| A |
| Active player | Any player that is still in the hand. |
| Action | A term for raising and betting. An action table involves players playing in several pots. |
| Aggressive | An aggressive player can be very dangerous as they raise and re-raise in a lot of pots. |
| All-in | When a player puts all the chips they have into the pot. If the player can’t call the bet by going all-in, then a side pot is created. |
| American Airlines | Two Aces. |
| Ante | The ante is the minimum amount required from each player before the game starts or any cards are dealt. |
| B |
| Backdoor | Making a hand unexpectedly. For example, holding a 6 and an 8 suited (seeking a flush draw), and flopping 4, 5, 7 unsuited to make a backdoor straight. |
| Bad beat | To have a hand that is the underdog which beats a favored stronger hand. The player either got a lucky card or it is pure luck. |
| Bankroll | This is the amount of money you have to play with. |
| Belly buster | An inside straight. |
| Bet | Is putting money into the pot. |
| Big slick | This is slang for having a hand that contains a King and an Ace. |
| Blank | A card that doesn’t benefit any of the players or impact the hand in any way. |
| Blind | A forced starting bet in poker made by the player in relation to the dealer or dealer button. |
| Bluff | A bet / raise when a player has a worthless hand, making other players believe that they have a strong hand. |
| Board | Cards dealt face up available to all of the players to see and use. |
| Boat | A full house (3 of a kind and 2 of a kind). |
| Broadway | A straight with an Ace High – A-K-Q-J-10. |
| Bullets | Pair of Aces. |
| Bump | To raise a pot / hand. |
| Button | The dealer button. |
| Buy-in | The amount of money a player needs to sit down at a particular game. |
| C |
| Call | Matching a bet. |
| Calling Station | A player that calls often. |
| Check | To check, a player may decide to not bet during a round and instead check or take no action. If another player bets, then the player that checked must decide to call, fold, or raise the bet when the action comes back to them. |
| Check-raise | A classic Holdem move. A player with a strong hand checks to act weak to other players hoping his opponent will bet, and then re-raises him. |
| Chips | Small colored discs that represent real money. |
| Connector | Connector cards are cards of consecutive rank which hold good straight potential. Eg: 10 and J. |
| Cowboys | A pair of Kings. |
| Cold Cards | A bad run of luck or cards. |
| Cash Out | To leave the game and convert your chips back to cash. |
| D |
| Dead man’s hand | Two pairs of Eights and Aces. Legend states that Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back with these cards in his hand. |
| Ducks | Pair of 2’s. |
| Dolly Parton | A hand of 9 and 5, named after her movie ‘Nine to Five’. |
| Doyle Brunson | A hand of 10 and 2, made famous by poker legend Doyle Brunson, who won the WSOP twice with these cards. |
| Door Card | This is the first exposed card, or “up” card, in a players hand in Stud games. |
| E |
| F |
| Fifth Street | 5th community card on the board. |
| Fish | An inexperienced player. |
| Fishhooks | Pair of Jacks. |
| Flat Call | Calling a bet without raising. |
| Flop | The flop is the first three community cards dealt in Holdem and Omaha. |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit. |
| Fold | To withdraw from a hand, no longer taking part in the pot. |
| Forced Bet | A required bet that starts a poker hand. |
| Fourth Street | The 4th community card or turn card. |
| Free Card | When a player is able to see a free card, the players before him have checked, so he doesn’t need to put in any more money into the pot to see the next card. |
| G |
| Gut Shot | This is to draw or hit an inside straight. |
| Grinder | A player who doesn’t take many risks. |
| H |
| Hand | A complete round beginning with the posting of any blinds or antes and all players receiving cards. The hand ends with the pot being awarded to the winner or winners. |
| Heads-up | One on one play, a pot being played by 2 players. |
| Hole | These are the 2 cards dealt to players, down cards, before the first round of betting. |
| I |
| Inside Straight | This is when a player has four cards to a straight and needs one of the middle cards to complete the straight. |
| J |
| Jackpot | A prize pot that is awarded to a player with the strongest hand. |
| Jacks-or-Better | This is a form of poker in which a player needs a pair of jacks at least to open the betting. |
| K |
| Kicker | The highest unpaired card in your hand that is used to break a tie situation between hands. E.g. if one player has an King and a 9, and another player holds King and an 8, the first player wins the pot because he has the higher kicker. |
| Kitty | The prize money for the winner of the hand. |
| Knock | To check. |
| Kojak | A hand that consists of a King & Jack. |
| Key Card | A card that makes your hand. |
| L |
| Ladies | Two Queens. |
| Lay down | This is when a player puts down their cards and fold. |
| Limp in | To enter a pot by calling instead of raising. |
| Lock | An unbeatable hand, guaranteed to win. |
| Loose | A loose player tends to take part in a lot of hands sometimes to many. |
| Limit Poker | A poker game that has fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals along with a prescribed number of raises. |
| M |
| Main Pot | The pot in the center of the table. |
| Maverick | When your hole cards consist of a Jack and a Queen. |
| Monster | A very big hand. |
| Muck | The hand is discarded after a hand without being displayed to the table. |
| Middle Pair | Pairing the middle ranked card on the flop with one of your hole cards you would have middle pair. |
| N |
| Nuts | The best hand possible given the exposed cards or community cards. |
| O |
| On the Button | This player is technically in the best position as the player on the button is last to bet into the pot. |
| Outs | A number of cards that could improve a player’s hand. |
| Offsuit | A starting hand with two cards of different suit. |
| Over Pair | A players pocket pair which is higher than any of the cards on the board. |
| P |
| Pocket Rockets | Two Aces. |
| Pocket | Your unique cards that only you can see. |
| Pass | To fold. |
| Post | To make a bet, to put your chips into the pot. |
| Picture Cards | Ace, King, Queen or Jack of any suit. |
| Prop | A person hired by the cardroom to play and fill up poker tables. |
| Pair | Two cards of the same face or number value. |
| Q |
| Quads | Four of a kind. |
| R |
| Rake | A percentage of money taken from the pot by the cardroom as compensation for hosting the game. |
| Rap | When a player knocks on the table indicating that he/she has checked. |
| Rag | Rag cards are worthless and cannot improve your hand. |
| River | The fifth community card on the table. |
| Rush | A winning streak. |
| Railbird | Someone hangs around chat rooms and watches and comments on a game. |
| Raise | To call a bet and add more cash into the pot. |
| Ring Game | A live game that is not part of a tournament. |
| Rock | A very tight player who takes very few chances. |
| Royal Flush | The best hand in poker, 10, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit. |
| S |
| Sandbag | This is to bet very small or not at all forcing other players to bet. |
| Scare Card | A card that appears to help the opposition or a card that is higher than any of a player’s hole cards. This can be a good chance to bluff. |
| Set | A three of a kind. |
| Snowmen | Two 8’s. |
| Stack | The number of chips in front of a player. |
| T |
| Tell | A giveaway by a player as to what kind of hand they have. |
| Tilt | When a player is on a ’tilt’ it means they are playing poorly due to being angry or emotionally upset. |
| Trips | 3 of a kind. |
| Turn | The fourth community card on the table (also known as fourth street). |
| Treys | Two 3’s. |
| Thirty Miles | Three tens. |
| U |
| Under The Gun | The term is used to describe any player that is first to act in subsequent betting rounds. |
| Underdog | An underdog is a player who is not favoured in the competition. |
| Underpair | The players hand is lower value than the lowest card on the table. |
| V |
| W |
| Walking Sticks | A pair of sevens. |
| Wild Card | A card that can be played as any value. |
| Worst Hand | A losing hand. |
| WSOP | World Series of Poker. |
| X |
| Y |
| Z |
