Ante: A small segment of a bet given by each player to fuel the pot at the start of a poker hand.
All In: To use up all your chips while still in the game.
Big Blind: The larger of the two blinds. These are typically used in Hold’em. There is a big blind and a small blind.
Big Slick: The nickname for an Ace and King together. They do not need to be suited.
Blind: A bet that’s forced in by a player before cards get dealt.
Board: All of the community cards in a game of Hold’em; The flop, turn, and river.
Brick and Mortar: The name for an actual casino, not one in the online gaming community.
Burn: Discarding the top card from the deck. This is done face down and between each betting round before the next community card is shown. This is done for security purposes.
Buy: The can mean to “buy the pot.” Buying the pot means you hope to bluff your way through the game without being called.
Buy In: This is the amount of cash you pay to enter a tournament.
Call: To put money in the pot equivalent to the more recent bet/raise.
Cap: Typically there is a raise limit in poker. During each betting hand, there can be about 3-4 raises. The last raise allowed is called the cap. This is obviously named because it’s putting the cap or “lid” on the pot.
Centre Pot: This is the main pot during a poker game. There may also be other pots called “side” pots.
Check: Checking means to not bet, but having the option to bet or raise later in the hand. Think of it as betting $0.00.
Check Raise: To check, but raise when a player behind you makes a bet.
Chop: This is an understanding between the two players who submitted the blinds. If no one calls or raises, they can take back their money.
Complete Hand: A hand that uses all 5 cards. A flush, straight or full house would be examples of a complete hand.
Crack: To beat a hand by having a really big hand. This is common with pocket aces.
Crying Call: When you call, but expect to lose.
Draw: To play a hand that isn’t good, but has the possibility to become good if the right cards show up on the board.
Extra Blind: This happens when a new player enters or is returning to a game. This changes the position of the player at the table. They usually submit the smaller blind amount.
Fast Play: When a hand is aggressively played. Betting and raising is done as much as possible.
Fish: This name is given to someone considered to be a bad player.
Flop: These are the first 3 community cards that are laid out together.
Free Card: During the turn or the river card, when players don’t have to call a bet. This happens when checking occurs with all players, and in return, you get to see the card for “free.”
House: The house is the business or establishment that is running the game.
Jackpot: A bonus paid to a loser who has very good hand, but still loses. In Hold’em, they usually need aces fill or better to win the jackpot.
Kicker: A card used to figure out the winner of two hands that are near equivalent. If you have an AJ and your opponent has an AQ and the river is an A, then the person holding the AQ is the winner, because of having the queen kicker.
Limp: To call a bet.
Micro-Limit: Games that have such small betting limits, that they couldn’t possibly be considered profitable.
Muck: The muck pile is the mound of burned and folded cards near the dealer.
No-Limit: This version of poker allows you to bet as much money as you want, as long as you have it right there, in chips.
Out Run: To beat.
Over Pair: A pocket pair that is bigger than any of the cards dealt in the flop. If you have a JJ, and the flop deals a 7-9-10, you have the highest cards, and thus, the over pair.
Pocket: The cards that you have that only you can see.
Pocket Pair: Your starting hand in poker, having two cards that have the same rank. Example: “ I can’t believe I lost, I had pocket kings!”
Pot-Committed: When you are basically devoted to staying in the game because of the size of the pot.
Quads: To have four cards of the same rank.
Rainbow: A flop containing 3 different suits. When this happens, there’s no possibility for a flush on the turn.
Rake: This is the money removed from the pot by the dealer. This money goes to the house’s revenue.
Rank: The value of your card in a numerical sense, not the suit.
River: This is the final card of the community pile.
Set: This is where you have 3 of a kind. You will have a pocket pair, and complete the set by having the 3rd in the community cards.
Showdown: This is where all players still in the game show their cards to see who is the winner. This is done after the 4th round of betting.
Side Pot: This pot occurs when a player runs out of money during a game. If the person who is out of money wins, he can take the money from the centre pot, but the side pot winnings are not his.
Small Blind: This is the smaller of the 2 blinds played before the cards are dealt in Hold’em.
Soft-Play: To play politely against another player, not aggressively betting against him.
Split Pot: The pot can be split if two or more winning hands are equivalent.
Suited: a hand in which two or more cards are of the same suit. For example: “I had a great hand, I had the Ace and King of diamonds.”
Table Stakes: A rule in poker so that when a player runs out of money during a hand, he may not take money from his own pocket.
Tell: A clue someone may unconsciously give away about how strong his or her skill or cards are.
Toke: A small portion of money the winner gives to the dealer. This is considered the dealer’s income.
Trips: This term is used for players having 3 of a kind.
Turn: The 4th card laid face up on the board in the community pile.
Wheel: This is when you have a straight containing an Ace, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
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