Poker Glossary

Aces Up	A pair of aces with any other pair
Action	A player's turn to act.
Ajax	Ace/Jack in the hole
Alligator Blood	Plays well under pressure. "Nerves of Steel".
All-in	Betting all of your remaining chips.
American Airlines	A pair of Aces in the hole.
Ante	Forced bet that players must make before seeing any cards. This guarantees money in the pot for each hand.

Back Door	Hand made in the last two cards.
Bad Beat	Losing when you have a very strong hand, usually to a very unlikely draw on the last card.
Bankrole	The total amount of money you plan to gamble with
Base Deal	Dealing cards from the bottom of the deck rather than the top. A form of cheating
Beer Hand	7 and 2 hole cards for Texas Hold 'em. The worst possible starting hole cards
Belly Buster	An Inside Straight draw.
Berry Patch	An easy game, with many poor players.
Bicycle	A Straight, A-5.
Big Lick	6 - 9 unsuited in the hole.
Big Slick	Pocket Ace/King
Blank	Poor card that has no impact on the game. Also called a rag.
Blinds	Mandatory bet before each round. Usually the player two places to the left of the dealer will have to pay the Large Blind, and the player to the immediate left of the dealer will have to bet half as much for the Small Blind
Bluff	To bet strongly with a poor hand, as if you have strong hand in an attempt to make others fold.
Board	The visible cards in a poker game. These are the community cards in games like Hold'em or Omaha, and the up cards in Stud games.
Boat	Another term for a Full House
Bottom Pair	The lowest pair on the board in Hold'em or Omaha. For example if the flop is 2c, 7h, Ks, and you have the 2h, and 10d in the hole, then your pair of twos is the bottom pair.
Bring in	To open a round of betting
Broadway	An Ace High Straight
Brush	Cardroom employee who handles the seating chart.
Bullets	A pair of Aces in the hole.
Bump	To Raise
Burn	To discard the top card of the deck. This is done to prevent anyone from being able to determine the next card.
Button	The marker that signifies the dealer's spot. The player with the button receives the last card dealt in a round.
Buy In	The amount you must pay to enter a game.

Call	To match the current high bet.
Calling Station	A player who almost always calls and seldom raises.
Cap	In many limit games there is a restriction on the number of bets allowed each round. A player caps the betting by making the last allowable raise.
Cards Speak	A rule that says the cards determine the best possible hand, not the player. If a player has a better hand than he realizes, the better hand is the one that is used.
Chameleon	Player in a game who changes and varies his style of play from wild and unpredictable to tight and aggressive.
Chase	Calling when you have not yet made your hand.
Check	To basically skip your turn to bet. This still allows you to bet later in the round should anyone else bet. This is similar to betting $0.
Check Raise	To check at first, then raise should anyone else bet. This is done as a way to lure other players into betting when you think they may fold if you bet outright.
Chop	See Rake
Coffeehousing	Excessive often distracting talking at the table.
Cold Call	To call both a bet and a raise.
Community Card	A card dealt face up on the table that can be used by any player at the table.
Computer Hand	Q 7 starting hand.
Connectors	Pocket cards of sequential rank.
Counterfeit	A card that does not help you, but is likely to make an opponents hand better than yours.
Cowboys	Kings
Crying Call	When some calls even though they are almost certain they are beat.

Dead Man's Hand	Two pair, Aces and Eights. Wild Bill Hickok was mudered while holding this hand.
Dolly Parton	9 - 5 hole cards
Door card	In stud games, the first card dealt face up to a player.
Down to the Felt	Out of money/chips.
Doyle Brunson	10-2 hole cards in Texas Holdem. This is the hand with which Super System author Doyle Brunson won the WSOP.
Drawing Hand	An incomplete hand such as four cards to a straight in which you are drawing cards, hoping to make your hand.
Ducks	Twos
Duece	A two

Eyes of Texas

A pair of Aces in the hole.

Family Pot	A round where everyone calls the opening bet.
Fast	Aggressive
Fifth Street	The fifth card dealt in stud poker, or the final card in games with five community cards.
Fish	Poor player
Flop	The first three community cards in games such as Texas Hold'em or Omaha
Flush	Five cards of the same suit. 2, 5, 7, Q, K of Clubs for example. The higher cards in a flush determine the best hand. An Ace high flush beats a King high flush.
Fold	To give up on your hand.
Four Flush	Four cards to a flush.
Four of a Kind	Four Cards of the Same Rank
Full House	A hand with three cards of one rank, and two cards of another rank. 7h, 7d.7s and 10h, 10c for example.

Gay Waiter	Q 3 in the hole. (Queen with a Trey)
Gunshot	An Inside Straight Draw
Gutshot	An Inside Straight Draw

Hammer, The	7-2 offsuit. Specifically a winning hand with these as your hole cards. A popular hand among the poker bloggers.
Heads Up	A one on one poker match or round.
Heinz	5 7 in the hole
High Society	The highest denomination of chips in a particular establishment
Hilton Sisters	Wired queens
Hole	The first two down cards in poker game.
Hooks	A pocket pair of Jacks

Implied Odds	The odds you are getting from the expected calls in future betting rounds.
Inside Straight	Hand in which you have four cards to a straight, but are missing one in the middle. For example 8,9,J,Q.
Isolate	Bet strongly in an attempt to make everyone fold except one other player.

Jackson Five

Pocket Jack/5

Kicker	The highest unpaired card in your hand. Used as a tie-breaker. If two players have the same pair, the one with the higher kicker will win the pot.
Kojack	Pocket K/J

Ladies	Queens
Lay Down	To fold
Limp in	In the first round of betting, simply calling the big blind rather than raising. This allows the big blind to see the flop for free, and indicates a weak hand.
Lock	A hand that is guaranteed to win at least part of the pot
Loose	A player who stays in more hands than most, and stays in them longer.
Lumber Yard	K - 8 in the hole

Make a Hand	To get a certain hand. For example, if you have 4,5,6,7 then you need a 3 or an 8 to Make your hand.
Maniac	A very loose and aggressive player. Rarely folds or calls. Bluffs often and raises frequently.
Mechanic	Someone who cheats by manipulating the cards while dealing
Montana Banana	9-2 in the hole (article 92 made poker legal in Montana)
Motown	J 5 in the hole
Muck	Pile of discarded cards.
Mullets	Pocket 7's in Texas Hold 'em.

Nut flush	Highest possible flush
Nuts, The	The best possible hand, given the cards on the board.
Nut Straight	Highest possible straight.

Odds	The probability of making your hand.
Off Suit	Cards with different suits, usually referring to hole cards. For example 8c, 9s might be called 8, 9 off suit.
On Tilt	Betting wildly or making poor bets. Usually after a bad beat.
Open	Make the first bet in a round.
Open Ended Straight	A hand with four consecutive cards. A straight can be completed by drawing the fifth card at either end. For example, 5,6,7,8.
Outs	Any remaining card that will give you the winning hand. For example if you have the 8, 9, 10, Q in various suits, and have not seen a Jack, then you have four outs to a Straight.
Overcard	A hole card higher than the highest card on the board
Over the Top	To raise a large bet.

Paint	Face Card
Pat Hand	In draw games, being dealt a made hand.
Pocket	First two down cards in poker game.
Pocket Pair	Two cards of the same rank in the hole
Pot Limit	A limit on the maximum allowable raise. The limit is the amount currently in the pot.
Pot Odds	The ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount it will cost you to call the current bet
Prom Nite	6 - 9 suited in the hole.
Put	To guess what someone is holding. If someone starts betting when a queen comes up, you might "put" him on a pair of queens.

Quads

Four of a Kind

Rabbit Hunting	Looking through the muck for undealt cards after a hand.
Rag	Poor card that has no impact on the game.
Railbird	Spectator
Railroad Bible	A Deck of Cards
Rainbow	A flop containing three different suits.
Raise	To increase the amount of an opponent's bet
Rake	Set amount or percentage that the house claims from each pot.
Ratholing	Generally frowned upon practice of taking money off the table after winning some pots.
Read	To be able to gauge a person's hand based on their actions.
Represent	To have the appearance of a certain hand. For example, if the flop comes up with three spades, anyone who bets heavily might represent a Flush.
Ring Game	Standard nontournament poker game.
River	The last card dealt in a game.
Rock	A tight and aggressive player who folds often and doesn't play a lot of hands.
Rolled Up	In seven card stud, three of a kind with your first three cards
Royal Flush	10-A Straight Flush

Sailboats	A pair of fours in the hole
Sandbag	Slow Play. To play a strong hand as if it is weak in an effort to lure opponents into betting.
San Francisco Busboy	Q 3 in the hole. (Queen with a trey)
Scare Card	A card on the board that could mean a monster hand for someone. The fourth card to a flush or strait for example.
See	To Call
Semi-Bluff	Like a bluff except that your hand might be good enough to win if someone calls you.
Set	Three of a kind.
Short Stack	Having less chips than every one else at the table.
Show Down	When all cards have been dealt and betting is complete, player hands are revealed.
Side Pot	If a player goes all-in, and there are two or more bettors with more funds that call, they may continue to bet. Their future bets are placed in a separate pot.
Siegfried and Roy	A pair of queens in the hole
Slow Play	When you have a strong hand, to represent that you have a weak hand, to encourage others to bet.
SNG	Sit n Go. Small tournament with no set start time. Players sit down and the tournament starts as soon as there are enough players.
Snowmen	A pair of 8's in the hole.
Splash	Tossing your chips into the pot before anyone can verify the amount.
Steal the Pot	To make a strong bet when it appears no one else has a good hand, causing everyone to fold.
Straight	Five sequential cards. For example 8, 9, 10, J, Q. Suits can be mixed.
Straight Flush	Five cards with sequential rank, all in the same suit.
String Bet	Illegal bet made by placing chips in the pot, then going back to your stack for more chips. This allows you to guage an opponent's reaction with each chip amount.
Suited	Cards of the same suit
Suited Connectors	Sequential hole cards in the same suit. For example 10h, Jh

Tapioca	Out of money/chips
Tell	Something a player will do that gives away the strength of his hand.
Three of a Kind	Three cards of the same denomination. 4h, 4c, 4s for example.
Tight	A conservative player who doesn't play many hands.
Top Pair	The highest pair on the board in Hold'em or Omaha. For example if the flop is 2c, 7h, Ks, and you have the 10h, and Kd in the hole, then your pair of Kings is the top pair.
Trips	Three of a kind
Turn, The	The fourth card in Texas Hold'em or Omaha.

Under the Gun

First to bet in a given round

Walking Sticks	A pair of 7's in the hole
Wired	Pocket cards of the same rank.
W.S.O.P	The World Series of Poker. Annual series of poker tournaments held at Binions Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. The final event is a No Limit Texas Holdem tournament with a buy in of $10,000.