot before the game begins.
B
Bad Beat - This is when a hand is beaten by a lucky draw.
Belly Buster - A draw and/or catch to an Inside Straight.
Bet - The action of placing chips in the pot.
Bet the Pot - This is when a player makes a bet that is equal to the amount in the pot.
Bicycle - A straight that is A-2-3-4-5.
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. (If you join a game that is already in progress you must post a Big Blind, but this can be from any position.
Big Slick - When your hand contains an A-K., then you have a Big Slick
Blind - This has two meanings, it is either the bet or bets that have to be made by the 2 players sitting immediately to the dealer’s left these will start the action on the first round of betting. They are posted before any cards are dealt. The other meaning is a ‘Blind Bet’ which is one that is made without looking at your cards.
Blind Raise - A player raises without looking at his hand.
Bluff - To convince other players that you have a better hand than you really have.
Boardcards - The cards that are dealt face-up in a poker game for all players to see.
Bottom Pair - If a player uses the lowest card of the flop to make a pair with his own card.
Broadway - An Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10).
Bring-In - This is the forced bet 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 Lowball it is the highest card showing
Bring It - In Starting the betting on the first round
Broomcorn’s Uncle - This is what you will be if you Ante yourself broke.
Bullets - A pair of Aces.
Bump - To raise.
Button - AKA the dealer button, it is the small round disk that is moved from player to player in a clockwise direction after each hand, to indicate the dealer of each hand.
Buy-In - This is the minimum amount of money required by a player to sit down and play in a poker game.
C
Call - When a player matches the previous bet.
Call Cold - When you call a bet and raise the bet.
Cap - To take the last of the maximum amount of raises allowed per round of betting.
Case Chips - A player’s last chips.
Cash Out - To quit a game and change your chips to cash.
Check - If it’s your turn to act but there has been no action in front of you then instead of betting you can ‘check’.
Check-Raise - This is when a player first checks, then raises in a betting round.
Chop - Another two meaning word, you can either return the blinds to the player who posted them and move onto the next hand if no other player calls. or It means to split the pot.
Collusion - Two or more players conspire to cheat
Community Cards - The cards that are face-up and used by all players.
Cowboys - Two Kings
D
Dead Man’s Hand - This is the hand held by Wild Bill Hickock when he
was shot in the back and since then has been known as the dead mans hand two pair made up of Aces and Eights
Door Card - The first exposed card, in a player’s hand in Stud games.
Down Card - Hole cards. The cards that are dealt face down.
Doyle Brunson - This is an Holdem hand consisting of a 10-2 (The
world championship was won two years running by Brunson with these cards).
Draw Lowball - Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards
with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones and the low hand wins.
Draw Poker - Game of poker where each player is dealt five cards face down with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones to try to make a better hand.
Drop - Fold.
Ducks - Pair of Twos.
Deuces - Pair of Twos
F = fifth street
E
Early Position - The Position on a round of betting where the player must act before most of the other players at the table. (This is usually the two positions located to the left of the Blinds.)
F
Fifth Street - AKA the “river” card. In flop games, this is the fifth community card on the table and the final round of betting. Also the fifth card dealt in Stud Games and the third round of betting.
Five-card Draw - A form of poker where the player is dealt five cards down. With only one draw to replace them the best high hand wins the pot.
Five-card Stud - A well known poker game where each player is dealt 5 cards, 1 face down and 4 face up, the betting starts with card 2 and carries on through card 5.
Flat Call - Call a bet without raising.
Flop In - Hold’em and Omaha, games this is the first three community cards dealt these are face-up in the center of the table all at one time. The “flop” is also the second round of betting.
Flop Games - A form of poker (Hold ‘em and Omaha) Where community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table.
Flush - 5 cards of the same suit.
Flush Draw - When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.
Fold - The act of throwing your hand in when it’s your turn.
Forced Bet - A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand.
Four of a Kind - Four cards the same e.g. 4 Aces, 4 Tens etc.
Fourth Street - In flop games, This is the fourth community card dealt (AKA “the turn”) is also the third round of betting. In Stud games, this is the 4th card dealt to each player and represents and is the 2nd round of betting.
Full House - Any 3 cards the same plus any other 2 cards the same e.g. 3 Fours + 2 Kings
G
Gut Shot - To draw to and/or hit an inside straight.
H
Hand - What you hopefully make out of the cards dealt.
High-Card - To decide who deals first in flop tournaments each user is dealt a single card the player with the highest card (based on the card and the suit order Spades, Hearts, Diamonds & Clubs) becomes the
dealer.
High-Low - Split pot games.
Hold ‘em - Also known as Texas Hold ‘em, where the players get
2 cards dealt face down and 5 community cards. These are dealt face up.
Hole Cards - These are the Cards Face down in front of a player.
House - The casino or cardroom that is hosting the poker game. A place where you live when your not playing Poker.
I
Inside Straight - 4 cards needing another between the top and bottom card to complete a straight.
J
Jackpot Poker - A game of poker where the cardroom or casino offers a jackpot to a player who loses with a really big hand (usually Aces full or better).
Jacks-or- Better - Game of poker where a player needs at least a pair
of jacks to open the betting.