Action

An opportunity to Bet, Call, Raise, Fold or Check.

All-In

To push in the last of your chips while betting or calling.

Ante

A required amount added by each player to start the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Hold'Em games use Blinds to get the pot started.

Backdoor

Getting strong cards on both the Turn _and_ the River to make a hand.  AKA "Runner."

Bad Beat

When an Underdog hand takes the pot.

Bankroll

A player's table money, as opposed to the money that stays in his wallet.

Belly Buster

An inside straight.

Berry Patch

An easy game.  A good place for sharp players to win money from less-sharp players.

Bet

Placing a wager.

Big Blind

The largest regular Blind in a game (Hold'Em).

Bitches

Queens.

Blank

A table card that doesn't help your hand.

Blind

A forced bet (or partial bet) posted at the beginning of the hand before the cards are dealt. Blinds are typically posted by players to the immediate left of the button.

Blind Game

A game in which Blinds are required.

Bluff

To bet with a weak or busted hand, trying to force the other players to fold.

Board

The community cards --face-up-- in a Hold’Em game: includes the Flop, the Turn, and the River cards.

Bottom Pair

The lowest pair on the flop.

Broadway

A Straight, Ace-high.

Bullets

A pair of Aces.

Bump

To Raise.

Burn

To discard –usually face-down-- the top card off the deck.

Bust

To go broke, run out of money.

Button(1)

A small disk placed to indicate who is the nominal dealer in Hold'Em games.

Button(2)

The player who has the disk.

Buy-the-Pot

To bluff with a large Bet, hoping the other players won't Call.

Buy-the-Button

To Bet and/or Raise with the hope that players between you and the Button fold.  This would put you last in following betting rounds.

Buy-In

The money required to enter any game.

Call

To match the current Bet.

Calling Station

A weak player who calls a lot but rarely Raises or Folds. Since these players end up shoveling a lot of money into the pot without really challenging anyone they are good players to have in a game.

Cap

To make the last Raise permitted in a round of betting.

Capped

Occurs when the maximum number of Raises in a given betting round have been made.

Cards Speak

The rule that states, rather obviously, that the face value of a hand is the true value of the hand regardless of what the player may have stated their value to be.

Case

The last card of a certain rank remaining in the deck.

Catch

To "catch the cards" is to receive the cards you want or need to make a hand.

Center Pot

The main pot in a poker hand, as opposed to any "side" pots created when a player is All-In.

Check(1)

To pass on your right to open a betting round.

Check(2)

A Poker chip.

Check Raise

To Raise late in a betting round after having Checked earlier.

Chip

Small, round, colored discs used instead of cash at the poker table.

Coffeehouse

To talk about the cards, usually with the intent of misleading other players and influencing their betting decisions. Widely considered bad form at the Poker table.

Community Cards

The up-turned cards in the center of the table, used by all players to form their hands.

Connector

Hold’Em: a starting hand where the two cards are of consecutive rank (QJ, J10, 98, etc).

Counterfeit

To have your cards "duplicated" by the cards that have been flopped, thereby making your hand worthless or of significantly less value.

Cowboys

Kings.

Cripple

To "cripple" the deck is to hold some or all of the cards that would make the board cards valuable to other players.

Cut

To split the deck.

Dead Card

A card that is out of play and cannot be used.

Dead Hand

A hand that is out of play and cannot be used.

Dead Money

Chips that are placed in the pot and are thereby not considered part of a player's bet.

Deal

The process of distributing cards to the active players.

Deck(1)

52 cards used in all non-Joker Poker games including Stud, Hold'Em and Omaha.

Deck(2)

52 cards plus a Joker, used in a variety of Poker variations.

Discards

Cards that are discarded (mucked) from the player's hand in a Draw Poker game in order to make room for replacements.

Dog

Abbreviated form of "Underdog".

Dominated Hand

A hand that will almost certainly lose to a better hand.

Door Card

7-Card Stud: the first face-up card dealt to each player.

Down To The Felt

To be broke, tapped out, chips all gone.

Down cards

Cards that are dealt face down.

Draw Poker

A form of Poker where players are permitted to discard one or more cards from their hand and receive replacements

Draw

The process of replacing cards in a Draw Poker game.

Draw Dead

To build a hand that will not win because another hand at the table already has you beat.

Drop

See "Fold".

Equity

 Your "percentage" of the pot based on the notion that if you've got an 80% chance of winning a hand than 80% of the pot's value is your "equity".  A bogus concept in Poker because in the end you either win the pot or you do not.

Expectation(1)

The amount of you expect to gain on average by making a certain play.

Expectation(2)

The amount you expect to gain in a specific time period.

Face card

A card with a face on it: King, Queen, or Jack.

Family Pot

A pot in which most or all of the players have Called before the Flop.

Fast

To play aggressively.

Fast Company

Seasoned players who know their way around the Poker scene.

Fifth Street

The fifth card dealt in a hand of Stud poker.

Fish

A weak player, one easily suckered into betting when he should not.

Fishhooks

Jacks.

Fixed Limit

A betting structure wherein the amount of the bet on each round is pre-set.

Flop

The first three table cards dealt in Hold 'Em, face up.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit.

Fold

To muck your cards and withdraw from hand.

Forced Bet

A mandatory bet used to start the first betting round, typical in Stud games.

Fouled Hand

A Dead hand.

Four Of A Kind

Four cards of the same rank.

Fourth Street(1)

Stud: The fourth card, second up-card.

Fourth Street(2)

Hold'Em: The first table card after the flop (AKA the Turn).

Full House

A Poker hand built with Three-of-a-Kind plus a Pair.

Grinder

A cautious player whose strategy is to win a little money each day.

Gutshot

A Straight missing an "inside" card.

Hand(1)

A player's cards.

Hand(2)

A single poker deal including the subsequent betting rounds.

Heads Up

Two players competing for the pot, going one-on-one.

High

The best hand.

High Society

High denomination chips.

Hit

When cards appear that help you you've been "hit".

Hold 'Em

A variation of Poker in which each player is dealt two cards face down. The player uses these cards in any desired combination with five community (face up) cards to make the best five card hand.

Hole

Your private cards.

Hole cards

A player's personal cards, dealt face down.

House

The place or business hosting the Poker game.

Jackpot

An exceptional bonus given to the loser of a hand when he loses even though he holds a very good hand.

Joker

A wild card used in high- and low-ball games.

Kicker

Hold'Em: the highest unpaired card used to determine the winner of otherwise tied Poker hands.  Kickers are very important in Hold’Em.

Ladies

Queens.

Live Blind

A forced bet put in before any cards are dealt.

Live Game

A game with much betting, AKA a 'loose' game.

Lock

A hand sufficiently good to win at least part of the pot.

Lowball

A form of Draw or Stud Poker game where the lowest hand wins.

Low card

The lowest upcard in 7-Card Stud.  The player holding this card is required to bet.

Make

To build a decent hand that has a shot at winning the pot.

Maniac

An extremely loose and/or aggressive player, typically Raises with little regard for the strength of the cards they hold.

Miscall

An incorrect statement of the ranking of a hand.

Muck

To discard.

No-Limit

A game in which the player is allowed to wager any amount he has in front of him.

Nuts

The best possible hand, a sure winner.

Offsuit

Hold'Em: cards of different suits, typically referring to the opening two pocket cards.

Omaha

A Flop game similar to Hold'Em.

On Tilt

Erratic, emotional play resulting in bad decisions and lost money. 

Opener

The player to make the first voluntary bet.

Out

A card that will make your winning hand.

Outs

Cards still in the deck that would improve a player's hand.

Overcard

A pocket card higher than any card on the Board.

Overpair

A pocket pair of higher rank than any card on the Board.

Pass

Decline the opportunity to bet.

Pat

To stand Pat in Draw Poker is to keep all your cards thereby drawing none.

Pay Off

To call a bet on a player who Represents a winning hand.  Generally only justified if the pot is sufficiently large.

Play The Board

Use all five community cards --and none of your own-- to make your hand.

Pocket

Your private cards, those dealt face down.

Position(1)

A player's seat in relation to the blinds or the button.

Position(2)

The order of play in a betting round or deal.

Post

To put in, usually referring to the Blinds.

Pot Limit

A Poker game in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot.

Proposition Bets

Side bets between players, unrelated to the outcome of the current hand.

Quads

Four of a kind.

Rabbits

Weak players.

Rack

A tray used by the dealer to hold chips and cards.

Rag

A low card that has no apparent effect on the hand.

Ragged

Table cards that do not appear to help anybody.

Railroad Bible

A deck of playing cards.

Rainbow

Table cards of varying suits such that no flush is possible.

Raise

To increase on a prior wager.

Rake

A percentage of the pot taken by the house.

Rank

The numerical value of a card.

Represent

To play as if you hold a certain hand.

Reraise

To Raise on someone's Raise.

River

The fifth, and final, community card. AKA "fifth street".

Rock

A tight --ultra-conservative-- player who only Raises on winning hands. Generally considered an unskilled form of play because such a player is very predictable.

Rock Garden

A game full of Rocks. Rock Gardens are not very much fun.

Rolled Up

7-Card Stud: Three-of-a-Kind dealt in the first three cards.

Round

A round of betting.

Rounder

A tough, knowledgeable player who earns his living at the poker table. Often refers to a skilled player who represents himself as being rookie for the purpose of trapping and breaking the other players.

Royal Straight Flush

 An Ace-high Straight Flush. AKA "Royal Flush."

Runner

A hand which was made only by catching both the Turn and River.  AKA "Backdoor."

Scare Card

A community card which stands a good chance of trashing your hand.

Scoop

High-Low games: to win both the high and the low portions of a pot.

Second Pair

To pair with the second highest card on the table.

Sell

To under-Bet on strong cards in order to keep the other players in the hand and their money flowing onto the table.

Semi-Bluff

A bluff where the player actually has some chance of making the winning hand.

Set

Three-of-a-Kind where you have two in the Hole and the third is on the Board.

7-Card Stud

A Poker variant where each player is dealt seven cards as follows: two down, then four up, and a final card down.

Short Stack

A small number of chips compared to the other players.

Showdown

The end of the hand where all remaining players show their cards in order to determine the winning hand.

Shuffle

Mixing the cards before beginning a hand, required in order to break the ordering they had in the previous hand.

Side Pot

A stand-alone pot created when one or more players goes All-In.

Slow Play

To hold a strong hand but play it weakly in order to keep other players in the pot.  This is what Rounders often do.

Slow Rolling

To slowly show-off the cards in a winning hand.  Considered quite antagonistic toward other players who will soon want to inflict physical pain upon you if you keep doing it.

Small Blind

The smallest, usually opening, Blind.

Snap Off

To beat a bluffer or Coffehouser with finesse and not necessarily with an especially powerful hand.

Soft

Easy

South

To Fold.

Spikes

A Pair of Aces.

Splash The Pot

To toss one's chips. Highly frowned upon because it can be used as a way to hide the true value of money actually wagered.

Split Pot

A pot shared by players who finish with tied --equal value-- hands.

Stack

A player's Chips.

Straight

Five cards of consecutive rank.

Straight Flush

Five cards of consecutive rank, same suit.

Street

Stud games: cards dealt on a particular round in stud games. The fourth card is "Fourth Street", etc.

Suit

The four suits in a deck: Clubs and Spades, Diamonds and Hearts.

Table Stakes

Your money on the table, the only money available to you in a given hand

Tap

Betting the full amount of an opponent's stack thereby forcing him to go All-In if he decides to Call the Bet.

Tell

A gesture or mannerism that reveals your feelings about your hand.  Good players look for their opponent's Tell and will exploit it ruthlessly in order to take their money.

Texas Hold’Em

Also simply known as “Hold’Em.”  The Poker variant in which each player receives two hole cards at the beginning of the hand.  This is followed by five community cards: a three-card Flop, then the Turn card and finally the River.

Tight

A conservative, risk-adverse player.

Tilt

See “On Tilt”.

Toke

A small tip given to the dealer by the winner of a pot.

Top Pair

To Pair with the highest table card.

Trips

Three-of-a-Kind.

Turn

The fourth community card. AKA "fourth street."

Under The Gun

The player who is required to act first in a betting round.

Underdog

When two hands go into a Showdown the Underdog is the one who looks like he's got the slimmest chance of winning.

Upcards

Cards that are dealt face up.

Wager(1)

To Raise or Bet.

Wager(2)

Chips used in a Bet or Raise.