Poker Glossary

Action - the amount of money placed into the pot.

Active Player - one who is still in the pot.

Ante - a small portion of the minimum bet that each player must place into the pot before a new hand starts.

Bankroll - is a player’s total amount of money they can gamble with.

Bet - Wager.

Betting Limits - is the minimum or maximum amounts you can wager on one bet. You are not allowed to wager less than the minimum or more than the maximum amount posted.

Blind Bet - is the bet made by players that are required because of their betting positions.

Bluff - is when a player raises with a weak hand in hopes that they will drive out the other players with stronger hands.

Board - is where the community cards are dealt face-up in the center.

Boat - term used for a full house.

Break-even point - the point at which a players bets made would equal the payoffs they receive.

Bring-in Bet - is a forced bet made in the first round by the player with the lowest up card.

Buck - is a $100 wager.

Bug - The Joker.

Bump - this means to raise.

Burn Card - this is the card that is temporarily removed from play. This card is either placed on the bottom of the deck or in the discard tray, hence the term the burning card,

Button - this is the plastic disc used to mark the player who is the next designated dealer position.

Call - this is when the player matches the current bet on the table.

Caller - the person who has called a bet.

Card Counting - keeping an eye on the cards that have been played since the deck was shuffled.

Card Sharp - someone who is an expert card player.

Check - this is where a player to stay in the game but does not wish to bet says check.

Chips - these are the tokens used in lieu of cash.

Chips Tray - this is the tray that hold the inventory of chips for the table.

Copy - In Gai Pow Poker this is when the player and the banker have the same hand. In this case the banker wins all copies.

Cut - this is where the dealer divides the deck in two and inverts them after they have been shuffled.

Cut Card - a card that is of a different color used to cut a deck of cards.

Deal - to give out the cards to the players in the hand.

Designated Dealer - in Texas Hold’em the player to the left of the dealer makes a bet a first. In a poker room a different player is the designated dealer in each hand.

Dime Bet - this is a $1000 wager.

Discard Tray - this is a tray that is to the right of the dealer where all cards that have been played are removed to.

Dollar Bet - this is a $100 wager.

Draw - this is the second round of cards that are dealt.

Draw Button - this is a button that allows the player to draw five new cards.

Drop Box - on a gaming table, the box that serves as a repository for cash, markers, and chips.

Edge - an advantage over an opponent.

Edge Bet - is made by the edge to force a bet.

Even Money - a bet that pays off exactly what was bet.

Face Card - a Jack, Queen or King are all face cards due to the figure on the card.

Family Pot - is where everyone at the table has entered into the pot.

Fifth Street - is the final round of betting and the fifth community card of the game.

First Base - the first position to the left of the dealer also called Age.

Flop - the first three community cards, dealt simultaneously as well as to deal a flop or make a hand on the flop.

Flush - is a hand where all cards are of the same suit.

Fold - is when a player chooses to decline a bet and drops out of the hand.

Foul - is a hand in which a player may not be able to play for reason or another. A fouled hand is a losing hand.

Four of a Kind - four cards of the same denomination or of the same rank, also known as quads.

Fourth Street - In stud poker, the fourth card dealt to each player. Also used to refer to the fourth community card dealt in Hold'em, more common term for this is turn. In seven-card stud, the second round of betting is referred to as this because players have four cards.

Full House - is a hand consisting of a three of a kind and a pair.

Green - The most common color used for $25 chips.

Hand - is the cards that you hold, also a player's best five cards. A hand is also everything that happens between shuffles - cards are dealt, betting is done, a winner is declared, and the pot is pushed.

High Poker - is the hand where the high cards win.

High Roller - is a big bettor or a person who likes to play for large stakes, or in the biggest games.

Hit - the card that is needed to make the hand or make the river or to make the particular hand that one is going for.

Hold’em - is the name of the class of poker where players receive two cards referred to as hole cards then they are dealt for all players 5 community cards. Players bet after receiving their hole cards then 3 flop cards are dealt further bets are made then a 4th card called the Turn then finally a 5th card called the River.

Hole Card - this is the cards concealed in a players hand also the face down cards dealt to each player in Stud and Hold’em.

Hot - is a player who is on a winning streak. In a deck of cards it is deck that has had a lot of good hands.

Inside Straight - four cards requiring one to complete the straight.

Insurance - Insurance is offered only when the dealers up card is an ace. The insurance bet wins double if the dealer has a natural, but loses if the dealer does not.

Jack - is the face card that ranks between the 10 and the queen.

Joker - the 53rd card in a deck of cards sometimes used as a wild card.

Kicker - in a draw poker game, aside card or high card held that doesn’t contribute to a straight or a flush, usually an ace or a king.

Knock - in poker, at the time for making a bet, indicate that one declines to bet; check.

Limit - any game that has a fixed limit on how much you can bet or raise in each round. Low - having the lowest card or combination of cards showing on the board; of importance because sometimes on the first round, the holder of the low card must initiate the betting.

Low Poker - or also referred to lowball is where the pot is awarded to the hand that has the lowest poker value.



Marker - a check that can be written at the gaming tables by a player who has established credit with the casino. Also referred to as a promissory note, a credit slip, or IOU.

Muck - to discard a hand also the discard pile in which all cards are dead. Also a collection of face-down cards near the dealer composed of discards.
BR> Natural - a card that is not wild or hand that does not contain any wild cards.

Nut - the fixed amount that a gambler decides to win in a day.

Odds - ratio of probabilities of either winning a hand or losing the hand.

Open - the player who bets first or the face-up cards in stud poker.

Out - folded, ineligible to bet or win this hand or an out is a card that will improve your hand, usually one that you think will make it a winner. As well in Hold'em, an open-ended straight draw has eight outs.

Overlays - in Texas Hold’em this is when a player's pair higher than any pair among the community cards or in stud poker, a player's pair higher than any face-up pair.

Pair - is any two cards that have the same rank.

Pass - to decline to bet, to fold and to throw your cards down.

Pat - in draw poker this is describing a hand that needs to draw no cards.

Pay Off - to call a bet because you believe a player has you beat also your payback, or the return on your wager.

Pone - player the right of the dealer.

Pool - in English poker this is what the pot is referred to.

Pot - is the amount of money that has been bet, anted, and raised by the players. The pot goes to the winner.

Power - in Stud this is the hand that contains the strongest up card or the one with the most potential.

Progressive - describes the high draw games which once were played.

Puck - is a token used to show where the dealer position is.

Pump - to raise.

Push - in stud pass an offered card to the left or to bet too often or too much also to Split a pot and a split pot.

Quads - is four of a kind.

Qualifier - is the minimum that a hand must meet in order to win the pot.

Queen - A face card, the one that ranks between the jack and the king.

Quint - is a straight flush.

Rack - is a plastic tray which holds 100 chips in 5 stacks of 20.

Raise - one must place a higher wager into the pot, then all other players must call that bet--or raise it--in order to remain in the game.

Rake - this is money taken from each pot and given to the host in return for hosting the game this is usually a percentage of the pot (5%-10%).

Rank - this is usually the value of the card as opposed to the actual suit of the card.

Red - this is the color that denotes $5 chips.

River - this is the last card that is dealt in Stud of Hold’em. In the case of seven card stud this means to play until the final round of betting is called going to the river.

Rockets - is a pair of aces in the hole.

Routine - is what a straight flush is referred to.

Royal Flush - is the ace high straight flush, this is the best poker hand to have.

Run - is a straight or a series of good hands.



School - are players who are in regular game.

Seat - is the chair at a table or an opening in a game.

Session - is a period of play from the moment a player is seated until the player cashes out.

Set - in Pai Gow this is where the players set their hands in two separate hands of five cards and two cards each, in Hold’em and stud is a three of a kind, or a set of four of a kind.

Seventh Street - is the final round of betting on the last card in Seven card Stud.

Shake-Shake - is another name that Pai Gow Poker is referred to.

Shark - is another name that an expert player is referred to.

Sharp - is also another name that an expert player is referred to.

Shed - is a discard in draw poker.

Showdown - is when the players who are left in after the final round of betting must show there hands to determine the winner.

Shuffle - this is where the dealer mixes up the cards before dealing the next hand.

Singleton - is a card that is the only one of its rank.

Sixth Street - is the sixth card in Seven Card Stud. It is also the fourth round of betting as they are holding six cards.

Steal - this is where the person playing is bluffing to win the pot.

Straight - is a hand that consists of 5 cards in sequence but not in the suit.

Straight Flush - is a hand that consists of 5 cards in sequence of the same suit.

Suit - this is the 4 types of cards such as Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades.

Texas Hold’em - is a poker game in which each player gets two pocket cards, while the dealer deals five community cards that are then dealt face-up on the table. The best hand that can be made with these seven cards. There is a round of betting after the pocket cards are dealt, after the first three community cards (the flop), after the fourth, or turn card, and after the final, or river card.

Third Street - in Seven Card Stud this is the first round of betting because this is where they have three cards.

Three of a Kind - this is where a player holds three cards of the same suit.

Toke - this is a tip given to the dealer or waitress in the form of a chip or money, usually taken from the pot.

Trey - this is a three. It is also to divide a deck into three piles before shuffling.

Trip - this is a three of a kind.

Two Pair - this is when a player has a hand consisting of two sets of pairs and a single card.

Up Card - this is an an open card or a card that is dealt face up.

Vigorish - this is a fee, commission or the house taking.

Wager - this means to make a bet.

White - this is the most common color used for the $1 chip.

Wild Card - this is a joker or standard card that can be used to represent any card desired.