1. Full House Poker Slang
2. Full House In Poker Slang

Full House Poker Slang

Oregon's Premier Poker Room: Bringing More To The Table Since 2005. The 1st NO-RAKE Poker Club In The USA. Home Of 100% Tournament Payouts. Full House Poker. Common Poker Lingo Terms. All-in: When you do not have enough money to cover the required bet, you will be forced to contribute the remainder of your money to the pot. You will then play for an amount proportional to your contribution. This action is known as an all-in.

Full House In Poker Slang

Aces Up/Over

Two pair, one of which is a pair of Aces.

Action

Betting activity.

Active Player

A player who is still in the pot.

All Blue, Green, Purple, etc.

Colorful names for a flush.

All-in

To bet all the money you have on the table.

American Airlines

A pair of Aces.

Ante

A small bet all players are required to make before a hand is dealt.

Baby

Any of the four non-aces needed for the lowest possible hand (2,3,4,5).

Back Door

Player makes a late hand that he wasn't originally drawing to.

Back Raise

A re-raise.

Back to Back

Two of the same cards in a row, i.e., two aces, two hearts etc.

Bad Beat

A usually unbeatable hand that is defeated by an even better hand.

Banker

The player who takes care of the game's chips and money matters.

Bankroll

Current total gambling funds available. Not to be confused with a player's stake in a particular game.

Barn

Short for a Full Barn which is slang for a Full House.

Belly Buster

An inside straight draw. Same as a Gutshot.

Bet

To put money into the pot in accordance with the rules of the game.

Bet for Value

Betting a completed or partial hand that, in the long run, is expected to win more than it loses.

Betting Round

All the bets to follow each time to bet.

Bicycle

The best possible low hand: A-2-3-4-5. Also called a Wheel.

Big Blind

An early forced bet, usually a raise of an earlier blind which would be called the Small Blind.

Big Bobtail

An open-ended 4-card straight flush.

Big Slick

In Texas Hold'em, hole cards of A-K, suited or not.

Blank

A card that does not add value to a hand (Bad Draw).

Blind

A forced bet to open the pot, usually in lieu of an ante.

Bluff

A bet or raise made with a poor hand to entice the competition to fold.

Board

The exposed cards in Hold'em and stud.

Boat

Short for a Full Boat which is slang for a Full House.

Bobtail Straight

Same as an Open End Straight. Four cards to a straight in denomination sequence.

BR

Short for bankroll.

Bring-in Bet

A small bet that is forced, by game rules, to start the betting procedure.

Broadway

An Ace high straight.

Bubble

The highest non-paying, or out of the money, position in a tournament, ie: fourth place in a tournament that pays first, second and third.

Bug

A wild card Joker.

Bullet[s]

Ace[s]. Bull(s) for short.

Bump

Slang for Raise.

Burn

To discard the top card of the deck prior to dealing.

Bust / Busted

For a player to lose all his/her money on the table.

Button

A distinctive token placed in front of the player sitting in the theoretical dealer's position, when a house dealer is used. The button rotates around the table so that every player has an opportunity to be the last to act.

Buy-in

The amount of money used to join a game.

Call

To put in to the pot the minimum amount of money necessary to continue playing.

Caller

One who makes a call bet.

Calling Station

An passive player that frequently just checks or calls most bets.

Cap

To cap the betting is to make the last permitted raise in a round.

Cards Speak

The final hand values are determined by the face upcards and not what the hand holder declares.

Case Card

The fourth and last card of a particular rank to become available.

Change Gears

Changing your style of play.

Chase

To continue in a hand, often at poor odds against the competition.

Check

1. The word casino employees use for a 'chip'. 2. To bet zero, when it is legal to do so. Frequently a sign of only a fair hand.

Check Raise

To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round.

Chip

A round token used in place of cash at a gaming table.

Come Hand

A hand that is not yet made, such as four cards to a flush.

Cold Call

When a player with nothing invested in the pot except an ante, calls a raise and a re-raise as his first bet.

Community Cards

Cards that are available for every player to use in making a hand. Usually dealt face up somewhere in the middle of the table.

Concealed Pair

Both of the pair cards are face down.

Court Card

A jack, queen or king.

Cowboy

A king.

Cut the Deck

To divide the deck, fairly evenly, into 2 stacks.

Crying Call

To complain when making a call. Sometimes a tactic to keep players in the hand.

Dark Bet

To bet without looking at your hand.

Dead Hand

A hand that has been fouled or has too many or too few cards.

Dead Man's Hand

Two pair, aces and eights. The hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death.

Dealers's Choice

In home games, a rule that permits the dealer to name which poker game to be played that hand.

Deuce

A two.

Door Card

A player's first upcard in stud games.

Double Belly Buster

A two-way inside straight. ie:, 3-5-6-7-9. Also called a Double Gutshot.

Double Pop

When the second player re-raises a raise.

Down to the Green

When a player has gone all in.

Draw

To discard some number of cards and have dealt an equal number of replacements.

Drawing Dead

Drawing to a hand that can not possibly win.

Draw Out

To catch a card that improves your situation from a losing hand to a winning hand.

Early Position

Being one of the first players to act in a betting round.

Exposed Pair

An exposed pair, as opposed to a split pair or a hidden pair.

Face Card

A jack, queen or king.

Fill

To draw a card that makes a five-card hand (straight, flush, full house, straight flush).

Fill up

To fill a Full House.

Fish

A player who loses money. An old saying is 'If you can't spot the fish at the table, *you* are the fish.'

Flat Call

To call a bet. Emphasizes that the caller did not raise.

Flat Limit

A variant of fixed limit where all bets are the same amount.

Floorman

The casino representative in charge of the card room or a section of a card room.

Flop

In Hold'em, the first three community cards, dealt simultaneously.

Flush

A poker hand consisting of five cards all one suit.

Fold

To decline to call a bet, thus dropping out of a hand.

Forced Bet

In some stud games a player may be required to make a bet to start the action on the first card.

Four Flush

Four cards to a Flush.

Free Card

A card dealt after all players checked in a betting round.

Freeroll

Having a lock on part of a pot. A money tournament with no entry fee.

Freeze-Out

A table-stakes game that continues until a small number of players (possibly only one) has all the money.

Full Barn

Slang for Full House.

Full Boat

Slang for Full House.

Full House

A hand consisting of 3-of-a-kind and a pair.

Full Ring

A table with the maximum number of players.

Grifter

A cheat.

Gut Shot

A draw to an inside Straight, as in 2-3-4-6.

Head(s) Up

Playing a single opponent.

Help Card

One that improves one's hand.

High-Low Split

Forms of poker in which the pot is split between the best hand and best lowball hand.

Hole Cards

In stud and Hold'em, the face-down cards dealt to each player.

Hook

A Jack. Short for J-hook.

House Cut

Generic term for how the house profits from hosting the game.

Ignorant End

The lower end of a straight in a game that has community cards.

Implied Odds

A refinement to Pot Odds which includes money not yet, but expected to be in the pot.

Inside Straight

Four cards to a straight, where only one rank will complete the hand. ( 4-5-6-8.)

Jacks or Better

Draw poker in which a pair of jacks is the minimum hand permitted to start the action.

Jake

A Jack.

J Hook

A Jack.

Jam

A pot where several players are raising.

Joker

A 53rd card in the deck, distinct from the others, used as a wild card or as a Bug.

K-Boy

A King. Variation of Cowboy.

Kicker

1. A single high card usually held with a pair of another denomination in draw poker. 2. The highest side card that is not part of the basic final hand.

Lady

A Queen.

Late Position

For a particular betting round, a player who does not have to act until most of the other players have acted.

Lay Odds

To give favorable odds to an opponent.

Leak

To show one's hole cards (often unknowingly).

Lid

The top card of the deck.

Limit Poker

A poker game wherein the amount to be bet is fixed, or at most variable within a prescribed minimum and maximum.

Limp In

To call along as cheaply as possible.

Liner

A face card. (Because you can see a line when the card is face down and the lower right corner is lifted).

Live Card

In stud, a card that has not been exposed.

Live Blind

The last and largest blind bet may or may not be Live. If Live, the blind bettor has the option of 'raising' his own blind in the event the bet is called around to him.

Live One

The best kind of opponent, a poor player with a lot of money to lose and in a hurry to lose it.

Lock

A hand that cannot be beaten. Also called the NUT.

Loose

Playing more hands than the norm.

Lowball

Generic term for poker where the lowest hand wins.

Main Pot

The main pot, as related to one or more side pots, when there are one or more all-in player(s). The main pot is the one in which all active players participate.

Maniac

A player who bets, raises and reraises without much regard to the quality of his hand.

Marked Cards

Cards that have been (illegally) altered so that their value can be read from the back.

Mechanic

A cheat who can manipulate the cards to deal himself or another player agood hand.

Middle Position

Betting positions approximately halfway around the table from the first player to act.

Misdeal

A hand dealt incorrectly that must be re-dealt.

Mites and Lice

A hand consisting of two pair, threes over twos.

Muck

1. A collection of face-down cards near the dealer composed of discards and burn cards. 2. To throw one's cards into the muck, thus folding.

Nickel

Five dollars, usually represented by a red casino check.

No-Limit Poker

A game where there is no maximum bet; a player can wager any amount (perhaps above some minimum) up to whatever money is on the table in front of him.

Nut

The best possible hand or the best possible of a given class. The 'nut flush' is the highest possible flush.

Nut Player

A very tight player who plays only the best hands.

Offsuit

Not of the same suit.

On the Come

A situation where the player does not yet have a complete hand.

On Tilt

Playing worse (usually, more aggressively) than usual because a player has become emotionally upset.

Open

Take the first bet in a hand, especially in draw poker.

Open-Ended Straight

Four cards to a straight in denomination sequence (5,6,7,8).

Opener

The player who starts the betting, usually in draw poker.

Openers

Cards in a hand that qualify a player to open the betting.

Open-Handed

A category of games characterized by a part of each player's hand being exposed.

Open Pair

An exposed pair.

Out

A card that will improve your hand, often substantially.

Overcall

To call a bet after one or more players already called.

Overpair

In Hold'em, a pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.

Paint

See Picture.

Pair

Two cards of the same rank.

Pass

Opposite of bet. To check, if checked to. To fold, if bet to.

Pat Hand

Holding or being dealt a complete hand.

Pay Off

Calling a bet with little expectation of winning, unless the opponent is bluffing.

Pay Station

A player who rarely folds, thus who frequently calls better hands and loses.

Picked Off

To get called when you are bluffing.

Picture

Slang name for a face card.

Pigeon

An easy player.

Pocket

Starting hole cards in stud and Hold'em.

Pocket Rockets

A pair of aces in the hole.

Position

One's location in the betting sequence, relative to the players still in the hand.

Pot

The total amount of money bet so far in a hand.

Pot Limit

A game where the maximum bet is determined by the size of the pot at the time.

Pot Odds

The amount of money in the pot divided by the amount of money you must bet in order to call.

Premium Hands

The best possible hands.

Proposition Player /Prop

An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. The prop player does not participate in wins or losses.

Puck

A token denoting the dealer position. See Button.

Puppy Feet/ Pups

Club flush or just the suit of Clubs.

Quads

Four of a kind.

Qualifier

A minimum standard that a hand must meet in order to win. Usually applied to the lowball side of a high-low split pot.

Quartered

To divide half a pot between two tying hands in split pot games.

Rags

Board cards that are small to medium, not suited and not in sequence.

Rail

A barrier dividing the card playing area from a public area.

Railbird

A spectator behind the rail.

Rainbow

Small groups of cards with no two in the same suit.

Raise

To wager more than the minimum required to call, forcing other players to put in more money as well.

Raiser

One who raises.

Rake

The usually small percentage of money taken from each pot and given to the house in return for hosting the game.

Rat-Hole

To take money or chips off the table during play.

Read

To determine whether an opponent has a good, medium or bad hand by observing his personal behavior. REPRESENT - Implying, by one's betting style, that one has a particular hand.

Reraise

To raise after an opponent has raised.

Ribbon Clerk

A small time gambler.

Ring Game

A standard game where players can come and go as they choose.

River

The last card dealt in a hand of stud or Hold'em.

Rock

A very tight, solid poker player.

Rolled Up

In seven-card stud, being dealt three of a kind in the first three cards.

Royal Flush

An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in regular poker.

Runner-Runner

A hand made using both of the last two cards dealt.

Rush

A winning streak.

Sandbag

Playing a strong hand as if it were only a fair one.

Scoop

To win all of the pot in a split pot game.

See

To call a bet, as in: 'I'll see you'.

Semi-Bluff

To bluff with a come hand that figures to win if it hits.

Set

Trips or Quads. In Holdem, a pair in your hand with one (or two) on the board.

Shark

A good/crafty player often posing as a fish early in the game.

Shill

An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. A shill is staked to the game by the house as his compensation.

Short Call

Call a bet with not enough money on the table and start an all-in side pot.

Short-Stacked

Playing with a only a small amount of money.

Showdown

The point at the end of the hand where all active players reveal their cards and the pot is awarded to the winner(s).

Side Pot

When an active player runs out of money during the course of a hand, the remaining players participate in a second or Side Pot for the rest of the hand. Additional side pots are possible if several players run out of money at different points in a hand.

Slowplay

To play a hand unaggressively and risking as little as possible.

Small Blind

In games with two blinds the first blind is the Small Blind because it is usually one-half (or less) the amount of the big bland.

Snapped Off

To get a good hand beat.

Solid Player

A strong, all around player.

Split Openers

In draw poker, to discard one or more openers, usually to draw to a straight or flush.

Split Pair

A pair in Stud with one card up and the other down.

Split Pot

A pot that is split between two or more hands.

Spread

For a casino to offer a particular game.

Stack

The amount of money (the stack of chips) a player has on the table.

Stacked Deck

A deck that has been arranged to give one player a huge advantage.

Stake

The amount of a player's BUY-IN, or the amount of money they are willing to play with in a given session.

Stand Off

To call a raise. 'Opener raises, I stand off'.

Steal

To win the pot by bluffing.

Steal Position

The next to last or last position.

Steam

Playing wildly, calling and raising a lot.

Straddle

In Hold'em, a raise to the big blind before the deal.

Streets

Fourth Street, Fifth Street etc. In stud, the fourth card dealt to a player, the fifth card etc.

String Bet

An unethical and often illegal means of raising whereby a player puts a call-size stack of chips into the pot and, after observing the reactions of the players, then goes back to his stack and puts out more.

Stuck

A significant amount of money lost.

Stud

Any of several poker games in which some of each players' cards are exposed.

Suicide King

King of Hearts. So named because in the drawing the king appears to be stabbing himself in the head.

Suited

Two or more cards all the same suit.

Table Charge

A fee paid for playing.

Table Stakes

A standard rule whereby during a hand players can only bet the money they have on the table.

Tap

In no-limit games, to wager all of one's money in one bet.

Tapped Out

Out of money.

Tell

Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand.

Three of a Kind

Three cards all the same rank.

Three Flush

Three cards of the same suit.

Tied On

When your hand is good enough to play it to the end.

Tight

A style of play that entails playing fewer hands than average.

Tight Player

A person who plays on the premium hands.

Toke

Gambling term for 'tip'. Comes from the term 'Token of appreciation'.

Top Pair

In flop games, having a hole card that matches the highest card on the board.

Top Two Pair

In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.

Trey

A three.

Trips

Three of a specific kind, as in 'Trip sixes'.

Turn

The fourth community card in Hold'em.

Two Flush

Two suited cards.

Underdog

Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that does not figure to be the winner.

Under the Gun

The position that has to act first in a round of betting.

Uphill

To chase or try to outdraw a better hand.

Value Bet

A small bet to get calls and increase the pot.

Walk

A pot won by the last blind when no one opens.

Wheel

A-2-3-4-5. The best possible low hand. Also called a 'Bicycle'.

Wild Card

A joker or standard card that, by player agreement and/or dealer's choice, can be used to represent any card desired.

Wired Pair

A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.

Aces Up/Over

Two pair, one of which is a pair of Aces.

Action

Betting activity.

Active Player

A player who is still in the pot.

All Blue, Green, Purple, etc.

Colorful names for a flush.

All-in

To bet all the money you have on the table.

American Airlines

A pair of Aces.

Ante

A small bet all players are required to make before a hand is dealt.

Baby

Any of the four non-aces needed for the lowest possible hand (2,3,4,5).

Back Door

Player makes a late hand that he wasn't originally drawing to.

Back Raise

A re-raise.

Back to Back

Two of the same cards in a row, i.e., two aces, two hearts etc.

Bad Beat

A usually unbeatable hand that is defeated by an even better hand.

Banker

The player who takes care of the game's chips and money matters.

Bankroll

Current total gambling funds available. Not to be confused with a player's stake in a particular game.

Barn

Short for a Full Barn which is slang for a Full House.

Belly Buster

An inside straight draw. Same as a Gutshot.

Bet

To put money into the pot in accordance with the rules of the game.

Bet for Value

Betting a completed or partial hand that, in the long run, is expected to win more than it loses.

Betting Round

All the bets to follow each time to bet.

Bicycle

The best possible low hand: A-2-3-4-5. Also called a Wheel.

Big Blind

An early forced bet, usually a raise of an earlier blind which would be called the Small Blind.

Big Bobtail

An open-ended 4-card straight flush.

Big Slick

In Texas Hold'em, hole cards of A-K, suited or not.

Blank

A card that does not add value to a hand (Bad Draw).

Blind

A forced bet to open the pot, usually in lieu of an ante.

Bluff

A bet or raise made with a poor hand to entice the competition to fold.

Board

The exposed cards in Hold'em and stud.

Boat

Short for a Full Boat which is slang for a Full House.

Bobtail Straight

Same as an Open End Straight. Four cards to a straight in denomination sequence.

BR

Short for bankroll.

Bring-in Bet

A small bet that is forced, by game rules, to start the betting procedure.

Broadway

An Ace high straight.

Bubble

The highest non-paying, or out of the money, position in a tournament, ie: fourth place in a tournament that pays first, second and third.

Bug

A wild card Joker.

Bullet[s]

Ace[s]. Bull(s) for short.

Bump

Slang for Raise.

Burn

To discard the top card of the deck prior to dealing.

Bust / Busted

For a player to lose all his/her money on the table.

Button

A distinctive token placed in front of the player sitting in the theoretical dealer's position, when a house dealer is used. The button rotates around the table so that every player has an opportunity to be the last to act.

Buy-in

The amount of money used to join a game.

Call

To put in to the pot the minimum amount of money necessary to continue playing.

Caller

One who makes a call bet.

Calling Station

An passive player that frequently just checks or calls most bets.

Cap

To cap the betting is to make the last permitted raise in a round.

Cards Speak

The final hand values are determined by the face upcards and not what the hand holder declares.

Case Card

The fourth and last card of a particular rank to become available.

Change Gears

Changing your style of play.

Chase

To continue in a hand, often at poor odds against the competition.

Check

1. The word casino employees use for a 'chip'. 2. To bet zero, when it is legal to do so. Frequently a sign of only a fair hand.

Check Raise

To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round.

Chip

A round token used in place of cash at a gaming table.

Come Hand

A hand that is not yet made, such as four cards to a flush.

Cold Call

When a player with nothing invested in the pot except an ante, calls a raise and a re-raise as his first bet.

Community Cards

Cards that are available for every player to use in making a hand. Usually dealt face up somewhere in the middle of the table.

Concealed Pair

Both of the pair cards are face down.

Court Card

A jack, queen or king.

Cowboy

A king.

Cut the Deck

To divide the deck, fairly evenly, into 2 stacks.

Crying Call

To complain when making a call. Sometimes a tactic to keep players in the hand.

Dark Bet

To bet without looking at your hand.

Dead Hand

A hand that has been fouled or has too many or too few cards.

Dead Man's Hand

Two pair, aces and eights. The hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death.

Dealers's Choice

In home games, a rule that permits the dealer to name which poker game to be played that hand.

Deuce

A two.

Door Card

A player's first upcard in stud games.

Double Belly Buster

A two-way inside straight. ie:, 3-5-6-7-9. Also called a Double Gutshot.

Double Pop

When the second player re-raises a raise.

Down to the Green

When a player has gone all in.

Draw

To discard some number of cards and have dealt an equal number of replacements.

Drawing Dead

Drawing to a hand that can not possibly win.

Draw Out

To catch a card that improves your situation from a losing hand to a winning hand.

Early Position

Being one of the first players to act in a betting round.

Exposed Pair

An exposed pair, as opposed to a split pair or a hidden pair.

Face Card

A jack, queen or king.

Fill

To draw a card that makes a five-card hand (straight, flush, full house, straight flush).

Fill up

To fill a Full House.

Fish

A player who loses money. An old saying is 'If you can't spot the fish at the table, *you* are the fish.'

Flat Call

To call a bet. Emphasizes that the caller did not raise.

Flat Limit

A variant of fixed limit where all bets are the same amount.

Floorman

The casino representative in charge of the card room or a section of a card room.

Flop

In Hold'em, the first three community cards, dealt simultaneously.

Flush

A poker hand consisting of five cards all one suit.

Fold

To decline to call a bet, thus dropping out of a hand.

Forced Bet

In some stud games a player may be required to make a bet to start the action on the first card.

Four Flush

Four cards to a Flush.

Free Card

A card dealt after all players checked in a betting round.

Freeroll

Having a lock on part of a pot. A money tournament with no entry fee.

Freeze-Out

A table-stakes game that continues until a small number of players (possibly only one) has all the money.

Full Barn

Slang for Full House.

Full Boat

Slang for Full House.

Full House

A hand consisting of 3-of-a-kind and a pair.

Full Ring

A table with the maximum number of players.

Grifter

A cheat.

Gut Shot

A draw to an inside Straight, as in 2-3-4-6.

Head(s) Up

Playing a single opponent.

Help Card

One that improves one's hand.

High-Low Split

Forms of poker in which the pot is split between the best hand and best lowball hand.

Hole Cards

In stud and Hold'em, the face-down cards dealt to each player.

Hook

A Jack. Short for J-hook.

House Cut

Generic term for how the house profits from hosting the game.

Ignorant End

The lower end of a straight in a game that has community cards.

Implied Odds

A refinement to Pot Odds which includes money not yet, but expected to be in the pot.

Inside Straight

Four cards to a straight, where only one rank will complete the hand. ( 4-5-6-8.)

Jacks or Better

Draw poker in which a pair of jacks is the minimum hand permitted to start the action.

Jake

A Jack.

J Hook

A Jack.

Jam

A pot where several players are raising.

Joker

A 53rd card in the deck, distinct from the others, used as a wild card or as a Bug.

K-Boy

A King. Variation of Cowboy.

Kicker

1. A single high card usually held with a pair of another denomination in draw poker. 2. The highest side card that is not part of the basic final hand.

Lady

A Queen.

Late Position

For a particular betting round, a player who does not have to act until most of the other players have acted.

Lay Odds

To give favorable odds to an opponent.

Leak

To show one's hole cards (often unknowingly).

Lid

The top card of the deck.

Limit Poker

A poker game wherein the amount to be bet is fixed, or at most variable within a prescribed minimum and maximum.

Limp In

To call along as cheaply as possible.

Liner

A face card. (Because you can see a line when the card is face down and the lower right corner is lifted).

Live Card

In stud, a card that has not been exposed.

Live Blind

The last and largest blind bet may or may not be Live. If Live, the blind bettor has the option of 'raising' his own blind in the event the bet is called around to him.

Live One

The best kind of opponent, a poor player with a lot of money to lose and in a hurry to lose it.

Lock

A hand that cannot be beaten. Also called the NUT.

Loose

Playing more hands than the norm.

Lowball

Generic term for poker where the lowest hand wins.

Main Pot

The main pot, as related to one or more side pots, when there are one or more all-in player(s). The main pot is the one in which all active players participate.

Maniac

A player who bets, raises and reraises without much regard to the quality of his hand.

Marked Cards

Cards that have been (illegally) altered so that their value can be read from the back.

Mechanic

A cheat who can manipulate the cards to deal himself or another player agood hand.

Middle Position

Betting positions approximately halfway around the table from the first player to act.

Misdeal

A hand dealt incorrectly that must be re-dealt.

Mites and Lice

A hand consisting of two pair, threes over twos.

Muck

1. A collection of face-down cards near the dealer composed of discards and burn cards. 2. To throw one's cards into the muck, thus folding.

Nickel

Five dollars, usually represented by a red casino check.

No-Limit Poker

A game where there is no maximum bet; a player can wager any amount (perhaps above some minimum) up to whatever money is on the table in front of him.

Nut

The best possible hand or the best possible of a given class. The 'nut flush' is the highest possible flush.

Nut Player

A very tight player who plays only the best hands.

Offsuit

Not of the same suit.

On the Come

A situation where the player does not yet have a complete hand.

On Tilt

Playing worse (usually, more aggressively) than usual because a player has become emotionally upset.

Open

Take the first bet in a hand, especially in draw poker.

Open-Ended Straight

Four cards to a straight in denomination sequence (5,6,7,8).

Opener

The player who starts the betting, usually in draw poker.

Openers

Cards in a hand that qualify a player to open the betting.

Open-Handed

A category of games characterized by a part of each player's hand being exposed.

Open Pair

An exposed pair.

Out

A card that will improve your hand, often substantially.

Overcall

To call a bet after one or more players already called.

Overpair

In Hold'em, a pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.

Paint

See Picture.

Pair

Two cards of the same rank.

Pass

Opposite of bet. To check, if checked to. To fold, if bet to.

Pat Hand

Holding or being dealt a complete hand.

Pay Off

Calling a bet with little expectation of winning, unless the opponent is bluffing.

Pay Station

A player who rarely folds, thus who frequently calls better hands and loses.

Picked Off

To get called when you are bluffing.

Picture

Slang name for a face card.

Pigeon

An easy player.

Pocket

Starting hole cards in stud and Hold'em.

Pocket Rockets

A pair of aces in the hole.

Position

One's location in the betting sequence, relative to the players still in the hand.

Pot

The total amount of money bet so far in a hand.

Pot Limit

A game where the maximum bet is determined by the size of the pot at the time.

Pot Odds

The amount of money in the pot divided by the amount of money you must bet in order to call.

Premium Hands

The best possible hands.

Proposition Player /Prop

An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. The prop player does not participate in wins or losses.

Puck

A token denoting the dealer position. See Button.

Puppy Feet/ Pups

Club flush or just the suit of Clubs.

Quads

Four of a kind.

Qualifier

A minimum standard that a hand must meet in order to win. Usually applied to the lowball side of a high-low split pot.

Quartered

To divide half a pot between two tying hands in split pot games.

Rags

Board cards that are small to medium, not suited and not in sequence.

Rail

A barrier dividing the card playing area from a public area.

Railbird

A spectator behind the rail.

Rainbow

Small groups of cards with no two in the same suit.

Raise

To wager more than the minimum required to call, forcing other players to put in more money as well.

Raiser

One who raises.

Rake

The usually small percentage of money taken from each pot and given to the house in return for hosting the game.

Rat-Hole

To take money or chips off the table during play.

Read

To determine whether an opponent has a good, medium or bad hand by observing his personal behavior. REPRESENT - Implying, by one's betting style, that one has a particular hand.

Reraise

To raise after an opponent has raised.

Ribbon Clerk

A small time gambler.

Ring Game

A standard game where players can come and go as they choose.

River

The last card dealt in a hand of stud or Hold'em.

Rock

A very tight, solid poker player.

Rolled Up

In seven-card stud, being dealt three of a kind in the first three cards.

Royal Flush

An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in regular poker.

Runner-Runner

A hand made using both of the last two cards dealt.

Rush

A winning streak.

Sandbag

Playing a strong hand as if it were only a fair one.

Scoop

To win all of the pot in a split pot game.

See

To call a bet, as in: 'I'll see you'.

Semi-Bluff

To bluff with a come hand that figures to win if it hits.

Set

Trips or Quads. In Holdem, a pair in your hand with one (or two) on the board.

Shark

A good/crafty player often posing as a fish early in the game.

Shill

An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. A shill is staked to the game by the house as his compensation.

Short Call

Call a bet with not enough money on the table and start an all-in side pot.

Short-Stacked

Playing with a only a small amount of money.

Showdown

The point at the end of the hand where all active players reveal their cards and the pot is awarded to the winner(s).

Side Pot

When an active player runs out of money during the course of a hand, the remaining players participate in a second or Side Pot for the rest of the hand. Additional side pots are possible if several players run out of money at different points in a hand.

Slowplay

To play a hand unaggressively and risking as little as possible.

Small Blind

In games with two blinds the first blind is the Small Blind because it is usually one-half (or less) the amount of the big bland.

Snapped Off

To get a good hand beat.

Solid Player

A strong, all around player.

Split Openers

In draw poker, to discard one or more openers, usually to draw to a straight or flush.

Split Pair

A pair in Stud with one card up and the other down.

Split Pot

A pot that is split between two or more hands.

Spread

For a casino to offer a particular game.

Stack

The amount of money (the stack of chips) a player has on the table.

Stacked Deck

A deck that has been arranged to give one player a huge advantage.

Stake

The amount of a player's BUY-IN, or the amount of money they are willing to play with in a given session.

Stand Off

To call a raise. 'Opener raises, I stand off'.

Steal

To win the pot by bluffing.

Steal Position

The next to last or last position.

Steam

Playing wildly, calling and raising a lot.

Straddle

In Hold'em, a raise to the big blind before the deal.

Streets

Fourth Street, Fifth Street etc. In stud, the fourth card dealt to a player, the fifth card etc.

String Bet

An unethical and often illegal means of raising whereby a player puts a call-size stack of chips into the pot and, after observing the reactions of the players, then goes back to his stack and puts out more.

Stuck

A significant amount of money lost.

Stud

Any of several poker games in which some of each players' cards are exposed.

Suicide King

King of Hearts. So named because in the drawing the king appears to be stabbing himself in the head.

Suited

Two or more cards all the same suit.

Table Charge

A fee paid for playing.

Table Stakes

A standard rule whereby during a hand players can only bet the money they have on the table.

Tap

In no-limit games, to wager all of one's money in one bet.

Tapped Out

Out of money.

Tell

Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand.

Three of a Kind

Three cards all the same rank.

Three Flush

Three cards of the same suit.

Tied On

When your hand is good enough to play it to the end.

Tight

A style of play that entails playing fewer hands than average.

Tight Player

A person who plays on the premium hands.

Toke

Gambling term for 'tip'. Comes from the term 'Token of appreciation'.

Top Pair

In flop games, having a hole card that matches the highest card on the board.

Top Two Pair

In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.

Trey

A three.

Trips

Three of a specific kind, as in 'Trip sixes'.

Turn

The fourth community card in Hold'em.

Two Flush

Two suited cards.

Underdog

Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that does not figure to be the winner.

Under the Gun

The position that has to act first in a round of betting.

Uphill

To chase or try to outdraw a better hand.

Value Bet

A small bet to get calls and increase the pot.

Walk

A pot won by the last blind when no one opens.

Wheel

A-2-3-4-5. The best possible low hand. Also called a 'Bicycle'.

Wild Card

A joker or standard card that, by player agreement and/or dealer's choice, can be used to represent any card desired.

Wired Pair

A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.