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Poker Glossary

Every poker term that shows up in news, strategy guides, and coverage on PokerRift. 85 entries, each on its own page so you can share a single definition or cite a specific term.

A

  • Action A player's turn to act, or the overall betting activity in a hand.
  • All-in Betting all of your remaining chips in a single action.
  • Ante A forced bet every player must post before each hand begins. Common in tournaments.

B

  • Backdoor A draw requiring cards on both the turn and river to complete.
  • Bad Beat Losing a hand where you were a significant statistical favorite.
  • Bankroll Total money set aside for poker. See our bankroll management guide.
  • Barrel A bet on successive streets. See bluffing techniques.
  • Big Blind (BB) The larger forced bet posted before cards are dealt.
  • Bluff Betting with a weak hand to make opponents fold better hands.
  • Board The community cards displayed face-up in the center of the table.
  • Button (BTN) The dealer position, the most profitable seat. See position guide.
  • Buy-in The amount required to enter a game or tournament.

C

  • Call Matching the current bet to stay in the hand.
  • Check Declining to bet when no bet has been made in the current round.
  • Check-raise Checking then raising after an opponent bets.
  • Community Cards Cards dealt face up that all players can use.
  • Continuation Bet (C-bet) A flop bet made by the pre-flop raiser.
  • Cooler Both players hold strong hands and a big pot is unavoidable.
  • Cut-off (CO) Position immediately right of the dealer button. Second-best seat.

D

  • Dealer Button A disc indicating the dealer position. Rotates clockwise.
  • Donk Bet A bet made out of position by the non-aggressor.
  • Double Up Winning an all-in to double your chip stack.
  • Drawing Dead No possible card can make your hand a winner.
  • Dry Board A flop with no obvious draws. Example: K-7-2 rainbow.

E

  • Equity Your mathematical share of the pot based on win probability.
  • Expected Value (EV) Average win or loss from a decision over the long run.
  • Exploitative Play Deviating from GTO strategy to exploit opponent tendencies.

F

  • Fish A weak or inexperienced player. Also called a recreational player.
  • Flat Call Calling a raise with a strong hand to disguise strength.
  • Float Calling a bet with a weak hand, planning to bluff on a later street.
  • Flop The first three community cards dealt face up simultaneously.
  • Flush Five cards of the same suit. See hand rankings.
  • Fold Discarding your hand and giving up the pot.
  • Fold Equity Value gained from the chance opponents will fold.
  • Full House Three of one rank plus a pair of another rank.

G

  • Grinder A player who earns steady income through disciplined play.
  • GTO (Game Theory Optimal) A balanced strategy that cannot be exploited.
  • Gutshot A straight draw needing one specific rank (4 outs). Also called an inside straight draw.

H

  • Heads-up A pot or game between only two players.
  • Hero Call Calling a large bet believing your opponent is bluffing.
  • Hijack (HJ) Position two seats right of the dealer button.
  • Hole Cards The two private cards dealt face down to each player.
  • HUD (Heads-Up Display) Software overlaying real-time statistics during online play.

I

K

  • Kicker Highest unpaired card used to break ties between similar hands.

L

  • Limp Entering pre-flop by just calling the big blind rather than raising.

M

  • Main Pot The central pot all active players can win.
  • Muck To fold without showing your hand.
  • Multi-way A pot involving three or more players.

N

  • Nit An extremely tight player who only plays premium hands.
  • No Limit (NL) Players can bet any amount up to their full stack.
  • Nuts The best possible hand given the current board.

O

  • Odds Probability of an event occurring, often expressed as a ratio.
  • Off-suit Hole cards of different suits. Notation: AKo.
  • Open Raise The first raise made pre-flop.
  • Outs Cards remaining that will improve your hand. A flush draw has 9 outs.
  • Over-pair A pocket pair higher than any card on the board.

P

R

  • Rainbow A flop with three different suits, making a flush draw impossible.
  • Rake The fee charged by the card room for hosting the game.
  • Range All possible hands a player could hold in a given situation.
  • River The fifth and final community card.
  • Royal Flush A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit. The best possible hand. See hand rankings.

S

  • Satellite A tournament awarding entry to a larger, more expensive event.
  • Set Three of a kind using a pocket pair plus one matching board card.
  • Short Stack Having far fewer chips than the table average.
  • Showdown Remaining players reveal hands to determine the winner.
  • Squeeze A large re-raise after a raise and one or more calls.
  • Straight Five consecutive cards of any suit combination.

T

  • Tell A behavior or pattern that reveals information about hand strength.
  • Tilt Emotional state causing poor decisions. See bankroll tips.
  • Top Pair Pairing your hole card with the highest board card.
  • Trips Three of a kind using one hole card and two board cards.
  • Turn The fourth community card.

U

V

  • Value Bet Betting a strong hand specifically to get called by weaker hands.
  • Variance How much results deviate from expected value in the short term.

W