Action
An opportunity to act.
Ante
A small portion of chips contributed by each player at the beginning of a hand
All-In
To run out of chips while betting.
Backdoor
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand.
Bad Beat
To have a large underdog hand beat a heavily favored hand.
Blank
A board card which does not affect the standings in the hand.
Blind
A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt.
Board
All of the community cards in a Hold’em game.
Bottom Pair
A pair made by the lowest card on the board.
Burn
To get rid of the top card from the deck. This happens between each betting round.
Button
A white acrylic disk to indicate who is the dealer.
Buy
“buy the pot” or “buy the bottom”
Calling Station
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but never raises or folds.
Cap
To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. In California this is called “Capitola” or “Cappuccino.”
Case
The last card of a certain rank in a deck.
Center Pot
The first pot made during a hand.
Check
No betting with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. The same as betting 0 dollars.
Check Raise
To check and then raise when a player behind you bets.
Cold Call
Calling more than one bet in a single action.
Come Hand
The drawing hand
Complete Hand
A hand which is defined by all five cards – a favorable hand, for sure.
Connector
A hold’em starting hand when two cards are one apart in rank.
Cripple
As in to cripple the deck.
Dog
Shortened form of “Underdog”
Dominated Hand
A hand which is bound to lose to a better hand
Draw Dead
Trying to make a hand that won’t even win the pot.
Equity
One’s “rightful” share of a pot.
Family Pot
A pot in which all players call before the flop.
Fast
To play aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible.
Flop
The first three community cards, put out all together, face up
Foul
A hand which cannot be played.
Free Card
A turn or river card which doesn’t need to be called, because of earlier play.
Gutshot Straight
A straight filled “inside.”
Heads Up
A pot which is contested by two players
Hit
The flop contained cards which helped your hand.
House
The establishment running the game.
Implied Odds
Odds that don’t exist, but may be included in your calculations because of bets which you expect to win if you hit your hand.
Jackpot
A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a good hand beaten.
Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands.
Live Blind
A forced bet put in by one or more players, before the cards have been dealt.
Maniac
A player who does a lot of “fast” playing.
Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer.
No-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount.
Nuts
The best possible hand given the board.
Offsuit
A hold’em starting hand with two cards of different suits.
One-Gap
A hold-em starting hand with two cards which are two apart in rank.
Out
A card which will cause your hand to win.
Outrun
To beat.
Overcall
To call a bet after one or more players have called.
Overcard
A card higher than any card on the board.
Overpair
A pocket pair higher than any other card on the flop.
Pay Off
To call a bet where the better is representing a hand which is unbeatable.
Pocket
Your unique hand which only you can see.
Post
To put in a blind bet.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Ragged
A flop which doesn’t help any of the players.
Rainbow
A flop that has three different suits.
Rake
An amount of money taken out of every pot, by the dealer.
Rank
The numerical value of a card.
River
The final and fifth community card put out face up, by itself.
Rock
A player who plays very tight, and not so creatively.
Scare Card
A card which will likely turn the best hand into trash.
Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop.
Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand.
Show Down
When all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand.
Side Pot
A pot in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips.
Slow Play
To play a strong hand weakly, as a form of bluffing.
Spread Limits
A betting structure.
Suited
A hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit.
Tell
A clue or hint given unknowingly by a player, about the strength of his hand.
Tilt
To play wildly or recklessly.
Toke
A small amount of money given to the dealer by the winner of a pot.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Under The Gun
The position of the player who acts first on a betting round.
Underdog
A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot.
Variance
A measure of up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance isn’t necessarily a measure of how well you play.

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