Poker Terminology
Below is some of the basic terminology that players use in a poker game.
ABC player - In poker terminology, an ABC player is one who plays by the book or wagers in predictable patterns.
Active player - In poker terminology, an active player is a player who is in the pot.
All-in - The table stakes rule says that you can only bet up to the amount of money you had in front of you at the start of a hand. When you've bet (or called) up to that amount, you're said to be all-in. You've put all the money into the pot that you can for that hand. Other active players can continue to bet among themselves, but they'll compete for a side pot. Your hand will compete for the pot at the point where you were able to match all bets.
Bet - To put money into a pot, as in "I bet."
Bet for value - When you bet in order to increase the pot size, not to make your opponents fold.
Bet odds - The odds you get from the number of callers on a betting round. If you bet and four players call, then your bet odds are 5-1.
Bet the pot - Poker terminology says to bet the pot is to make a bet that is the size of the pot.
Big blind - The forced bet that is made by the person sitting two seats to the left of the button. The larger of two blinds. Usually this blind is the same size as the bet size on the first betting round. In tournament play, this amount increases after each timed round.
Blind - An initial forced bet that is put out before the cards are even dealt is called a blind bet. It's used in Texas holdem poker to replace the ante to get some initial money into the pot; it’s a mandatory bet placed by the two players to the left of the dealer button (big blind and small blind).
Bluff - To raise or bet a weak hand in order to make your opponent think you have a strong hand. A bluff is a bet that can't win if you're called. There are generally two ways for a bet to win. One is for the opponent to fold, conceding the pot, the other is for the opponent to call and your hand prevails in a showdown. A bluff can only win if your opponent folds.
Board - The board is specific to Texas holdem poker terminology, it's the community cards in the middle of the table are called the board. The board consists of either three, four, or five cards, depending on the betting round.
Burn - To discard the top card of the deck. This is done to prevent anyone from being able to determine the next card.
Button -The last player to act, before the blinds, is called the button. The button player is designated by a plastic disk, which rotates among the players. It is used to designate the player who holds the dealer's position in the betting order.
Buy-in - A minimum amount of money that must be paid in order to play in a tournament or live game. For example, in a £2-£4 Texas holdem poker game, the minimum buy-in is usually £20.
Call - When another player bets, you must either call by putting an amount equal to the bet into the pot (sometimes called equalizing the pot) or fold. If you don't have enough chips to completely equalize the pot, you can go all-in and call for only the chips you have.
Check - Refers to declining to bet when it's your turn to do so.
Check-raise - In poker terminology, check-raising is a form of slow play. Checking with the intent of raising if another player bets.
Chips - Clay or plastic disks representing money.
Cut - To divide the deck in half prior to the dealing of a hand, in an effort to keep the dealer honest and by spoiling an attempted stacked deck. The person to the right of the dealer cuts the deck.
Dead card - One no longer in play because of a misdeal or other irregularity.
Dead hand - One no longer in play because you have mucked it, or exposed it too soon, often by accident.
Double up - In poker terminology, this means to bet all your chips and win, ending up with twice as many chips.
Draw - To have four cards to a straight or a flush, with one or two community cards still to be revealed. "I knew he was on a draw, so I re-raised all-in with my pair."
Flop - In Texas holdem poker terminology, the flop is the first three of the five community cards that make up the board.
Flush - Five cards of the same suit, but not in any particular order.
Fold - To concede any claim on the pot by discarding your hand rather than calling or raising a bet.
Kicker - In Texas holdem poker terminology, the kicker is the highest odd card when you have a pair. If you have a pair of Aces with a King, a 10, and a 7 then you have a pair of Aces with a King kicker. It's often used to denote the lower of the two cards in your private hand. For example, if you have an Ace and a 10, you have an Ace with a 10 kicker. If your 10 pairs a 10 on the board, then you have a pair of I0s with an Ace kicker.
Main pot - If a player goes all-in, the amount of the pot that's been equalized is set aside as the main pot. Any further action by other active hands goes into a side pot that the all-in player does not compete for.
No-limit - A betting structure where the only limit on bet size is the amount of chips on the table.
Odds - The probability of making your hand. See bet odds, implied odds, and pot odds.
Pot - Chips at stake in the center of the table.
Raise - You raise by putting an extra bet in the pot, requiring other active hands to either equalize the pot by calling your raise or fold.
Re-raise - A re-raise is a raise after a previous raise by someone else.
Side pot - Bets made after one player is all-in are put in a side pot.
Small blind - Sits one to the left of the dealer and is forced to bet, or post, half of the big blind.
Turn - In Texas holdem poker terminology, the turn is the fourth card placed on the board as a community card. The betting round after the turn is usually at a bet size double the size of the bets on the previous round.