Poker
Terminology
Following is the
ranking of general poker
hands from highest to
lowest.
1.
Royal
Straight Flush -
10-J-Q-K-A, all of the same
suit.
2.
Straight Flush -
five cards, of the same suit, in order,
such as 2-3-4-5-6 all of
diamonds.
3.
Four of
a Kind - four of the
same card, such as
K-A-A-A-A.
4.
Full
House - a set of three
of a kind plus a pair, such as
8-8-Q-Q-Q.
5.
Flush - five
cards of the same suit.
6.
Straight - five
running cards not necessarily of the same
suit, such as 6-7-8-9-10.
7.
Three
of a Kind - three cards
of the same value, such as
10-10-10.
8.
Two
Pair – four cards with
two of the same value and the other two of
the same value, such as 8-8 and
A-A.
9.
One
Pair – two cards of the
same value, such as 2-2.
10.
High
Card – any one
card with the highest
value
Slang for specific
hands:
A-A –
American Airlines, bullets, pocket
rockets
A-K – Big Slick, “Walking back to
Houston”
A-J -- Ajax
K-K – Cowboys
K-Q – Marriage
K-J – Kojak
K-9 -- Canine
Q-Q – Dames, divas, ladies, the Hilton
sisters
Q-J – Maverick, Oedipus Rex
Q-7 -- Computer Hand
J-J – Jokers, hooks
J-5 –
Jackson Five, Motown
10-5 – Five and dime
10-2 –Doyle Brunson
8-8 – Snowmen, Octopuses
7-7 – Hockey Sticks, walking Sticks
7-2 – The Hammer
5-5 – Nickels, presto
5-4 – Jesse James (for his Colt .45)
4-4 - Sailboats
2-2 – Ducks
Poker
Vocabulary:
Ace-High:
A five-card
hand that has no hand combinations (flush,
straight, pair etc), but contains one
Ace.
All-In: When you bet
all your money on a hand, either
voluntarily in the belief that you have the
strongest hand, or because do not have
enough money to cover the full amount bet
by someone else. You then contend for the
pot in an amount proportional to what you
contributed.
Ante: The minimum bet
that players must place into the pot by
each player before betting begins. The ante
is placed before any cards are
dealt.
Bad Beat: When a good
hand that would have been expected to win
the pot is beaten by a lucky
draw.
Backdoor:
M
aking a
hand you weren't playing for, for example,
you play for a full house but make a
flush
Big Blind: The first
bet posted by the player to the left of the
player who posts the small blind. It is a
forced bet. The big blind bet amount is
equal to the lower bet. For example, in a
$10 - $20 game, the big blind is
$10.
Big Slick: An A-K
combination as pocket (hole)
cards.
Blind Bet: A forced bet
that is placed before any cards are dealt.
It is considered a live bet for the first
round of betting. You have big blind and
small blind bets in the first round of
betting.
Bluff: To pretend that
you have a better hand than you actually
do, by betting aggressively, in the hope
that the other players will
fold.
Boat: Slang for a full
house.
Board:
The
cards seen by all the players, the
community cards in the center of the table
or in a players hand in a game like stud
poker
Bullets:
A pair
of Aces. If these are your pocket cards,
they are also known as “Pocket
Rockets”.
Burning a
Card:
Discarding the top
card from the deck.
Buy-in Amount:
T
he
amount you must bring into a
game.
Call: W
hen you
place a bet equal to the previous
bet.
Cash Out:
To
finish playing and exchange your chips for
cash.
Catch:
When a
player makes the hand s/he was drawing
to.
Check:
When
you want to stay in the game but not place
a bet. You can only check if no other bets
have been placed in the betting
round.
Check-Raise:
To
check at the beginning of a betting round
and then raise when a player to your left
bets.
Community Cards:
Cards
that are dealt to the table. All players
can use these cards to complete a five-card
hand.
Dead Man's Hand:
Two
pair hand consisting of Aces & Eights.
This is reputed to be the hand that Wild
Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot
dead.
Dealer-button:
A flat
disk that is used to signify the Dealer's
position on the table in online poker. The
disk is usually marked with a
D.
Deuces:
A pair
of Twos.
Drawing:
Remaining in the
round and accepting more
cards.
Drawing to a
hand:
Remaining in the
round with the hope of making one’s
potential hand as more cards are
dealt.
Drawing Dead:
When a
player is drawing to a hand that is not the
best hand offered by the flop and will
therefore be beaten even if the hand is
made.
Early
Position:
In an
early betting position for a hand weakest
position.
Family
Pot:
When
everyone at the table is still involved in
the pot.
Fast
Play:
Betting
and raising aggressively.
Flop:
The
first three community cards dealt to the
table.
Fold:
When
players throw in their cards. They give up
any claim on the pot in exchange for not
having to contribute more money to the
pot.
Forced
Bet:
A bet
that a player has no choice but to make, a
blind bet.
Flush Draw:
When a
player holds four cards of the same suit
and is hoping to draw a fifth card of that
suit to complete a
flush.
Go on tilt:
When a
player loses emotional balance during a
game and plays
irrationally.
Gut Shot:
To draw
to an inside
straight.
Heads Up:
A game
with only two players in
it.
Hole Cards:
These
are the Down Cards in front of the players.
(Also known as “Pocket
Cards”)
House:
The
host of the game (e.g. the
casino).
Inside straight
draw:
Drawing
to a straight where the cards needed to
complete the straight are those in the
middle of the straight. For example, you
have 6-7-9-10 and need the middle card (8)
to make the
straight.
Kicker:
The
highest unpaired card of a player’s pocket
cards.
Limping In:
Calling
the big blind rather than
raising.
Monster:
A very
strong hand.
Muck:
When
you do not want to show your hand to the
table. The hand is discarded without being
displayed to the table. You can muck a
losing hand in a show down, or the winning
hand if everyone else has folded before
you.
Nuts:
The
best possible hand that cannot be beaten,
at a particular point of the
game.
Nut Flush:
A flush
containing the
Ace.
Off suit:
Cards
of different
suits.
Outs:
Cards
that will make the hand that the player is
drawing to.
Over
card:
A card
on the board higher than your
pair.
Paint Cards:
The
picture cards (King, Queen,
Jack).
Pocket Cards:
The
cards dealt face down to each player. (Also
known as “Hole
Cards”)
Pocket Rockets:
A pair
of Aces as your pocket cards (hole
cards).
Pot:
The pot
is the pile of chips that accumulates as
each player ante, bet and raise. All
winnings are paid from the pot. The value
of the pot varies. It is dependant on the
stakes involved and the amount the Players
bet. The pot goes to the winner of each
round.
Note:
The
House takes a small percentage of the pot.
This is known as the
"rake."
If two
or more Players have the same winning hand,
they split the pot
equally.
Pot
–Limit:
A game
where a player's maximum bet is the size of
the pot.
Pot
Odds:
The
calculated odds the money in the pot
represents in relation to how much it will
cost to play and hand and the players
chances of winning the
hand.
Quads:
Four of
a kind (four cards of the same
denomination).
Rake:
Percentage of the
pot taken by the
house.
Rags:
Useless
cards – cards that don’t improve a
hand.
Rainbow:
When
the board contains 3 or 4 cards of
different suits.
Raise:
When
you increase the bet made by a preceding
player. This increases the stakes for
remaining Players, who now have to match
the total amount including the
raise.
Ring Game:
A
normal real money table game, as opposed to
a tournament game.
River Card:
The
final community card
dealt.
Scare Cards:
High
board cards (for example, an Ace that
appears on the
flop).
See:
To see
someone is to call their
bet.
Semi-bluff:
To
bluff with a hand that still has drawing
potential and could improve to be the
winning hand.
Seven Deuce:
The
acknowledged weakest starting card
combination in Texas Hold-em
(7-2).
Show down:
After
the last betting round when the remaining
players compare hands to determine the
winner. The player with the highest value
hand wins the pot.
Sitting Out:
When
you choose to leave a table for a few
hands.
Note:
If a player sits out for more than fifteen
minutes, or has missed two rounds of
blinds, they are usually removed from the
table.
Slow Playing:
Playing
non-aggressively with a powerful hand;
calling and betting instead of raising.
This is done in the hope of not driving
players out of the hand and thus sucking
more money into the pot. This is also
called
"sandbagging."
Small Blind:
The
first bet posted by the player to the
Dealer's left. It is a forced bet. The
small blind bet amount is equal to half of
the lower bet. For example, in a $10 - $20
game, the small blind is
$5.
Stack:
A
player’s chips.
Steal:
To try
and win the pot by betting when everyone
else has checked, or by making a large
raise when everyone else has
called.
Tells:
Gestures or words
by a player that give away the value of
his/her hand.
Tight:
A tight
player is a player who never bets unless
they hold a good hand.
Turn:
The
fourth community card
dealt.
Under the Gun:
The
player who must act first in the betting
round.
Visible Cards:
Cards
dealt face up to each Player. Players use
these cards to complete a five-card
combination.
WSOP:
World
Series of
Poker.
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