Poker Glossary Terms

To win in the game of real money poker, before you learn the game’s strategy, you should be well versed in the poker terms. Now that you have decided to acquire the master skills of the game, let us take you through poker terms so that you can talk the talks. Pocket52 is breaking down all the essential poker terms in-depth, to navigate you through the game vocabulary.

Action

When any player has to make a decision, it is known as action. Simply put, when it’s your turn to make a move, the action will be on you, similarly, when it’s the turn of other players, the action is on them. The action can be anything you do on your turn - check, call, raise, or fold.

Air

Air refers to a very weak hand that has no real value in winning a showdown. Players often use "air" hands to bluff, betting as though they have a strong hand in an attempt to make opponents fold. Holding "air" implies betting with little to no backup in the cards themselves.

All-in

In a table stakes game, when a player raises or calls the bet with all their chips, it is called all-in. In a table stakes game, once a player runs out of chips to bet on, a side pot is created which they cannot win. However, they are still eligible to win the main pot up to the point of their wager. If multiple people go all-in during a single hand, numerous side pots may be created.

Angle shooting

Angle shooting refers to unethical tactics in poker that, while not technically cheating, are designed to deceive or mislead opponents. These actions often exploit loopholes in the rules or the timing of decisions to gain an unfair advantage.

Ante

Ante is a small forced bet contributed by each player before the deal. Antes are commonly used in tournaments along with blinds, while general Hold’em games do not have an ante.

Add-On

In certain games and tournaments, players can buy additional chips between hands and add them to their stack, irrespective of the size of their current stack.

Backdoor

A backdoor refers to completing a hand using both the turn and river cards. It’s commonly used to describe a backdoor flush or backdoor straight, where the player needs specific cards on both the turn and river to complete their hand, often turning a drawing hand into a winning one.

Backraise

A backraise occurs when a player who initially called a raise later re-raises. It’s a strong move that usually signals a very strong hand, as the player is taking a more aggressive stance after showing a passive one by calling.

Bankroll

The total amount of money that players set aside exclusively to play poker is known as their bankroll.

Related Blog – 5 Tips for Poker Bankroll Management

Big Blind

The larger of the two blinds, which are a full first-round bet, are typically used in Hold’em poker.

Blank

A blank is a card that has little to no impact on the game, often a low-ranking card on the turn or river that doesn't help any player's hand. It's a card that changes little in the overall strength of the players’ hands.

Blind

A blind is a forced bet placed by one or more players before any cards are dealt, typically used in games like Texas Hold'em and Omaha. The small blind and big blind are used to initiate action and ensure there is money in the pot from the start.

Bottom Pair

When a player uses the lowest card from the community cards to make a pair, it is known as the bottom pair.

Brick

A brick is a card that doesn't improve a player's hand, similar to a blank. It's often a card that doesn’t help complete a draw or strengthen any existing hands.

Bubble

The bubble refers to the stage in a tournament where only one more elimination is needed for all remaining players to reach the "in-the-money" positions. Players in the bubble are typically more cautious as they aim to avoid being the last player eliminated before the payouts begin.

Burn Card

A burn card is a card that the dealer discards face-down before dealing each community card in games like Texas Hold'em. Burn cards help to prevent cheating and card counting by removing the top card from the deck before dealing, ensuring randomness in the distribution of cards.

Button

In a poker game, a puck or a dealer button is used to mark the player who is dealing. The player who is marked as the dealer is said to be ‘on the button’.

Bluff

A bluff is a single or series of cunning bets that are made with a hand that is believed to be weaker than the opponents. The primary intent is to induce a fold from at least one opponent who holds a much stronger hand.

Buy-in

Buy-in is an amount paid to enter into poker games or tournaments. Usually, the bigger the buy-in, the bigger the tournament prize pool.

Bad Beat

A bad beat is a scenario where a largely weak hand beats a favored hand after getting a great card in turn or river. Simply, the winner of a bad beat shouldn’t have been in the race to win, but due to the luck gods smiling on them they manage to get a card that changes the course of the game. Don’t look out for examples. You’ll have plenty of them in your online poker career.

Calling Station

A calling station is a player who calls a lot, doesn’t fold, but doesn’t raise much as well. This is the ideal target for good poker players as they increase the pot often and lose out on the majority of hands.

Check

To not bet on a particular hand, with the option to call or raise the pot in the betting round later on. The opportunity to decline a bet using a check is only open when there are no bets in the current round. If all the players decide to check and not bet, then the round is considered complete.

Cold Deck

While the original meaning of the phrase is fixing a deck with the intention of cheating in a game, a cold deck also means losing a substantial pot with a strong hand to another player with an even stronger one.

Community Cards

Community cards are presented in the middle of the poker table face-up by the dealer and are shared among the active players in the game. Major poker variants that use community cards include Hold’em and Omaha.

Cutoff

The cutoff is the player seated directly to the right of the dealer button. This position is considered favorable because the player acts late in the betting rounds, giving them the advantage of seeing how others bet before making a decision.

Equity

Equity refers to the expected value or probability of winning a hand, given the current cards and potential draws. It helps players assess whether their hand is worth continuing with by comparing their odds of winning to the size of the pot, guiding decisions on whether to call, fold, or raise.

Cut

After a shuffle, cut or cutting is the splitting of the deck into two halves and moving the bottom half on the top.

Cut Card

An opaque card is placed at the bottom of the deck to ensure no players can see the bottom card.

Continuation bet / C bet

A C-bet (continuation bet) is a bet made by the pre-flop raiser on the next round, usually the flop. It's used to maintain control of the hand and can be a bluff, even if the player missed the flop, to pressure opponents.

Dealer

The player in the game who deals with the cards (theoretically in some games) is known as the dealer. However, in a professional casino poker game or an online poker game where a dealer is present, a player is identified as the dealer as the blinds and bets are to the left of the dealer. After each hand, the dealer position is shifted to the next player in a clockwise manner.

Dog

Used as an insult, a dog is a player that is losing to someone else in a hand.

Double Suited

In Omaha, if a player holds two cards of one suit and two cards of another, it is referred to as double suited.

First Position

Also known as Under the Gun (UTG), the player to the left of the big blind is known as the first position.

Fold

Instead of playing further in the hand, the act of giving up your cards and losing all the money bet so far is called fold. Players often fold when they believe that the chances of them winning are not substantial.

Flop

The first three community cards were dealt on the poker table face-up. These cards are dealt with after the first round of betting is complete.

Gutshot

A gutshot is a straight draw where a player needs a specific card in the middle of the sequence to complete the straight. if a player holds 7♠ 8♣ and the community cards show 5♠ 6♣ Q♦️, the player needs a 4 (of any suit) to complete the straight.

Kicker

A kicker is a side card used to break ties when two or more players have the same hand. For instance, if both players have a pair of kings, the player with the highest kicker (side card) wins the pot.

Limp

To limp means to enter a pot by simply calling the big blind rather than raising. It’s often a conservative strategy, used to play passively and avoid committing too many chips with weaker hands.

Fish

A fish or poker fish is a player who plays poorly, bets on almost every hand without thinking, and often lose. Want to know more about poker fish and other aquatic animals on a poker table? Then you can read ‘Poker Fish vs Poker Shark – Who are you in a Poker game?’.

Fold Equity

It refers to the amount of equity a player will gain with the chance that their opponent folds their hand.

Freeroll

A tournament or event with no entry fee.

Full Ring

A full ring is a poker game with a full table of nine or ten players.

Full House

A full house is a five-card hand that consists of three cards of one value and two cards of another. For example, a hand with three aces and two queens will be considered a full house.

Four of A Kind

Also known as quads, if a player has four cards of equal value in their five-card hand, it is known as four of a kind.

Flush

A Flush is a hand that consists of five cards, all of the same suit.

Grinder

A poker player is known as a grinder if they play continuously to make a steady profit rather than a single big score.

Guts

A betting game similar to poker often requires more guts than skill.

Gutshot

A gutshot is a hand with four cards needed to make five cards straight, but missing the middle card.

Hand

The hand may refer to the private cards you are dealt with in a game or the game that happens between one deal to the next.

Hand-for-Hand

During a poker tournament, hand-for-hand is a situation where tables ensure each table players the exact number of hands until the bubble bursts.

Hijack Seat

The hijack seat or the hijack is the player that is seated right of the ‘cutoff’ and two seats to the right of the ‘button’.

Hole Cards

Private cards are dealt with a player face-down by the dealer. The term is primarily used to describe the first cards dealt with players in Texas Hold’em Poker and Omaha.

Hold’em

Hold’em or Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular poker variants. Each player is dealt two private cards, known as hole cards, with five community cards dealt face up in three stages, the flop, turn and river.

No Limit

A form of a poker game where a player can bet any amount of poker chips (from their stack) whenever is their turn to bet in the hand. On the contrary, limited poker has certain restrictions as to the number of chips one can bet in a hand or a game.

Omaha

One of the most famous variants of poker is where each player is dealt 4 private cards and 5 community cards.

Related Blog – Learn Pot Limit Omaha – Beginners Guide

Overpair

An overpair is a pair in a player's hand that is higher than any of the community cards on the board. It’s a strong hand, as it beats all single-card hands made from the community cards, but it can be vulnerable if an opponent has a set or straight.

Pair

A hand that has two cards of the same value and three extra cards.

Player Liquidity

The number of players playing at a particular casino, a poker site, or platform at a given point. Poker players prefer high player liquidity as it translates to better games, bigger pots, and more tables to choose from. Want to know more? Then read ‘How Pocket52 is acing player liquidity giving its players more tables and more fun!’

Pot Odds

Pot Odds are the ratio of the total pot up until the bet, and the size of bet you must make to continue. Pot odds are substantially used to decipher which pots will be profitable for the player.

Pot

The pot is the total amount of chips or money accumulated during a hand, formed by players' bets. At the end of the hand, the pot is awarded to the player with the best hand, or the last player remaining after all others have folded.

Rainbow

If a flop contains cards with three different suits, it is termed a rainbow. Since it has three unique suits, a flush cannot be made on the turn. In some games, a rainbow is also associated with five community cards that have no more than two of the same suit, thus rendering a flush impossible.

Rake

The amount that the house takes out of every pot. This is the cardroom’s income and ensures capital stability for the organizers.

River

The fifth community card was put face-up on the poker table. Also called ‘fifth street’ in many games, people who lose on the river card are often annoyed with the phrase ‘He drowned in the river.

Royal Flush

If a hand consists of A, K, Q, J, and 10 of the same suit, it is known as a royal flush and is considered the best poker hand.

Rainbow Flush

A rainbow refers to a board texture where the community cards (flop, turn, or river) contain no more than one card of each suit. This reduces the likelihood of players completing a flush, as no suit is represented more than once on the board.

Sit and Go

Tournaments which begin as soon as the designated number of players register

Sell

Selling a hand includes betting less and carefully on a strong hand to lure in more players to call or raise the bet without any suspicion, to increase the pot. This is to ensure bets, in a scenario where the players would not have called a high or maximum bet.

Straight Flush

The second most powerful hand in Hold’em, a straight flush consists of five straight cards in the same suit.

Straight

A straight hand has five cards of consecutive value, irrespective of their suit.

Shark

A poker shark is an excellent poker player who strategically plays each hand, often folding bad hands and analyzing not only their bets but also their opponent’s

Satellite

A satellite or a satellite tournament is a small tournament, which often holds an invitation to a major tournament as one of its prizes.

Stop and Go

A poker play in which a player that has predominantly called and checked, suddenly takes the lead in betting.

Straddle

A straddle is an optional blind bet, usually double the big blind, placed before cards are dealt. It's commonly used in cash games to increase the pot size and add action.

Three of a Kind

Often known as trips, a three-of-a-kind is three cards of the same value with two side cards of different values.

Turn

Also known as ‘fourth street’, the turn card is the fourth community card put face-up on the table.

Two Pair

A five-card hand has two sets of pairs with a side card.

Underdog

A hand or a player who is statistically not favored to win a pot or a game is known as the underdog, or dog by many poker players. In your poker career, you will see many underdog players who win on the river card to take the pot.

Value Bet

A bet made with the intent of getting called by weaker hands to extract maximum value. The goal is to bet an amount that lures your opponent into a call. As the name suggests, the purpose of a value bet is to extract the maximum value from a hand. The amount of the bet should be such that the opponent does not fold while being tempted to call.

Whale

A whale or a poker whale is a wealthy person who isn’t a very good poker player. Other poker players love to play with a whale as they often drop huge sums of money on the table and end up losing. Looking to play with a poker whale? Head over to Pocket52’s August Tournament Blue, and you may sight a whale on your table.

Wired

When the player’s hole cards make a pair, it is known as wired pair or a pocket pair. There are a lot more poker terms that often make their way onto the poker table, but the glossary mentioned above will enhance your game. Learn more while you play more as poker isn’t a difficult game to learn, but a sport difficult to master. May the flop be with you. Sign up at Pocket52 and get a welcome bonus on India’s first and biggest Cryptographically Secure Poker Network.