Texas Hold'em Poker Glossary

A

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ace rag

An ace with a weak kicker, such as A6.

add-on

Special tournament feature where all players are allowed to make a rebuy, usually once at the first break.

all-in, allin

A bet or raise where a player puts all his chips in the middle.

American Airlines

Pocket aces.

ante

A mandatory bet for all players.

ATC, A2C

Any two cards, i.e. any two hole cards, any two random cards.

B

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backdoor

When both cards from the turn and the river are necessary to produce an unexpected hand, such as a straight when a player was on a flush draw from the flop.

bankroll

The amount of money reserved for poker only (or other games such as a casino bankroll).

betting structure

Betting rules, such as size of big blind, small blind, ante, maximum bets, buy-in, how they increase in a tournament, etc.

BB

The big blind (bb) characterizes the stake of a given game and is used as a unit of measure of bet size.

big blind

1. The big blind is the player to the left of the small blind.
2. the big blind represents the value of one minimum bet in a Texas Hold'em poker game.

big blind special

When the big blind wins a big pot with weak hole cards in a hand that was unraised pre flop, as he could have any two cards, including garbage.

blank (card)

A card unlikely to change the best hand, such as a 4 of spades on a KQ96 board with 2 hearts and 2 diamonds.

blind

A mandatory bets for two players, (the small blind and the big blind).

blind off

Or to be blinded off, is the situation where a short stack gets eliminated from a tournament just because the blinds paid took all the chips away.

board

The set of community cards.

boat

A full house.

bomb

A very aggressive poker player, aggressive both pre and post flop.

bonus

An incentive to join a poker room, the bonus can be converted in real cash by playing at real money tables.

bonus code

A code (sometimes called referral code) used when registrating at a room in order to benefit from a bonus, such as the Everest Poker Bonus Code.

bottom pair

The lowest possible pair, such as a pair of 3 on a board K873.

broadway

The best possible straight, ace to ten.

buddy

Someone you have played or play with regularly. In online poker, it can mean:
1. A friend you like to chat with while playing poker ,
2. A bad player who you like to be your opponent,
3. By extension, buddy lists are buddy tracking software.

bullets

Pocket aces.

button

The last player to act postflop.

buy-in

The cost required to enter a poker tournament.

C

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(to) call

To match a better in order to stay in a hand.

calling station

A loose passive player who does not fold easily.

(to) c-bet

A c-bet stands for a continuation bet, which is the flop bet from a preflop raiser, hence continuing his betting.

(to) chase

To stay in a drawing hand hoping for a miraculous card in order to get a completed hand such a straight.

(to) check

To stay in the hand without adding any chip in the middle.

continuation bet

This is the bet from the player who bet or raised in the previous street, hence continuing his betting.

cut-off

The second to last player to act postflop.

D

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dealer

The last player to act postflop, aka the button.

deuce

A two, a card of rank 2.

donk, donkey

A bad player; a player who makes bad moves such as calling with very bad odds.

donkament

This is donk and tournament merged into one word; this concept was created to reflect the idea that poker tournaments are crowded with bad players, a.k.a. donks.

double up

To win an allin situation with another player leading to the doubling of the player's stack.

draw

A hand with low value wich needs to improve (e.g. a straight draw and a flush draw).

drawing dead

When a player on a draw has zero chance of winning, such as drawing to a flush on a paired board when another player already has a full house.

E

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early position

Group of 2 or 3 players acting first after the blinds.

EV

EV stands for expected value and means the average expected statistical result from a hand.

F

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felt

1. The matted fabric covering the poker table.
2.  By extension the table itself.
3.  Also it means to stack someone off, as the uncovered felt becomes visible.

flush

Five cards of the same color.

flush draw

A hand with 4 cards of the same color needing a fifth one to complete a flush.

fold equity

Percent chance an opponent will fold.

freeroll

Online poker freerolls are online poker tournaments that are free to enter. Such tournaments are offered either as a promotion or as a reward to loyal players.

G

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gutter

An inside straight draw, i.e. a straight draw which can only be completed by one card, which is inside the range of four cards.

H

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hand history

A text file recording the details of all players' actions during a poker hand.

heads-up

1. A holdem game with only two players
2. A hand situation in which only two players are involved.

hijack

The player to the right of the cutoff.

hole cam(era)

The camera allowing to see the hole cards on television.

hole cards

The two hidden cards only seen by the holdem player.

HUD

HUD stands for head-up display. In online poker, it is a software which creates a transparent display over the table showing the statistics of each player next to their seat.

I

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insta

Prefix used to reflect instantaneous action; for example "he insta-called" means he instantly called.

J

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(to) jam

In no limit poker, a player who pushes all his chips in the middle is said to jam the pot or to stack off.

L

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laddies

Pocket queens.

leak

A habit, tendency or way of making certain types of action while playing poker, which have a negative expected value. Continuing to follow these habits costs money. For instance, playing too many hands preflop is a leak.

(to) limp

To call for the mimimum bet preflop, one small blind in fixed limit or one big blind in no-limit texas holdem.

limper

A player who limps.

M

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made hand

A (strong) hand already completed such as a set, by opposition to a draw which need an additional card to come to existence.

maniac

A very loose very aggressive player, for example vpip=70%, pfr=30%.

mechanic

A cheater with a an excellent sleight of hand.

(to) muck

1. The pile of discarded cards
2. By extension to fold or to decide to not show one's hole card if unnecessary to decide the winner.

N

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nit

A tight-passive or slightly aggressive player, characterized by his reluctance to take risks.

nuts

The strongest possible hand in the current situation, which depends on the board.

O

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online poker

A software enabling to play poker over the Internet.

orbit

All the hands played for the button to go around the table once.

OTB

OTB stands for "on the button". The player OTB is the one sitting in front of the button. He is the last player to act post flop. He is also called the dealer. This expression comes from games where each player takes the dealer's role in turn.

out

An out is one of the cards remaining in the deck which improve a given hand; for example there are 9 outs to a flush draw.

outer

Used in an expression like "a 4-outer", which is a hand with 4 outs.

P

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PFR

Preflop raise, the percentage of hands a player raises preflop.

poker brat

This is Phil Hellmuth's nickname, well deserved as can be seen in numerous poker videos on the internet.

play money

On the Internet, play money games do not involve any real money, just fake money with no financial implication; conversely, real money poker is real poker with real money.

pot

All the chips bet at a specific time in the current round, which are all put in the middle of the table.

pot-limit

Betting structure where the maximum bet allowed at any time is the current pot.

pwn, pwned, pwnage

Derived from own, the 'p' instead of 'o' being initially a typo as 'p' is next to 'o' on the keyboard. It means to dominate an opponent to the point of making him make huge and costly mistakes.

push

When a player puts all in chips in the middle, going all in.

Q

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quad

Four of a kind.

R

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rag

A card between 9 and 2, which is useless in a given context. Often used in the expression ace rag, which means an ace with a weak kicker, such as A6.

rainbow

In holdem, rainbow describes a board with different suits. If the flop is rainbow, it shows three different suits and no flushes are possible, just runner-runner flushes. If the turn is ranbow it contains the four suits and flushes are impossible.

range

A list of hands representing the likely holding of a player; for example the range {QQ+} stands for pairs, QQ or higher.

referral code

Similat to a bonus code, it is a code used when registrating at a room in order to benefit from a bonus offer, such as the Full Tilt Referral Code.

rock

A very tight very passive player, for example vpip=8%, pfr=3%.

rockets

Pocket aces.

runner-runner

In Texas Hold'em, a runner-runner hand needs 2 more cards at the turn and river to get completed. For instance, you have one heart and the flop has two hearts. If two more hearts come, you have hit a runner-runner flush.

S

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(to) sandbag

1. To check raise.
2. To slow play.

(to) semi-bluff

A semi-bluff is a bluff with a drawing hand which gives the possibility of hitting a big hand. A real bluff with "air" does not offer this chance

set

Three of a kind from a pocket pair plus one board card.

shark

A very good player, usually tight-aggressive.

sheriff

A player who cannot tolerate to be bluffed.

(to) shove

To shove means to push allin, to bet one's entire stack.

skin

In online poker, a skin is the graphical software used by the poker room, which is sometimes shared among rooms of the same network.

small blind (SB)

1.  The player first to act postflop; he must bet half the big blind preflop.
2. The amount of the corresponding bet which is half the big blind.

(to) spew

To play weak hands or play bad poker and loose a lot of chips.

stack

The pile of all your chips at the table. Often referred as short stack or big stack.

(to) stack off

In no-limit, to move allin, to bet your entire stack.

steal

An attempt to get the pot with a raise, usually from late position

(to) steam

When a player is very upset after a bad beat, a very unlucky development or a big loss, he is said to be steaming.

straight

Five cards with consecutive ranks, such as T9876.

straight draw

1.  An open-ended straight draw is four cards with consecutive ranks needing a fifth outside card to complete a straight, e.g. T987.
2. A gut-shot straight draw is four cards nearly in consecutive order which need an inside card to complete a straight, e.g. T976, which meeds a 8 to make a straight.

street

A betting round.

T

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(to) tank

To take a long time before making an important decision.

tell

A tell is any pattern or sign in a player's behavior that reveals the strength of his hand (see Caro's Book of Poker Tells).

(to) three bet (3-bet)

A 3-bet is a reraise, pre or postflop.

top pair (TP, TPTK, TPNK, TPGK)

Top pair is one hole card with the same rank as the highest card on the board.
1. tp just stands for top pair.
2. tptk stands for top pair top kicker, eg AK with a KQ7 bord.
3. tpnk means top pair no kicker (very low kicker) such as K5 with the same board.
4. tpgk means top pair good kicker like KQ on the same board.

trip

Three of a kind where two of the three cards are on the board (to distinguish from a set).

U

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under the gun (UTG)

The first player to act preflop in holdem; he acts first after the blinds postflop.

UIGEA

UIGEA stands for the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act". This is a controversial US law passed in 2006, which banned online gaming transactions by banks, but did not make if illegal for US citizens to gamble online.

V

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value bet

When a player is nearly certain to have the best hand, the purpose of his betting is just to extract value from the hand, hence a value bet.

VPIP

Vpip is a statistical measure which stands for "Voluntarily Put Money Into the Pot". It calculates how often a player participates in pots and represents his relative tightness/looseness.

W

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wheel

The lowest possible straight, five to ace.

win ratio (WR)

The average profit (or loss) of an online poker player measure as the number of big blinds earned (loss) every 100 hands.