TEXAS HOLD'EM TIPS
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Poker Speak

Here is a short dictionary of the poker terms, and lingo commonly used by Texas Hold'em poker players. I have included playing terms, poker slang, and the nicknames for hands and hole cards. All of the poker terms used in my tips are included here plus some additional terms. Bookmark this page for future reference!

Poker Terms:

Aces Up: A pair of Aces with any other pair.

Active Player: Any player still involved in a hand.

Action: Betting or raising.

Advertising: Bluffing with a poor hand and showing it on the end, in hopes that players will call you without reservation in future hands.

Ajax: Ace-Jack

All Blue: A flush containing either clubs or spades.

All-In: When you have bet all the chips you have on the table you are said to be all-in.

All Pink: Any flush containing either diamonds or hearts.

American Airlines: A pair of aces

Ante: A prescribed amount posted before the start of a hand by all players.

Back Door: Making an improbable hand that you weren't drawing for. For instance if you have four to a flush, but make two improbable cards on the turn and river that give you a straight you have a backdoor straight.

Back Raise: To re-raise after another player has raised.

Bad Beat: To have a strong hand beaten by a hand that had a low percentage chance to win, especially if an average player would have folded this hand, and especially if the pot is large.

The Beast: Three sixes.

Belly Buster: An inside straight draw. A hand that includes four to a straight but is missing a middle card. IE the 3,4,6,7. You must draw a four to complete this straight. Also called a "gutshot" straight, this hand inspired the old poker saying: "Never draw to an inside straight, son."

Bet: To place a wager.

Betting Pattern: The tendencies of a particular player to act a certain way in a situation, determined by tracking the players actions previously. For example, if you determine that a player usually folds to a raise after the flop, you have detected a pattern in his play.

Big Blind: In Texas Hold'em: The larger of the two required pre-flop bets, Often referred to simply as " the blind" whereas the small blind will always be called "the small blind." The amount of the big blind determines the betting structure of the game in limit hold'em.

Big Slick: Ace-King in the hole.

Blank: A card that has little chance of being valuable to anyone in a hand, or to your own hand in particular.

Blind: A required bet made prior to the dealing of the cards.

Bluff: A bet or a raise with a hand that has little or no chance to beat the other players should they call your bet.

Board: In Texas Hold'em the board is the community cards which are dealt face up on the table.

Boat: A full house.

Bobtail: An open ended straight. Four cards of consecutive rank that will make a straight with the addition of one higher or lower card.

Bot: A program designed to play online poker for you. There are many programs that help you make decisions when playing online poker. These are not bots. A bot plays the hands for you even when you're not in the room.

Bottom Pair: Pairing the lowest value card on the board. For example if board is 6,10,K and you have a six in the hole but no 10 or K, you have bottom pair.

Broken Game: A game that has ended or is paused to wait on additional players.

Bull: An Ace.

Bullet: slang for Ace. Aces in the hole are often preferred to as "bullets".

Button: The player who is in the designated dealer position for the duration of a hand is said to be "on the button" This player has a positional advantage as he will act last on each betting round. The term button arose from the round button-like disk used to designate this player in casino games.

Button Games: Games in which a dealer button is used to designate the theoretical dealer.

Buy-in: The minimum amount of money required to initially enter a poker game.

Call: To equal a previous bet without raising.

Calling Station: A player who often calls but seldom raises making him impossible to bluff but easy to beat with good cards.

Capped: In limit poker this term describes the situation when the maximum number of raises allowed on a single betting round has been reached.

Chase or chasing: To continue with a hand that is probably not winning in an attempt to improve it to a winner. Trying to beat a hand that you feel is probably better than yours.

Check: To waive the right to initiate the betting in a round, but to retain the right to act if another player bets.

Check-raise: To waive the right to bet until a bet has been made by an opponent, and then to increase the bet by at least an equal amount when it is your turn to act.

Cheese: An extremely poor starting hand.

Cold Call: To call a previous bet or multiple bets on the first round.

Cold deck: Used to refer to a deck that a player feels is not yielding an average number of playable hands.

Community Cards: The cards dealt face-up in the center of the table that can be used by all players, in combination with their own cards, to form the best possible hand.

Cowboys: A pair of Kings

Crabs: A pair of threes.

Dead Man's Hand: A-8. Wild Bill Hickock was fatally shot during a poker game in Deadwood, South Dakota, while holding two pair, black aces and black eights.

Dead Money: The money in a pot that was bet by a player who has folded.

Deal: To give each player cards or put cards on the board.

Deception: Attempting to mislead other players by your actions. IE acting strong when you're weak or weak when you're strong.

Deck: A standard set of 52 playing cards plus the joker if it is used in the game.

Deuce: A two.

Dog: A hand or player that is not favored to win the pot.

Down to the Green: All in.

Doyle Brunson: 10-2. Doyle Brunson won consecutive World Series of Poker holding the 10-2 on the final hand of the game each year.

Drawing Dead: Staying in a hand in an attempt to make a hand that cannot win because someone already holds a hand that will beat the highest hand you can possibly make.

Drawing Hand: A hand that will need additional cards to become a complete hand, such as AK.

Draw Out: To improve your hand to a winner by drawing a card you needed on the turn or river when the hand was losing up to that point.

Dominated Hand: In Texas Hold'em a hand that has little chance to win even if it improves.

Ducks: Deuces.

Early Position: A position in which you must act before most of the the other players in a round. Early position is a disadvantage in Texas Hold'em.

Facecards: The royal cards. Kings, queens, and jacks.

Family Pot: A pot which involves nearly all the players at the table.

Fifth Street: In Texas Hold'em the last community card dealt. The river.

Fishooks: A pair of jacks

Fixed Limit: In limit poker, any betting structure in which the amount of the bet on each particular round is predetermined and may not be exceeded.

Flat Tire: A hand that needs a Jack to improve.

Floor Person: A card room or online employee who may be called to make a ruling on a given hand or to handle complaints about player behavior.

Flop: The first three community cards dealt together face up on the table in Texas Hold'em.

Flush: A poker hand consisting of five cards of the same suit.

Fold: To surrender your interest in a pot by releasing your cards to the dealer.

Forty Miles:Four Tens.

Four Flush: Four suited cards that will become a flush if one more card of that suit is drawn or dealt to the board.

Fourth Street: In Texas Hold'em the fourth of five community cards, dealt singly, on the betting round following the flop.

Free Card: A card which is dealt after all active players checked, therefore requiring no further investment in the pot.

Freeroll: A chance to win something without any required investment before the game or tournament.

Full House: A hand consisting of three of a kind and a pair.

Grand Jury: 4-4-4.

Heads-up Play: A game involving only two players who play against each other.

Jamming: A lot of players raising and re-raising are said to be jamming a pot.

Jay Birds: Jacks.

Kicker: An unpaired card that helps determine the value of a five-card poker hand when the opponents are otherwise tied.

King Kong: A pair of Kings.

Kojak: King-Jack.

Ladies: Queens.

Late Position: A position in which you act after most of the other players during a round, an advantageous position in Texas Hold'em.

Leak: A flaw in a players playing strategy that is causing him to lose money.

Leather Ass: The patience to wait on playable cards or winning situations to bet.

Limp In: In Texas Hold'em to call the blind on the opening betting round without raising.

Live One: A poor player who usually loses rapidly.

Loose: Not being selective about the quality of hands you are willing to play.

Loose Game: A game including a lot of players willing to play hands that have a low chance of winning.

Low-Limit: A poker game with a betting structure that is affordable to the average player.

Middle Pair: Pairing the second highest card on the flop.

Middle Position: A position in which you act before and after an equal, or close to equal number of players.

Missed Blind: Not posting the required pre-flop bet when it is your turn to post it.

Missed the Flop: Your hand did not improve on the flop.

Motown: Jacks and fives.

Move In: To bet all the chips you have in front of you in a no-limit Hold'em game.

Muck: The folded cards placed in a pile during a hand by the dealer. Also: To fold a hand.

No-Limit: A betting structure where players are allowed to wager any or all of their chips in a single bet at any time.

Nuts: In Texas Hold'em the absolute best possible hand that can be made with the community cards present and two additional cards. An unbeatable hand. Also: mortal nuts.

Off-Suit: Used to describe cards that are not suited.

Open: To make the first bet other than the required antes or blinds.

Open ended straight: Four cards of consecutive rank that will make a straight with the addition of one higher or lower card such as 4-5-6-7. Either a 3 or an 8 will complete the straight, therefore it is open ended.

Option: The choice given to the blind player on the first betting round to raise if he desires.

Out and Out Bluff: An attempt to steal the pot with a hand that has little chance to win if called.

Outs: The cards or number of cards that will improve a hand to a likely winner.

Overcard: A hole card that is higher than any card on the board.

Overpair: A pair in the hole where the cards are higher than any card on the board. For example JJ is an overpair if the board if the board contains no card higher than a 10.

Paint: Face cards. When the flop includes a Jack, King, and Queen a player may say "That's a lot of paint."

Passive: The opposite of aggressive. A player who seldom bets or raises preferring to check and call most of the time.

Play the Board: In Texas Hold'em: using the five community cards on the board as your best hand, disregarding your hole cards.

Pocket cards: Your hole cards in Texas Hold'em.

Pocket pair: A pair in the hole.

Position: The relation of a player‘s seat to the blinds or the button.

Pot-Limit: The betting structure of a game in which you are allowed to bet up to the amount in the pot at any given time..

Potting Out: Agreeing with another player to take money out of a pot, often to buy food, cigarettes, or drinks, or to make side bets.

Pot Odds: The odds the pot is giving you on your investment. The more money that is in the pot the higher your pot odds will be for a given hand. In general the poorer your hand the more money you need to be able to win to call with it.

Pre-flop: The portion of a hand played before the flop including the deal of the hole cards and the first round of betting.

Premium Hands: In Texas Hold'em hole cards that have a very high chance of winning the pot. Hands you will normally call o raise with from any position.

Rags: cards with little chance of winning.

Raise: To increase the amount of a previous wager.

Rake: The percentage of each pot which is kept by the house as a playing fee.

Re-raise: To raise again when a player before you has raised.

River: The final card of the five community cards dealt in Hold'em.

Rock: A tight player.

Rockets: A pair of Aces.

Royal Wedding: King-Queen.

Rush: Several winning hands in a short period of time. A player who has won 4 out of 5 of the last pots may be said to be "on a rush."

Sandbagging: To check with what you believe to be the best hand with the intention of check-raising or raising on a later betting round.

Screwed Down: A player who is extremely tight may be said to be "screwed down."

Semi-bluff: Betting or raising with a hand that has a good chance to lose the pot but may be able to win if it improves or happens to be the best hand at the time.

Set: When your hole cards combine with the board to make three of a kind you are said to have a "set".

Showdown: The final act of determining the winner of the pot after all betting has been completed.

Shuffle: The act of mixing the cards before a hand.

Siegfried and Roy: A pair of Queens.

Slow-Play: To check or call with a very strong hand with the intention of raising on a future betting round.

Spike: To catch the river card you need to win the pot.

Small Blind: In a game with multiple blind bets, the smallest blind.

Snowmen: A pair of eights.

Split Pot: A pot that is divided among two or more players who have tied for the best hand at the showdown.

Stack: The available chips a player has in front of him.

Stand Alone Hand: A hand that may be able to win without improvement, such as a pair.

Steal: To bet or raise with a weak hand in an attempt to win the pot without a contest, especially early in hand against few players.

Steel Wheel: A-2-3-4-5 suited.

Straight: Five cards in consecutive rank.

Straight Flush: Five cards in consecutive rank of the same suit.

Suited: Cards are of the same suit.

Throwing a Party: When one or more players at a table are entering nearly every pot and refusing to fold regardless of the strength of their hand or hands.

Tight : A player who is selective about opening hands and therefore plays less hands than the average player.

Tight Game: A game which has several tight players.

Tilt: To begin betting and raising recklessly, especially in reaction several frustrating losses.

Top Pair: Pairing the highest card on the board.

Tournament: A poker competition, normally with a set entry fee and prize structure.

Trap: Check-raising with a strong hand.

Turn: The fourth card dealt on the board during community card games. The third betting round.

Under the Gun: In Hold'em the first player to act on a betting round.

Weak: A player who folds more often than normal.

The Wisemen: Three Kings.

Wheel: A-2-3-4-5 straight. The lowest possible straight.

Wired: Paired hole cards. A player with a pair of Aces in the hole is said to be holding "Wired Aces".

 

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