Glossary of Poker Terms

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Aces Up	A hand with a pair of aces and another pair of any suit.
Ante	Chips (or money) put into the pot before a deal is made. Can be known as 'sweetening the pot'.
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Back-in	A strong hand is checked, and then raised, after another player has opened the betting (and when check-and-raise has been permitted).
Back-to-back	A holding of a pair in five-card stud (when the pair was formed with the first two cards dealt, one in the hole, and the other as the first upcard). Can be referred to as 'wired'.
Bad-beat	When you lose despite having had a good hand.
Betting-the-pot	When you bet a sum equal to the pot in a game of pot-limit poker.
Bicycle	Also known as wheel. It's the lowest possible holding (5,4,3,2,1) in lowball and high-low poker.
Big Blind	Usual in Texas Hold'Em, it is the bigger of two forced bets.
Blind	A forced bet made before any cards have been dealt.
Blind bet	This is when a forced bet must be made without knowing the value of the holdings. In some poker games the first player must make a blind bet. See 'under-the-gun'.
Bluff	Making a bet when you know you have a weak hand, in the hope that the other players will leave the game.
Board	In Omaha or Texas Hold'Em, when the five community cards are dealt open.
Bonus	Also known as royalties. It is an extra payment for having a strong hand such as a straight flush or royal flush.
Bring it in	The opening of betting with a forced bet in a stud game. Bull - Colloquial name for the Ace.
Burn a card	The removal of the top card in a deck (or stock) before starting to deal.
Bust	A hand with which you have no chance of winning.
Button	Used in casino poker games when there is a house dealer to take the place of a 'real' dealer in the game. The 'button' is placed in front of the person in the game who is the 'real' dealer so that all players know this person bets and acts last in the round.
Buy	Also known as buy a card. Receiving a card in a round of stud poker.
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Call	Also known as 'Call a bet' or 'seeing a bet'. When you make a bet, which is the same as a previous, bet made on the same round.
Calling a hand	At showdown, the final bet made so that you can be shown the original bet's hand.
Cards speak	The winner of the pot is decided by the cards that are shown rather than a player's declaration.
Case card	The last card of a particular type. E.g. a player buys a king after three have been shown. He has bought the case king.
Check	Also known as 'pass'. This is the option used by a player before a bet has been made, to not bet and pass the bet option to the next player. The player who has passed still remains in the game.
Check-and-Raise	Only allowed in some games. A player may check his hand (ie. pass) and then when it is his turn again, raise a subsequent bet.
Cowboy	Colloquial name for the king.
Cut	Also known as 'cut the cards'. After the dealer has shuffled the cards the player on the right removes roughly half of the deck (the top half) and puts it to one side. The dealer then puts the remaining part of the deck (the bottom half) on top of the removed cards. The dealer then 'squares the deck' (makes the pack even) and starts dealing.
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Deadwood	Also known as 'the discard pile'. A pile of discarded cards, usually those folded or discarded by players.
Deuce	A colloquial term for the number 2 card.
Discard pile	Also known as deadwood. A pile of discarded cards, usually those, folded or discarded by players.
Draw	In draw poker, cards dealt from the stock after completion of the first round of betting.
Drawing hand	A good hand that needs a better card to be a winner. E.g. a four flush.
Drop	Also known as folding one's cards. When a player leaves the game.
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Face card	The king, queen or jack.
False openers	The opening of betting in jackpots by a player with a poor hand. Jacks or better are needed to open the betting.
Fold one's cards	Also known as drop. When a player leaves the game.
Flop	In Texas Hold'Em poker when the first three cards are put on the board after the finish of the first betting round.
Fold	A player leaves the game by putting their cards in the discard pile.
Four flush	A hand with four cards of a suit. Not enough for a flush.
Fourth street	The start of the third round of betting in Texas Hold'Em when the fourth card is put on the board.
Free ride	All players pass in the round and no bets are made.
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High	Used in Stud poker. The holder of the highest ranked card on the board makes the first bet.
High hand	In High poker it is the highest-ranking hand for a given game.
Hole card	Card(s) dealt face down in stud poker.
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Inside straight	Four cards that could make a straight, but are missing the middle number. E.g. 2,3,5,6 (missing 4).
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Jackpots	A variation of draw poker. To open betting you need to hold a pair of jacks or better.
Joker wild	A poker game where the joker card can be used as a wild card with any value that the holder wants. (Deuce wild is also common).
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Kicker	When a high card (e.g. an ace or king) is held with a lower-ranking pair to make the draw in draw poker.
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Limit	The maximum amount allowed for a bet to be made or raised.
Live blind	A blind (forced bet) that can be raised when it is the blind's term to play.
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Nuts	A strong hand that cannot be beaten in a game. Widely used in Texas Hold'Em poker.
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Offsuit	Cards in a hand of various suits.
Open	The first bet on the first round.
Open-ended straight	In your hand you have four cards in sequence, which could make a straight by having a correct card at either end. E.g. 3, 4, 5, 6 can be a straight with either a 2 or a 7.
Openers	Term used in jackpots. The pair of cards used to open betting (which should be jacks or higher).
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Pass	Also known as check. This is the option used by a player before a bet has been made, to not bet and pass the bet option to the next player. The player who has passed still remains in the game.
Pat hand	Used in draw poker. When you are dealt a made hand such as a straight or flush.
Pigging it	In a high-low game declaring high and low.
Pocket cards	In Texas Hold'Em poker. The two cards, which have been dealt face down to the player.
Pot	All the money and chips bet during a game.
Pot limit	A limit set on a bet where the most you can bet in a single bet is the total value of the pot.
Pot odds	The odds offered by the pot to a player for a bet.
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Raise	When a bet is made that is bigger that the previous bet made and which must then be matched (or raised again) by all the other players in the game.
Rake	In casino poker this is the amount the house keeps from a pot.
Royalties	Also known as a Bonus. It is an extra payment for having a strong hand such as a straight flush or royal flush.
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Scare cards	Open cards which look powerful to an opponent.
Seeing a bet	Also known as Call a bet. When you make a bet, which is the same as a previous, bet made on the same round.
Showdown	Time to see who is the winner of the game and who gets the pot. All players show their hands.
Shy	The making of an insufficient bet, or the owing of money to the pot.
Sweetening the pot	Also known as ante. Chips (or money) put into the pot before a deal is made.
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Table stakes	A betting limit. A player can only bet what he has set out on the table. No more money can be brought out until the game is over.
Tell	Body language of a player that gives away what he is holding.
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Under the gun	The player who is on the dealer's left, who must bet first in the betting round.
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Wired	Also known as back-to-back. A holding of a pair in five-card stud (when the pair was formed with the first two cards dealt, one in the hole, and the other as the first upcard).
Wild card	Usually the joker in a pack, or two. Can have any value that a player wants it to have.