Poker glossary
103 poker terms explained in plain English, each with a short definition, a fuller explanation and an example.
103 terms
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A
- Aggression factorStrategyAggression factor (AF) is a stat that compares how often a player bets or raises with how often they call, usually after the flop.
- All-inBettingBetting all of your remaining chips.
- AnteBettingA small forced bet taken from every player (or a big-blind ante from one player) before the deal.
B
- Backdoor drawHandsA backdoor draw is a draw that needs help on both the turn and the river, such as holding three cards to a flush on the flop.
- Bad beatStrategyA bad beat is losing a hand in which you were a big favourite when the money went in, usually to a lucky turn or river card.
- BankrollStrategyThe chips or budget you set aside for poker, separate from everything else.
- Big blindBettingThe larger forced bet, posted two seats left of the button. Also the unit used to measure stacks and bets.
- BlindsBettingForced bets posted before the cards are dealt by the two players to the left of the button.
- BlockerStrategyA blocker is a card in your hand that reduces the number of combinations of a particular hand your opponent can hold.
- BluffStrategyBetting or raising with a weak hand to make a better hand fold.
- BoardBasicsThe face-up community cards in the middle of the table that every player can use.
- Bounty / Progressive KOTournamentsA bounty tournament gives a reward for each player you knock out; in a progressive knockout (PKO), part of each bounty is added to your own.
- BubbleTournamentsThe point in a tournament just before the prize places start.
- ButtonPositionsThe dealer position. It acts last on every street after the flop, which makes it the most profitable seat.
- Buy-inTournamentsA buy-in is the amount of chips or tickets needed to join a game or tournament, which sets your entry and starting stack.
C
- C-betBettingA bet on the flop by the player who made the last raise before the flop.
- CallBettingTo call is to match the current bet or raise, putting in just enough chips to stay in the hand without raising.
- CheckBettingTo check is to pass the action to the next player without betting, which is only allowed when nobody has bet on the current round.
- Check-raiseBettingChecking, then raising after an opponent bets in the same round.
- Chip leaderTournamentsThe chip leader is the player with the most chips in a tournament, or at a single table, at a given moment.
- Cold callBettingA cold call is calling a raise when you have not yet put any chips into the pot voluntarily on that betting round.
- Combos (combinations)Math & oddsA combo is one specific two-card version of a starting hand; there are 1,326 possible starting-hand combos in Texas Hold’em.
- CoolerStrategyA cooler is a hand where two players both hold very strong hands, so lots of chips go in and the loser could not reasonably avoid it.
- CutoffPositionsThe cutoff is the seat directly to the right of the button, usually considered the second-best position at the table.
D
- Deep stackStrategyA deep stack is a stack that is large compared with the blinds, usually 100 big blinds or more, allowing more complex post-flop play.
- Donk betBettingA donk bet is a bet made out of position, at the start of a new street, into the player who was the aggressor on the previous round.
- DrawHandsA draw is an incomplete hand that needs one or more cards to become strong, such as a flush draw or a straight draw.
- Dry boardHandsA dry board is a set of community cards with few possible draws, such as K-7-2 in three suits, where hand strengths rarely change.
E
- Early positionPositionsEarly position means the first seats to act before the flop, such as under the gun, where the most players are still to act behind you.
- Effective stackMath & oddsThe effective stack is the smallest stack among the players in a hand, because that is the most anyone can win or lose against it.
- EquityMath & oddsYour share of the pot based on how often your hand wins from this point, with split pots shared.
- Expected value (EV)Math & oddsThe average result of a decision if you could repeat it many times.
- Exploitative playStrategyExploitative play is adjusting your strategy to target an opponent’s specific mistakes, even if it leaves you open to counter-adjustment.
F
- Final tableTournamentsThe final table is the last table in a multi-table tournament, formed when all the remaining players can fit at a single table.
- FloatBettingTo float is to call a bet, usually in position, with a weak hand or draw, planning to win the pot later when your opponent shows weakness.
- FlopBasicsThe first three community cards, dealt face up together after the first betting round.
- Flush drawHandsA flush draw is four cards of the same suit that need one more of that suit to complete a flush, giving you 9 outs.
- FoldBettingTo fold is to give up your hand and any claim to the pot, discarding your cards without putting in any more chips.
- Fold equityMath & oddsThe extra value a bet gains from the chance that your opponent folds.
- FreerollTournamentsA freeroll is a tournament with no entry cost, which makes it a low-pressure way to practise tournament play and test ideas.
G
H
- Heads-upStrategyHeads-up means only two players are involved, either in a single pot or at a table where just two players remain.
- HijackPositionsThe hijack is the seat two places to the right of the button, directly before the cutoff in the order of action.
- Hole cardsBasicsThe private cards dealt face down to each player: two in Texas Hold’em, four in PLO, five in PLO5.
I
- ICM (Independent Chip Model)TournamentsA model that converts tournament chip stacks into each player’s share of the remaining prize pool.
- Implied oddsMath & oddsExtra chips you expect to win on later streets when you hit, beyond what’s in the pot now.
- Isolation raiseBettingAn isolation raise is a raise over one or more limpers, aimed at playing the pot heads-up against a weaker player, ideally in position.
K
L
M
- MTT (multi-table tournament)TournamentsAn MTT is a multi-table tournament where many players start together and tables are merged as players bust, until one player has all the chips.
- Made handHandsA made hand is a hand that already has showdown value, such as a pair or better, rather than one still needing cards to improve.
- Merged rangeStrategyA merged range bets strong and medium-strength hands together, with few pure bluffs, and is typical of smaller bet sizes.
- Min-raiseBettingA min-raise is the smallest legal raise: in no-limit games the raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
- MuckBasicsTo muck is to discard your hand without showing it; the muck is also the pile of folded and discarded cards on the table.
N
O
- Open-ended straight drawHandsFour cards in a row that can be completed at either end: 8 outs.
- Open-raiseBettingAn open-raise is the first voluntary raise before the flop, made when every player before you has folded.
- OutsMath & oddsUnseen cards that would improve your hand to the likely best hand.
- OverbetBettingA bet larger than the size of the pot.
- OverpairHandsAn overpair is a pocket pair that is higher than every card on the board, such as Q-Q on a flop of J-7-3.
P
- PFRStrategyThe percentage of hands a player raises before the flop.
- Polarized rangeStrategyA polarized range contains very strong hands and bluffs but few medium-strength hands, and is typical when someone makes a large bet.
- PositionPositionsWhere you sit relative to the button, which decides the order you act in. Acting last gives you more information.
- PotBasicsThe pot is the total of all chips bet by every player during a hand, which the winner or winners collect at the end.
- Pot oddsMath & oddsThe price you’re getting: the call amount compared with the total pot after you call.
- PreflopBasicsPreflop is the first betting round of a hand, after the hole cards are dealt and before any community cards appear.
- Preflop chartStrategyA preflop chart is a grid of all 169 distinct starting hands, showing which to raise, call or fold from each position at the table.
R
- Rainbow boardHandsA rainbow board is a flop with three cards of three different suits, so nobody can have a flush draw yet.
- RaiseBettingTo raise is to increase the size of the current bet, so other players must put in more chips if they want to continue in the hand.
- RakeBasicsThe fee a card room or club takes from each pot or tournament entry for running the game.
- RangeStrategyAll the hands a player could hold in a given spot, not just one hand.
- Rebuy and add-onTournamentsA rebuy lets a tournament player buy more chips after busting or running low, and an add-on is a one-off top-up at the end of that period.
- RiverBasicsThe fifth and final community card, followed by the last betting round.
S
- SPR (stack-to-pot ratio)Math & oddsThe effective stack divided by the pot on the flop. It shows how committed players are.
- SatelliteTournamentsA satellite is a tournament where the prize is a seat or ticket into a larger event rather than a ranked prize for each finishing place.
- Semi-bluffStrategyBetting with a hand that is probably behind now but has a real chance to improve.
- SetHandsThree of a kind made with a pocket pair plus one matching card on the board.
- Short stackStrategyA short stack is a stack that is small relative to the blinds, often around 20 big blinds or fewer, which limits your options.
- ShowdownBasicsShowdown is the point after the final betting round where the remaining players reveal their hands and the best hand wins the pot.
- Side potBasicsA side pot is a separate pot created when one player is all-in and the others keep betting chips the all-in player can’t match.
- Sit & GoTournamentsA Sit & Go is a tournament that starts as soon as a set number of players have registered, rather than at a fixed time.
- Slow-playStrategySlow-playing is checking or calling with a very strong hand to hide its strength and encourage opponents to bet or catch up.
- Small blindPositionsThe seat directly left of the button, which posts half a big blind and acts first after the flop.
- Split pot (chop)BasicsA split pot happens when two or more players hold hands of exactly equal value at showdown, so the pot is shared equally between them.
- SqueezeBettingA squeeze is a 3-bet made after one player has opened the pot with a raise and at least one other player has called.
- StackBasicsA stack is the total number of chips a player has at the table, often measured in big blinds to make comparisons easy.
- StraddleBettingAn optional blind bet, usually twice the big blind, posted before the cards are dealt.
T
- Table imageStrategyTable image is how your opponents see your playing style, based on the hands and actions they have seen from you so far.
- Thin valueStrategyA thin value bet is a bet with a hand that is only slightly ahead of the range of hands that will call, often a medium pair on the river.
- TiltStrategyFrustration or anger that leads to worse decisions, often after a bad beat.
- Top pairHandsTop pair is a pair made by matching one of your hole cards with the highest card on the board.
- TripsHandsTrips is three of a kind made with one hole card and a pair on the board, unlike a set, which uses a pocket pair.
- TurnBasicsThe fourth community card, dealt after the flop betting round.
- Two pairHandsTwo pair is a hand with two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a fifth unmatched card, such as J-J-5-5-A.