A loose and aggressive player. A player who bets constantly and plays many inferior hands.
match the pot
To put in an amount equal to all the chips in the pot.
misdeal
A deal which is ruined for some reason and must be redealt.
move in
In a no-limit game, to “move in” or to “go all in” means to bet one’s entire stake on the hand in play.
muck
To fold.
To discard one’s hand without revealing the cards. Often done after winning without a showdown or at a showdown when a better hand has already been revealed.
A tough choice to fold a good hand in anticipation of superior opposition.
limit
The minimum or maximum amount of a bet.
limp in
To enter a pot by simply calling instead of raising.
live
Still raisable. A live bet is one which a player can raise even if they’ve already bet and everyone else has made a call, typically because the player posted a blind.
loose
A player who plays many hands, often including those that are of lesser value. Compare to “tight”; see also “aggressive”, “passive”.
lord crowley
Folding your hand out of turn when the action to check is an option.
To call a final bet while not expecting to win, for the primary purpose of discouraging future bluffs.
kicker
A card not directly involved in evaluating a hand, but that may be used for breaking ties.
A non-paired card kept before the draw in draw poker in hope of pairing it.
kill, kill pot
An occasional hand played at double the usual stakes at an agreed-upon time; often when a player wins two hands in a row, or when a player scoops in a split-pot game. The “lucky” player is often required to post an extra blind for double the usual blind amount. See also “half-kill”.
The custom of dealing one card face down to the side for each card dealt face up as community in community games. The cards dealt face down (not to any players) are out of play (have been killed) and ensure that the deck is not stacked.
kitty
A pool of money built by collecting small amounts from certain pots, often used to buy refreshments, cards, and so on. The home-game equivalent of a rake.
A game of “jackpot poker” or “jackpots”, which is a variant of five-card draw with an ante from each player, no blinds, and an opening requirement of a pair of jacks or better.
A large pool of money collected by the house and awarded for some rare occurrence, typically a bad beat.
Unbeatable; often said of a hand that a player knows cannot be beaten under the circumstances of play. See also “lock”, “nuts”.
implied odds
Similar to pot odds, but including future bets one can reasonably expect to win. I only had 3-to-1 pot odds for a 5-to-1 draw, but I knew if I made it I’d get two extra bets from Jim, so I called for the implied odds.
improve
To achieve a better hand than one currently holds by adding or exchanging cards as provided in the rules of the game being played. I didn’t think Paula was bluffing, so I decided not to call unless I improved on the draw.
inside, inside straight
A draw to a straight with a single missing rank in the interior, for example, 8-9-J-Q, seeking a 10. Sometimes used to describe a one-end straight, which is mathematically equivalent. Also “belly buster”, “gutshot”. Compare “bobtail”, “open-ender”.
insurance
A “business” deal in which players agree to split or reduce a pot (roughly in proportion to the chances of each of them winning) with more cards to come rather than playing out the hand, or else a deal where one player makes a side bet against himself with a third party to hedge against a large loss. This is usually done when one player is all in.
in the bushes, in the weeds
A player sandbagging is said to be “in the bushes” during the time he is quietly checking and calling while others bet aggressively. He will eventually “decloak”.
in the middle
In a game with multiple blinds, an incoming player may sometimes be allowed to post the blinds “in the middle” (that is, out of their normal order) rather than having to wait for them to pass.
A player being whipsawed is said to be “in the middle”.
in the money
To place high enough in a tournament to get prize money.
in turn
A player, or an action, is said to be in turn if that player is expected to act next under the rules. Jerry said “check” while he was in turn, so he’s not allowed to raise.
irregular declaration
An action taken by a player in turn that is not a straightforward declaration of intent, but that is reasonably interpreted as an action by other players, such as rapping the table to signify “check”, or pointing a thumb up to signify “raise”. House rules or dealer discretion may determine when such actions are meaningful and/or binding.
irregularity
Any of a number of abnormal conditions in play, such as unexpectedly exposed cards, that may call for corrective action.
isolation
To play aggressively in order to drive out all but one specific opponent who you believe to be weak. I reraised to isolate Diane because she’s been playing junk all day.
In some casinos, the rule that placing chips equal to or greater than half the normal bet amount beyond the amount required to call constitutes a commitment to raise the normal amount. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing a $4 opening bet who places $6 in the pot is deemed to have raised, and must complete his bet to $8. The alternative is the “full bet rule”.
half kill
A kill for less than double the normal limits. For example, a $6 game may have a kill for $9 rather than the usual $12.
half-pot limit
A betting structure resembling pot limit, but which allows maximum raises of half the amount in the pot rather than the full amount.
hammer
To bet and raise aggressively. Nora kept hammering, so I folded.
“Having the hammer” is being in last position, especially head up. You’ve got the hammer; I check to you.
A “hammer lock” refers to a player with an almost 100% chance of winning the pot.
In Texas Hold’em, The Hammer refers to a starting hand consisting of a 7-2 offsuit.
hand
The set of cards played by one player.
A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a “deal” (though both terms are ambiguous).
hand for hand
In tournament play, the act of equalizing the number of hands played at two or more tables by waiting for slower tables to finish each hand before beginning the next hand on every table. This is usually done to ensure an accurate finishing order to distribute prize money.
hard
Aggressive and uncompromising, said of one’s play. Jim played me hard all night; I could never get a break.
Chips, as opposed to paper money. I gave the floorman $100 for $50 hard and $50 soft.
head up, heads up
Playing against a single opponent. After Lori folded, Frank and I were head up for the rest of the hand.
here kitty kitty
A conspicuously small bet made with a very powerful hand in the hope of getting a call from one or more opponents who would otherwise fold to a normal-sized bet.
high, high hand
The best hand using traditional poker hand values, as opposed to lowball. Used especially in high-low split games.
high card
A no pair hand, ranked according to its highest-ranking cards.
To defeat another player by virtue of high-ranking cards, especially kickers.
To randomly select a player for some purpose by having each draw one card, the highest of which is selected (for example, to decide who deals first). When all the players get here, we’ll high card for the button. Often high card by suit is used for this purpose.
high-low, high-low split
Any of several games in which the pot is divided between the player with the best conventional poker hand and the best lowball hand.
high society
Large-denomination chips. Also “society”.
$10,000 worth of chips. “Give me three stacks of high society.”
hit and run
To play for a short time, make money, and leave. Also called “chopping” a game.
hog, hogger
To win all of the pot in a split-pot game, for example, by having both the best high hand and best low hand simultaneously. Also called “scooping” the pot.
hole, hole card
Face-down cards. I think Willy has two more queens in the hole.
A seat, often preceded by a number relative to the button. Sara opened from the 2-hole.
Hollywood
Overt acting to deceive other players. Karl had a big smile when he bet, but it seemed too Hollywood to me, so I called anyway.
home game
A game played at a private venue (usually the home of one of the players), as opposed to a casino.
hop the fence
The enter the pot with a cold call.
horse
A player financially backed by someone else. I lost today, but Larry was my horse in the stud game, and he won big.
H.O.R.S.E.
A combination game with five games played in rotation: Texas hold ‘em, Omaha hold’em, razz, seven-card stud, and eight-or-better seven-card stud high-low. Other combinations of the letters are often seen as well: S.H.O.E., H.O.E., etc.
hunt
Looking further into the deck after the hand is over to see what cards would have come next (see also: fox hunt, rabbit hunt).
A deal in which every (or almost every) seated player called the first opening bet.
fast
Aggressive. I was afraid of too many chasers, so I played my trips fast.
feeder
In a casino setting, a second or third table playing the same game as a “main” table, and from which players move to the main game as players there leave. Also called a “must-move table.”
fifth street
The last card dealt to the board in community card games. Less common than river.
The fifth card dealt to each player in stud poker.
fill, fill up
To successfully draw to a hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of a straight, flush, or full house. Jerry made his flush when I was betting my kings up, but I filled on seventh street to catch up.
fire
To make the opening bet of a round, following the same analogy by which chips are called “ammo”. I called Ken’s bet on fourth with a draw, but I bricked, and when he fired again I had to fold. or I think Randy suspected my earlier bet was a bluff, but when I fired a second shot he let it go.
fish
An unskilled player, or an otherwise skilled player playing carelessly.
To risk money on a long-shot bet
fish hooks
Pair of jacks
five of a kind
A hand possible only in games with wild cards, defeating all other hands, comprising five cards of equal rank.
fixed limit, flat limit
A betting structure in which a player never chooses the amount to bet, only whether to bet a fixed amount or not.
flash
To show the bottom card of the deck while shuffling.
flat call
A call, in a situation where one might be expected to raise. Normally I raise with jacks, but with three limpers ahead of me I decided to flat call.
floorman, floorperson
A casino employee whose duties include adjudicating player disputes, keeping games filled and balanced, and managing dealers and other personnel. Players may shout “floor!” to call for a floorperson to resolve a dispute, to ask for a table or seat change, or to ask for some other casino service.
flop
In a community card game, the first set of community cards dealt, and the betting round that follows. In Texas hold ‘em and Omaha hold’em in particular, this involves a set of three community cards dealt before the game’s second betting round. The verb flop is to catch something on the flop.
flush
A hand comprising five cards of the same suit.
fold
To relinquish one’s cards, forfeiting any further interest in the pot for this deal.
forced bet
Money that a player is required to place into the pot by the rules of the game. The three common forms are antes, blinds, and bring-ins.
forced-move
In a casino where more than one table is playing the same game with thesame betting structure, one of the tables may be designated the “main” table,and will be kept full by requiring a player to move from one of the feeder tables to fill any vacancies. Players will generally be informed that their table is a “forced-move” table to be used in this way before they agree to play there.
forward motion
A house rule of some casinos states that if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves his hand toward the pot (“forward motion with chips in hand”), this constitutes a commitment to bet (or call), and the player may not withdraw his hand to check or fold. Such a player still has the choice of whether to call or raise.
foul hand
A hand that is ruled unplayable because of an irregularity, such as being found with too many or two few cards, having been mixed with cards of other players or the muck, having fallen off the table, etc.
four-flush
Four cards of the same suit. A non-standard poker hand in some games, an incomplete drawing hand in most.
four of a kind, fours
A hand containing four cards of equal rank.
four-straight
Four cards in rank sequence; either an open-ender or one-ender. A non-standard poker hand in some games, an incomplete drawing hand in most. See “bobtail”, “four-flush”.
fourth street
The fourth card dealt to the board in community card games. Less common than turn.
The fourth card dealt to each player in stud.
fox hunt
After a hand is over, a fox hunt means to reveal the next card that would have come up. If the next card would have been the final card, such as in a community card game with a fixed number of cards, this is called rabbit hunting. Such activity is usually prohibited in most casinos.
free card
A card dealt to one’s hand (or to the board of community cards) after a betting round in which no player opened. One is thereby being given a chance to improve one’s hand without having to pay anything. I wasn’t sure my hand was good, but I bet so I wouldn’t give a free card to Bill’s flush draw.
freeroll
A situation in which a player is guaranteed to at least break even and may possibly profit. Common in split-pot games.
A tournament with no entry fee. Sometimes offered as a casino promotion, or as a reward for earlier play.
freezeout
A winner-take-all tournament. That is, a game in which play continues until one player has all the chips.
full, full boat, full hand, full house
A hand with three cards of one rank and two of a second rank. The term “full hand” seems to have been the original, but today “full house” is standard.
full bet rule
In some casinos, the rule that a player must wager the full amount required in order for his action to constitute a raise. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing an opening bet of $4 who wagers $7 is deemed to have flat called, because $8 is required to raise. The alternative is the “half bet rule”.
In a betting round with multiple players involved, those who bet first are said to be in early position.
equity
One’s mathematically expected income from the current deal, calculated by multiplying the amount of money in the pot by one’s probability of winning. For example, if the pot currently contains $100, and you estimate that you have a one in four chance of winning it, then your equity in the pot in $25. Compare to “expected value”.
expectation
Expected value.
One’s typical win rate for a particular game, ignoring variance. That is, how much one expects to win (or lose) per hour or per hand over the long run.
expected value, EV
In probability theory, the overall expected payoff of a particular event, calculated by multiplying the probability of each possible outcome by the payoff from each. For example, if there are two possible outcomes from an event (say, flipping a coin), one of which pays $2 and the other of which pays nothing, your EV for the event is $1 (in the long run, if this event happened many times, you would average $1 per event). In poker, one generally associates an EV with a particular action. One’s EV from calling a bet, for example, is the sum of all possible outcomes from calling the bet multiplied by the probability of each. Note that since a bet costs money to make, the payoff of some outcomes–and therefore the EV itself–may be negative.
exposed card
A card whose face has been deliberately or accidentally revealed to players normally not entitled to that information during the play of the game. Various games have different rules about how to handle this irregularity. Compare “boxed card”.
Describing an action taken before receiving information to which the player would normally be entitled. I’m drawing three, and I check in the dark.
dead blind
A blind that is not “live”, in that the player posting it does not have the option to raise if other players just call. Rarely used.
dead button
A dealer button placed in a position where there is no player. This occurs in some casinos when the player who would otherwise be entitled to the button leaves the game (other casinos move the button forward to the next player). This occurs frequently during poker tournaments, due to player elimination.
dead hand
A player’s hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal for some reason, such as having been fouled by touching another player’s cards, being found to contain the wrong number of cards, being dealt to a player who did not make the appropriate forced bets, etc.
dead man’s hand
A dead man’s hand is the famous hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot and killed in 1877, consisting of a pair of aces and a pair of eights of the black suits (spades and clubs); but often refers to any two pairs of aces and eights.
dead money
Money placed into a pot that does not represent equal bets and calls by active players in the pot. This can be the earlier bets of players who have folded, or money placed in the pot before the deal.
By extension, it is used as a derogatory term for money put in play by unskilled players who are legally eligible, but unlikely, to win it back. Can also refer to the player: Let’s play that stud game–Joe and Diane are dead money.
deadwood
The muck.
deal
To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played.
A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a “hand” (though both terms are ambiguous).
An agreement to split tournament prize money differently from the announced payouts.
dealer
The person dealing the cards, or the person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game, even though someone else might be physically dealing. In the latter case, that player is often marked with a button, and may be called “the button”.
dealer’s choice
A version of poker in which the deal passes each game and each dealer can choose, or invent, a new poker game each hand.
declare
To verbally indicate an action or intention.
decloak
To raise after having sandbagged for a time (making it clear that you were, in fact, sandbagging).
deep
Describing a large amount of money, either in play or having been lost. How deep are you? (meaning “How much money do you have”, in anticipation of making a very large bet). I won that large pot, but I’m in much deeper than that.
defense
Playing to minimize investment or loss rather than maximize a win; for example, with a drawing hand that is risky but that you think should call an opponent’s bet, you might make a smaller “defensive bet” yourself that you think your opponent will just call, rather than checking and calling a larger bet, or showing weakness.
Occasionally calling with weak hands to discourage opponents from bullying, especially when in the blinds.
deuce
A 2-spot card.
Any of various related uses of the number two, such as a $2 limit game, a $2 chip, etc.
deuce-to-seven
A method of evaluating low hands.
discard
To take a previously dealt card out of play. The set of all discards for a deal is called the “muck” or the “deadwood”.
dog
Underdog; that is, a player with a smaller chance to win than another specified player. Frequently used when the exact odds are expressed. Harry might have been bluffing, but if he really had the king, my hand was a 4-to-1 dog, so I folded.
dominated hand
A hand that is extremely unlikely to win against another specific hand, even though it may not be a poor hand in its own right. Most commonly used in Texas hold ‘em. A hand like A-Q, for example, is a good hand in general but is dominated by A-K, because whenever the former makes a good hand, the latter is likely to make a better one. A hand like 7-8 is a poor hand in general, but is not dominated by A-K because it makes different kinds of hands.
donation
A call made by a player who fully expects to lose; made either out of boredom or irrational optimism.
donk, donkey
Epithet for an inexperienced, unskilled, or foolish poker player. I played that hand like a donkey.
donk (verb)
To play a hand poorly. I donked off 15 bucks on that last hand.
door card
In a stud game, a player’s first face-up card. Patty paired her door card on fifth street and raised, so I put her on trips.
Window card.
double-ace flush
Under unconventional rules, a flush with one or more wild cards in which they play as aces, even if an ace is already present.
double-board, double-flop
Any of several community card game variants (usually Texas hold ‘em) in which two separate boards of community cards are dealt simultaneously, with the pot split between the winning hands using each board.
double-draw
Any of several Draw poker games in which the draw phase and subsequent betting round are repeated twice.
double gutter, double belly buster
In games involving six or more cards, a draw to a straight that can be filled by two ranks, but that is not an open-ender. For example, K-J-10-9-7, which can become a straight with any Q or 8.
double through, double up
In a big bet game, to bet all of one’s chips on one hand against a single opponent (who has an equal or larger stack) and win, thereby doubling your stack. I was losing a bit, but then I doubled through Sarah to put me in good shape.
downcard
A card that is dealt facedown.
down to the felt
All in, or having lost all of one’s money. Refers to the green felt surface of a poker table no longer obscured by chips.
drag light
To pull chips away from the pot to indicate that you don’t have enough money to cover the bet. If you win, the amount is ignored. If you lose, you must cover the amount from your pocket.
draw
Draw poker.
To replace one or more cards in one’s hand with new ones from the deck stub, as in draw poker.
The act of staying in a hand in hopes of improving, usually to a straight or flush–on a draw.
A drawing hand.
drawing hand
In any game, an incomplete hand which is not likely to win unless future cards, received by whatever means the game specifies, improve it. For example, having four club-suited cards but no pair in a stud game, hoping that one of the cards to come will be a fifth club, making a flush.
drawing dead
Playing a drawing hand that will lose even if successful (a state of affairs usually only discovered after the fact). I caught the jack to make my straight, but Rob had a full house all along, so I was drawing dead.
drawing live
Not drawing dead; that is, drawing to a hand that will win if successful.
drawing thin
Not drawing completely dead, but chasing a draw in the face of poor odds. Example: a player who will only win by catching 1 or 2 specific cards is said to be drawing thin.
drink pot
A pot won by a player with the agreement that drinks will be bought from the proceeds.
drop
To fold.
Money charged by the casino for providing its services, often dropped through a slot in the table into a strong box.
To drop ones cards to the felt to indicate that one is in or out of a game like guts.
dry pot
A side pot with no money. Created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. Bluffing into a dry pot is a play that cannot possibly earn a profit, so doing so is considered foolish. It may also be unethical, because it serves to protect the all-in player at the expense of the bettor and the other players, and so is a form of collusion.
dump, dumped
To lose a large quantity of ones stack to another player on a particular hand or set of hands in short succession. I dumped half my stack to John after he cracked my Kings.
duplicate
To counterfeit, especially when the counterfeiting card matches one already present in the one’s hand.
