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Basic
Poker Lingo
On of the first things a novice player will notice
when playing, or studying, poker is the large number of slang terms the
poker world uses. While there are many more past this list, here is a
list of many of the most common ones.
Back door: Hitting a lucky hand for the win: usually unintended. Most
common example is having a pair versus a better pair or trips, then
hitting runner-runner for a flush.
Bad beat: A hand that is a huge favorite to win, but ends up losing
(often to a back door)
Bubble: The area of a poker tournament when everyone is close to the cut
off point for money, but not quite there.
Bust: Losing everything.
Calling station: A player who calls almost all the time no matter what.
Coin Toss: An all-in situation where both players have about a 50%
chance of winning the hand.
Connectors: Pocket cards that connect in rank, for example 7-8 or
Ace-King.
Cracked: To have the best starting Texas Hold’Em hand (pocket aces)
beaten.
Crap Shoot: A table where the players are aggressive and the action is
wild and crazy.
Dealer's choice: A type of game (almost always a home game) where the
seated players take turns deciding what game to play. Choices often
include Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha and 7-Card Stud.
Drawing dead: A hand that is so badly beaten that no card or combination
of cards can win for that player.
Free roll: A multi-table tournament that has no entry fee but still pays
money to the top winners.
Heads up: When only two players are in a pot or game.
Hi/Lo: A game where half the pot goes to the player with the best hand
and the other half goes to the player showing the worst hand. Usually
played as a version of Omaha or 7 Card Stud.
Kicker: If a player makes a pair with one of his hole cards, the other
is called the kicker. If another players holds the same pair, the
highest kicker wins the pot.
Nuts: The best possible hand any player can have.
Outs: The total number of cards that a player can catch to win a hand.
For example, if you have a pair of kings, but an opponent has a pair of
aces you have two outs to win (another king).
On the Button: Being in the dealer's position and therefore with the
advantage of acting last.
Pot odds: A comparison between the amount of money needed to call a bet,
the total amount in the pot, and the chance of actually winning the
hand. An intermediate to advanced skill.
Rags: Low community cards that shouldn’t have any effect on the outcome
of a hand.
Read: Studying other players to pick up tells that help you determine
his or her hand.
Re-buy: A tournament feature that, for a limited time only, allows
players who bust out of a tournament to buy their way back in again.
Runner-Runner: Catching two lucky cards in a row on the turn and the
river to win.
Sandbagging: Playing a very strong hand weakly with the hope that
someone will bluff heavily, allowing a bigger pay day.
Tell: A clue, whether physical or in betting patterns, that help reveal
whether the player has a strong hand or is bluffing.
Tilt: Playing badly because of frustrations of losing—often occurs after
getting beat one or more times by big underdog hands that get lucky.
Under the Gun: The position to the immediate left of the big blind,
generally the weakest table position.
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