Poker can oftern be confusing with many phrases. We have collated a list of terms and slang and explained it in simple English for you...

Poker Lingo

A

Aces Full A full house with three aces and any pair.

Ace-High A five card hand that contains one Ace, with no straight or flush or a hand with no

Aces Up A hand that contains two pairs, one of which is Aces.

Action Checking/Betting/Raising. A game in which players are playing a lot of pots is

Active Player Any player who is still in the hand.

Add-on A purchase of more chips (optional) at the end of the re-buy period in a tournament.

All-In When a player bets all his/her chips.: In online poker, you may be deemed "All-in"

American Airlines Two Aces.

Ante Money placed in the pot before the hand is begun.

Bad Beat When a hand is beaten by a lucky draw.

Belly Buster A draw and/or catch to an Inside Straight.

Bet To place chips into the pot.

Bet the Pot When a player bets the amount of the pot.

Bicycle A straight that is A-2-3-4-5.

Big Blind A designated amount that is placed by the player sitting in the second position,

Big Slick A hand that contains an A-K.

Blind The bet(s) that must be made by the two players sitting directly to the dealer's left

which will start the action on the first round of betting. The blinds are posted before

Blind Raise When a player raises without looking at his hand.

Bluff To make other players believe that one has a better hand than he/she might otherwise

have by betting or raising when they do not have the best hand.

Boardcards The cards that are dealt face-up in a poker game for all players to see. In flop games,

five cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. In Seven Card Stud, four cards

Bottom Pair When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one of his own

Broadway An Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10).

Bring-In The forced bet made on the first round of betting by the player who is dealt the

lowest card showing in Seven Card Stud and Stud 8 or Better. In Razz (Lowball) it is

Bring It In To start the betting on the first round.

Broomcorn's Uncle A player who antes himself broke.

Bullets A pair of Aces.

Bump To raise.

Button Also known as the dealer button, it is a small round disk that is moved from player to

Buy-In The minimum amount of money required by a player to sit down in a particular

Call When a player chooses to match the previous bet.

Call Cold To call both a bet and raise(s).

Cap To take the last of the maximum amount of raises allowed per round of betting.

Cardroom The room or space in a casino where poker is played.

Case Chips A player's last chips.

Cash Out To leave a game and convert your chips to cash.

Check-Raise When a player first checks and then raises in a betting round.

Chop To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next hand if

Collusion When two or more players conspire to cheat in a poker game.

Community Cards Cards that are face-up and used by all players.

Cowboys Two Kings.

Dead Man's Hand Two pair - Aces and Eights (Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back while playing

Door Card This is the first exposed card, or "up" card, in a player's hand in Stud games.

Down Card Hole cards. Cards that are dealt face down.

Doyle Brunson It's a Holdem hand consisting of a 10-2 (Brunson won the world championship two

Draw Lowball Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards with the option of discarding one

Draw Poker Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards down with the option of

Drop Fold.

Ducks A pair of Twos.

Deuces A pair of Twos.

Early Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act before most of the other

players at the table. (It's considered the two positions located to the left of the Blinds.

Fifth Street Also known as the "river" card. In flop games, this represents the fifth community

card on the table and the final round of betting. In Stud games, this is the fifth card

Five-card Draw A poker game in which the player is dealt five cards down. They have one draw to

Five-card Stud A poker game in which each player is dealt five cards, one down and four up, with

Flat Call Calling a bet without raising.

Flop In Hold'em and Omaha, the first three community cards that are dealt face-up in the

Flop Games Poker games (Hold 'em and Omaha) that are played using community cards that are

Floorman An employee of the cardroom who makes rulings and decisions.

Flush Any five cards of the same suit.

Flush Draw When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to draw a

Fold To throw your hand away when it's your turn to act.

Forced Bet A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand.

Four of a Kind Four cards of the same number or face value ("quads").

Fourth Street In flop games, it is the fourth community card dealt (also known as "the turn") and

represents the third round of betting. In Stud games, it is the fourth card dealt to each

Full House Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the

Gut Shot To draw to and/or hit an inside straight.

Hand A player's best five cards.

High-Card To decide the first dealer in the flop tournaments each user is dealt a single card and

High-Low Split pot games.

Hold 'em Also known as Texas Hold 'em, where the players get two down cards and five

community cards. See our complete Hold 'em rules in our Game Rules section.

Hole Cards These are the Down Cards in front of the players.

House The casino or cardroom that is hosting the poker game.

Inside Straight Four cards which require another between the top and the bottom card to complete a

straight. Players who catch this card make an Inside Straight.

Jackpot Poker A form of poker in which the cardroom or casino offers a jackpot to a player who has

Jacks-or- Better A form of poker in which a player needs to have at least a pair of jacks to open the

Kansas City Lowball Form of lowball poker in which the worst poker hand (2, 3, 4, 5, 7 of different suits)

Keep Them Honest To call at the end of a hand to prevent someone from bluffing.

Key Card A card that gives you a big draw or makes your hand.

Key Hand In a session or tournament, the one hand that ends up being a turning point for the

Kicker The highest unpaired side card in a players' hand.

Kick It Raise.

Kill Pot A method to stimulate action. It is a forced bet by someone who has just won a

Knock Check.

Kojak A hand that contains a K-J.

Ladies Two Queens.

Late Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act after most of the other

players have acted (usually considered to be the two positions next to the button).

Lay Down Your Hand When a player folds.

Lead The first player to bet into a pot.

Limit Poker A game that has fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals along with a

Limper The first player who calls a bet.

Limp In To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. (The usual concept of "Limp In" is

Live Blind An instance where the player puts in a dark bet and is allowed to raise, even if no

other player raises. It's also known as an "option".

Live Card(s) In Stud Games, cards that have not yet been seen and are presumed to still be in play.

Live Hand A hand that could still win the pot.

Live One A not so knowledgeable player who plays a lot of hands.

Look When a player calls the final bet before the showdown.

Loose Is a player who plays a lot hands.

Lowball Is a form of draw poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot.

Main Pot The center pot. Any other bets are placed in a side pot(s) and are contested among

the remaining players. This occurs when a player(s) goes all-in.

Make To make the deck is to shuffle the deck.

Maniac A very aggressive player who plays a lot of hands.

Middle Pair In flop games, when a player makes a pair with one of his/her down cards and the

middle card on the flop.

Middle Position Somewhere between the early and late positions on a round of betting (the fifth, sixth

and seventh seats to the left of the button).

Muck To discard or throw away your hand. It's also a pile of cards that are no longer in

Minimum Buy-In The least amount you can start a game with.

Monster A very big hand. In a tournament, a player who begins to accumulate chips after

No Limit A game where players can bet as much as they like (as long as they have it in front of

Nuts The best possible hand at any point of the game. A hand that cannot be beat.

Odds The probability of making a hand vs. the probability of not making a hand.

Offsuit Cards of a different suit.

Omaha A game in which each player is dealt four down cards with five community cards. To

Open To make the first bet.

Open-ended Straight Four consecutive cards whereby one additional (consecutive) card is needed at either

end to make a straight.

Open Card A card that is dealt face-up.

Open Pair A pair that has been dealt face-up.

Option An option is a Live Blind made in the dark before the cards are dealt. If no one

Out Button A disc placed in front of a player who wishes to sit out a hand(s) but remain in the

Paints Face or picture cards (Jack, Queen and King).

Pair Two cards of the same face or number value.

Pass To fold.

Pay Off To call on the final round of betting when you may or may not think you have the

Picture Cards Face cards (Jack, Queen and King).

Play Back To raise or re-raise another player's bet.

Playing the Board In flop games when your best five card hand is all five of the community cards.

Pocket The down cards or hole cards.

Pocket Rockets A pair of Aces in the pocket or hole.

Position Where a player is seated in relation to the dealer, therefore establishing that player's

Post When you post a bet, you place your chips in the pot. (You must post the Blinds.)

Pot The money or chips in the center of a table that players try to win.

Pot Limit This is a game where the maximum bet can equal the pot.

Prop A person hired by the cardroom to work as a shill.

Push When the dealer pushes the chips to the winning player at the end of a hand. It's also

Put Down To fold a hand.

Quads Four of a kind.

Qualifier In High-Low games, it is a requirement the Low hand must meet to win the pot.

Rack A tray that holds 100 poker chips in five stacks of twenty chips each.

Rail The rim of a poker table or a barrier outside a poker area.

Railbird Someone w