Ante
A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most hold'em games do not have an ante; they use "blinds" to get the initial money into the pot.
All-In
To Put all your available chips in the centre. To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes games, a player may not go into her pocket for more money during a hand. If they run out, a side pot is created in which they have no interest. However, they can still win the pot for which they had chips.
Backdoor
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand.
Bad Beat
To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favoured hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest kind of luck that she managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot. You will hear about plenty of them during your poker games.
Blind
A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the button. See also "Live blind."
Bottom Pair
A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair.
Burn
To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or seeing the next card to be used on the board.
Button
A white acrylic disk to indicate who is the (theoretical) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: "Oh, the button raised."
Calling Station
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.
Center Pot
The first pot created during a poker hand. This is as opposed to one or more "side" pots that are created if one or more players goes all-in. Also "main pot."
Check
To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round.
Check Raise
To check and then raise when a player behind you bets.
Connector A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank. Examples: K-Q, 8-9.
Crack
To beat a hand - typically a big hand. You hear this most often used to apply to pocket aces: "Second time tonight I've had pocket aces cracked."
Dominated Hand
A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play. For instance, K3 is "dominated" by KQ. With the exception of strange flops (e.g. 3-3-x, K-3-x), it will always lose to KQ.
Draw Dead
Try to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If you're drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a full house, you are "drawing dead".
Flop
The first three community cards, put out face up, all together.
Free Card
A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand (or a reputation which you have with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn, you can bet. However, if you don't get it on the turn, you can check as well - seeing the river card for "free."
Gutshot Straight
An straight filled "inside". If you have 9s-8s, the flop comes 7c-5h-2d, and the turn is the 6c, you've made your gutshot straight.
Heads Up
A pot that is being contested by only two players - "It was heads up by the turn."
Implied Odds
Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the turn even though the pot isn't offering you quite 4:1 odds (your chance of making the flush) because you're sure you can win a bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush.
Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in hold'em.
Maniac
A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses her opponents is quite dangerous.
Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer. Example: "Her hand hit the muck so the dealer ruled it folded even though the guy wanted to get his cards back." Also used as a verb - "She didn't have any outs so she mucked her hand."
No-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of her) whenever it is her turn to act. It is a very different game than limit poker. The best treatise on no-limit poker is in Doyle Brunson's Super/System.
Nuts
The best possible hand given the board. If the board is Ks-Jd-Ts-4s-2h, then As-Xs is the nuts. You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn't the overall nuts. For the above example, somebody with Ah-Qc in the above hand might say they had the "nut straight".
Offsuit
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are of different suits.
Out
A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural. Example: "Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs."
Overcard
A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you have A-Q and the flop comes J-7-3, you don't have a pair, but you have two overcards.
Overpair
A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have Q-Q and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair.
Pocket
Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, "She had pocket sixes" (a pair of sixes), or "I had ace-king in the pocket."
Post
To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds.
Pot Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot whenever it is her turn to act. Like no-limit, this is a very different game from limit poker.
Pot Odds
The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing. For example, suppose there is $60 in the pot. Somebody bets $6, so the pot now contains $66. It costs you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 11:1. If your chance of having the best hand is at least one out of twelve, you should call. Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance, suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your flush. If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make your call correct.
Price
The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call. Example: "The pot was laying me a high enough price, so I stayed in with my gutshot straight draw."
Quads
Four of a kind.
Ragged
A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much. A flop that came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged.
Rainbow
A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.
Rake
An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer - this is the cardrooms' income.
Rank
The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit). Example: "jack," "seven."
Represent
To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker.
Ring Game
A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament. Also referred to as a "live" game since actual money is in play instead of tournament chips.
River
The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fifth street". Metaphors involving the river are some of poker's most treasured cliches - e.g. "She drowned in the river."
Rock
A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. She raises only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable - if she raises you on the end, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts.
Runner
Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand which was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river - "He made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips." See also "Backdoor."
Scare Card
A card which may well turn the best hand into trash. If you have Tc-8c and the flop comes Qd- Jd-9s, you almost assuredly have the best hand. However, a turn card of Td would be very scary because it would almost guarantee that you are now beaten.
Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second pair.
Semi-bluff
A powerful. It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may be a positive expectation play.
Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.
Short Stack
A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a short stack.
Showdown
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand - i.e. after the fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown.
Side Pot
A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips. Example: Amy bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carol calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that either Amy or Beth can win, but not Carol. Furthermore, any more bets that Amy and Beth make go into that side pot. Carol, however, can still win all the money in the original or "center" pot.
Slow Play
To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.
Split Pot
A pot which is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.
Split Two Pair
A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks appears on the board as well. Example: you have T-9, the flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair. This is in comparison to two pair where there is a pair on the board. Example: you have T-9, the flop is 9-5-5.
Suited
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit. Example: "I had to play J-3 - it was suited."
Table Stakes
A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into her pocket for money during a hand. She may only invest the amount of money in front of her into the current pot. If she runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which she has no interest. All casino poker is played table stakes. The definition sometimes also includes the rule that a player may not remove chips from the table during a game. While this rule might not be referred to as "table stakes", it is enforced almost universally in public poker games.
Tell
A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of her hand, her next action, etc. May originally be from "telegraph" or the obvious use that she "tells" you what she's going to do before she does it.
Tilt
To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if she is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.
Top Pair
A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Turn
The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fourth street."
Under the gun
The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop.
Underdog
A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times). See also "dog."
Value
As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally it's because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw which, given enough callers, has a positive expectation.