| 4th Street (aka the Turn card) | the fourth community card dealt |
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| 5th Street (aka the River card) | the fifth community card dealt |
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| Action | generic term for a check, bet, raise, re-raise or anything else done by an active player during a round of betting |
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| Active player | a player who has not folded in the current hand |
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| Add-on | a rebuy at the end of the allotted rebuy period as a final top up to a player's chip stack. Allowed even if their chips are greater than the minimum required for a rebuy |
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| All-in | to have all your chips in the pot |
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| Ante | a fixed amount that EVERY player pays every single hand they play |
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| Bad Beat | losing your winning hand to a long shot as more cards are dealt eg losing a set to a straight on the river card |
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| Bellybuster (aka Gutshot, Inside straight) | holding 4 cards to a straight but requiring only one rank to make it eg holding 3,4,5,7 and needing a 6 |
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| Bicycle (aka The Wheel) | The lowest possible hand in a lowball game eg A2345 |
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| Blind bets | compulsory bets wagered prior to any cards being dealt |
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| Blind raise | a player raising without looking at their cards |
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| Bluff | betting or raising a hand with a very weak, and likely losing, hand to try and make stronger players fold the pot |
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| Board (aka Community cards, River) | the cards everyone uses placed face up in the middle of the table |
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| Boat (aka Full house) | holding three-of-a-kind AND a pair as your winning hand eg AAA88 |
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| Bullying | raising heavily against short-stacked players to steal their chips |
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| Burn cards | cards placed face down on the table directly before the flop, turn and river cards are dealt |
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| Buy-in | the (minimum) amount required to sit at a game |
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| Bubble | finishing in the position that is one off the money in a tournament eg "going out on the bubble" |
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| Capped | in a fixed limit game where the initial bet has been raised three times subsequently and 'capped' at the maximum for that round |
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| Catch | to make a hand against the odds and win |
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| Chasing | paying to see an extra card waiting for one or two cards to make a better hand - usually a straight or flush |
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| Check | to bet no amount, play moves to the next player |
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| Check-raise | to bet no amount, wait for a player to bet and then to raise over the top of them |
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| Chip-leader | the player at the table(s) with the most chips |
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| Community cards (aka Board, River) | the cards everyone uses placed face up in the middle of the table |
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| Cut | to split the pack in two to re-arrange the order of the cards following a deal to help prevent cheating |
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| Dead Card | a card that is not playable |
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| Dead Hand | a hand that is not playable |
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| Dead Money | monies taken in by the dealer to the main pot if they have been wagered by a player and are no longer part of their stack |
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| Dealer button | the disc used to denote who the dealer deals to last that moves round the table one place after each hand |
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| Draw | having four cards to a hand eg holding 4,5,6,7 and thus drawing a 3 or 8 to make a straight |
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| Fish | shark bait (see Sharks) |
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| Fixed limit | a game with set limits on the size of the bet (see What To Play for more info) |
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| Flop | the 3 cards placed face up on the table after the initial round of betting |
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| Flush | a hand with all 5 cards the same suit regardless of rank |
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| Fold (aka Lay down) | to throw in your cards and take no further part in the hand. All bets wagered to that point are lost |
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| Four-of-a-kind (aka Quads) | holding four cards of equal rank |
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| Freeroll | a tournament that is free to enter |
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| Full house (aka Boat) | holding three-of-a-kind AND a pair as your winning hand eg AAA88 |
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| Gutshot (aka Inside straight, Bellybuster) | holding 4 cards to a straight but requiring only one rank to make it eg holding 3,4,5,7 and needing a 6 |
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| Hand-for-hand | in a multi-table tournament when a payout change is due after 1 more person is knocked out (eg 21-30 pays $100, 11-20 pays $200 and there are 21 players left), the tables all synchronise so that there is no advantage to playing slow and waiting for other players to go out before you |
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| Heads-Up | when there are just two players playing |
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| Hi/Lo | a game with two qualifying winning hands - a high and a low one (see What To Play for more info) |
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| Hole cards (aka Pocket cards) | the two cards each player is dealt |
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| Inside straight (aka Bellybuster, Gutshot) | holding 4 cards to a straight but requiring only one rank to make it eg holding 3,4,5,7 and needing a 6 |
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| Kicker | the 'next' card counted to decide who wins a hand eg two players hold AK and A8 with a AA679 board - AK wins as the King kicker is higher than the 8 kicker |
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| Kill pot | a pot following a player winning two consecutive hands where all bets are doubled (see What To Play for more info) |
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| Lay down (aka Fold) | to throw in your cards and take no further part in the hand. All bets wagered to that point are lost |
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| Loose | a player who calls and raises against the odds and plays with little regard for preserving their stack |
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| Lowball | a game variant where only low hands qualify to win, not high hands |
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| Main pot | created when a player goes all-in with a small stack, the main pot is the maximum pot that the all-in player can win with all other players betting into a side pot |
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| Muck | to throw in your losing hand face down if you see a better winning one at the showdown |
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| No limit | a game with no set limits on the size of the bet (see What To Play for more info) |
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| Nuts | the best possible hand at any time in the hand |
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| Odds | the probability of winning vs losing a hand given your cards and the other possibilities that beat it |
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| Offsuit | cards of a different suit, usually applied when describing hole cards eg 'AK offsuit' |
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| On the button | the player with the dealer button in front of them |
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| Open-ended straight draw (aka Up and down straight draw) | holding a straight draw which can be made with 1 of 2 ranks eg holding 34 with 56 on board so that a 2 or a 7 will make the straight |
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| Outs | the cards left in the pack that will make a drawing hand into a straight or flush |
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| Outdrawn | leading based on the hole cards held/the current situation and having your opponent catch a card(s) to beat you against the odds |
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| Overcards | holding cards above the flop values eg holding AQ with a 67T flop means you hold 2 overcards |
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| Pass | to fold or check depending on when applied |
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| Passive | the opposite of loose, a player who plays only premium hands as a rule |
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| Pocket cards (aka Hole cards) | the two cards each player is dealt |
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| Position | the relation of a player's position in relation to the dealer eg early, mid, late or on the button |
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| Pot | the money already wagered for players in the hand to win |
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| Pot limit | a game with the current pot size at any time set as the limit of the size of a bet or raise (see What To Play for more info) |
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| Pot Odds | See the Pot Odds page |
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| Protected hand | hole cards physically held or with a chip placed on top to 'protect' them |
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| Quads (aka Four-of-a-kind) | holding four cards of equal rank |
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| Raise | to bet more than a previous bet in any betting round |
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| Rake | a percentage of each pot (usually with a maximum rake limit) over a certain amount that a casino takes in order to make money from ring games |
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| Rebuy | paying extra money to gain more chips at the table, usually only allowed when a player's stack is below a certain level |
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| Represent | bet following a community card(s) being dealt to suggest to other players that you have a card, usually an Ace, to try and make them fold even though you do not hold that card |
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| Re-raise | to raise over the top of a previous raise |
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| Ring game | a game that does not end like a tournament but rather runs in perpetuity (online at least) which players can leave and join at any time. Blinds are also static |
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| River (aka Board, Community cards) | sometimes used as a generic term for the cards everyone uses placed face up in the middle of the table |
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| River card | the fifth community card dealt |
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| Rock | a very tight player |
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| Rock garden | a whole table of very tight players |
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| Rounder | a professional player who makes money 'doing the rounds' at poker games |
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| Royal flush | the best possible hand in poker eg AKQJT all the same suit |
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| Runners | when the turn and river cards win a hand for someone eg AA is up against 67 with a flop of 3A9 and 45 comes next to give 67 the straight |
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| Satellite | a game played with prizes paid as entries to bigger games |
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| Side pot | a pot created when a short-stacked player goes all-in. All players still in the hand continue to bet into a side pot so as not to confuse the maximum that the short-stacked player could win |
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| Set (aka Three-of-a-kind, Trips) | holding three cards of equal rank eg 777 |
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| Sharks | good players who play with bad players (see Fish) and take their money |
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| Short-stacked | having a low amount of chips relative to the other players |
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| Sit N Go | a one or two table tournament with a fixed buy-in and progressively increasing blinds ending with a single winner |
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| Split pot | a pot split evenly where 2 or more players have exactly the same hand |
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| Starting requirements | the hands players are prepared to play with a certain number of players at the table eg early on, starting requirements are high and most players will only play good hole cards but as the number of players falls, their starting requirements may be 'relaxed' so they play weaker hole cards |
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| Straight | holding rank cards in rank order but different suits eg 23456 not all the same suit |
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| Three-of-a-kind (aka Set, Trips) | holding three cards of equal rank eg 777 |
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| Tight-aggressive | a player who folds bad hands but raises the good hands aggressively |
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| Tilt | to play with reckless abandon, usually following a bad beat |
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| Trips (aka Set, Three-of-a-kind) | holding three cards of equal rank eg 777 |
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| Turn card (aka 4th street) | the fourth community card dealt |
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| Under the gun | acting first in a betting round |
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| Up and down straight draw (aka Open-ended straight draw) | holding a straight draw which can be made with 1 of 2 ranks eg holding 34 with 56 on board so that a 2 or a 7 will make the straight |
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| Wager | to bet or raise |
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| Wheel (aka Bicycle) | The lowest possible hand in a lowball game eg A2345 |
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