Poker Glossary: Common Poker Terms You Need to Know

Whether you play casino games online or at a land-based venue, it’s important to be aware of casino terms and glossary to play your chosen casino title effectively. And the game of Poker is no exception to that. This article lists the most common Poker terms and what they mean in the game. Continue reading!

ABC

Also referred to as playing by the book, this is a basic Poker strategy. Here, you fold weak hands and only play the stronger ones.

Action

Depending on the context, this term has two meanings in Poker. It can either refer to a player’s turn to act or the number of wagers in the pot.

Ante

This is a small forced wager that all players need to place at the start of each Poker round. Poker rooms require players to place the Ante bet to ensure all players have a stake in the gameplay round.

Backdoor

Also known as catching a runner, this Poker term is commonly used in community Poker. A backdoor is used to refer to the act of making a hand with both the turn and river cards.

Bad beat

In Poker, a bad beat means a seemingly good hand, which has a high chance of winning, gets beaten by an even better hand at the very last moment.

Big slick

Big slick is just another name used to refer to the hand Ace-King.

Blind

This is a forced wager that one or more players need to place before the dealing of the cards takes place. Usually, the first two players sitting to the left of the dealer place the blind bets.

Bluff

In Poker games, bluff refers to making or raising your wager with a hand with a high chance of losing. The objective here is to deceive one or more opponents holding better hands than yours.

Call

To call means to place a bet whose size is equal to that of the previous bet made. A player who calls too often and uses other betting options like raise or folds less frequently is called a “calling station.”

Cap

Cap is a number that indicates the maximum number of raises permitted in a betting round.

Community cards

Community cards are found in Community Card Poker. Community cards differ from other Poker cards because all players can use them to form a better hand.

Donkey

This is a disparaging term used to refer to an unskilled Poker player.

Draw

To draw means to play a hand that isn’t quite good but could improve if the right cards come along the way.

Equity

As the name implies, equity refers to the share of your pot. It is based on your current probability of winning the hand.

Flop

After the initial betting round in Poker, three community cards are placed on the table. This group of three community cards is referred to as a flop in Poker.

Fold

To fold means surrendering your hand and abstaining from participating in the current betting round.

Heads up

This Poker term is used to refer to instances when the game is being played between just two players. This usually happens when the game is at its last stage, and only two players are left at the table.

Hole Cards

In Video Poker games, hole cards are cards that are dealt face down on the table. These cards are only meant to be seen by the holder, and they must only reveal them to others once the showdown occurs.

Kicker

Also known as a side card, a kicker is a card that isn’t actively used to determine the rank of a hand during normal gameplay. But it’s used to determine the rank of cards when there are two identical cards.

Monster

A strong Poker hand that is very likely to win the Poker round.

House

This term is used to refer to the casino UK that’s hosting the Poker game.

No limit

This Poker variation allows players to wager any amount they want when it’s their turn to act.

Nuts

Nuts in Four Card Poker and other Poker games refer to the best possible hand.

Overcard

An overcard is a card whose value is higher than the community cards or hands it’s being compared with.

Odds

Video Poker odds are the probability you can expect to win or lose or the offer price.

Quads

This is just another term for a four-of-a-kind hand.

Rags

A set of weak cards or a weak hand is called Rags in Caribbean Stud Poker and other Poker variations.

Rainbow

This is a type of flop texture where all three cards are of different suits.

River

This is the fifth and final community card dealt in a Poker game.

Slow play

Slow playing is a video poker strategy in which players with strong holding wagers are weak.

Tilt

This Poker term is used to refer to a player who’s playing very aggressively to try to win the pot. This usually happens when a player becomes annoyed or frustrated after having a series of losing hands consecutively.

Toke

Toke is a small portion of the pot the winner gives the dealer. At many land-based Poker tables, toke makes for a major portion of the dealer’s income.

Trips

A nickname for three-of-a-kind.

Under the gun

This is the position to the left of the button. The player occupying this position needs to act first in the pre-flop round.

Variance

Variance describes how much you expect to win over the long run (based on your win rate) and your short-term results.