Ace – The highest card in a suit, ranking above the King. In some variations of poker, it may also be counted as the suit’s lowest card, one.
Act – This refers to any of five possible actions that can be taken on a hand: check, call, fold, open betting, or raise.
Action – Any type of wager or bet; the opportunity to act.
All-in – To wager all chips available at a given time; to run out of chips when betting or calling.
Ante – The minimum bet required of a player to seed the pot at the beginning of a hand.
Bad Beat – Said of a weak hand that wins over a very strong one.
Bank – The financial backer of the game, in most cases the casino or House.
Banker – In some versions of poker, the hand held by the Bank or Dealer.
Bankroll – The total amount of money available to a player for a session of play.
Betting Order – The order in which players make their bets.
Big Blind – The larger of the two blinds posted in a poker game.
Blind – A force bet made by one or more players to seed the pot at the beginning of a hand.
Bluff – Playing a hand that should be folded.
Brush – Slang for a card room employee.
Bullets – Slang for a pair of Aces.
Burn – One or more cards discarded from the top of the deck face down before dealing.
Button – A table marker that indicates the position of the Dealer for each hand.
Buy-in – The chips purchased by a player for the purpose of gambling.
Call – A wager matching the most recent bet or raise.
Cap – The last raise permitted in a betting round.
Card Room – A separate room or designated area within a casino where poker is played.
Card Sharp – A card-playing expert.
Cards Speak – The rank of the hand is counted as the highest possible, not declared by the Player.
Catch – To receive a favorable card.
Check – To refrain from betting when betting is possible; also, slang for a casino chip.
Check Raise – To make a raise after an intervening bet, when having checked in the previous round of betting.
Color Up – To exchange lower-denominated chips for higher value ones.
Community Cards – Face up cards that are shared by all players.
Connector – A card one rank apart from another, such as 7-6 or Q-J.
Court Cards – The King, Queen, Jack of any suit; aka Picture Cards or Face Cards.
Cowboy – Slang for King.
Crack – To beat a big hand.
Cut – The act of dividing the deck into two separate groups of cards, typically performed after the shuffle and before to dealing.
Cut Card – A solid-colored, faceless plastic card used for cutting the cards.
Deal – The act of distributing the cards to the players.
Dealer – The player responsible for dealing the cards, whether actually or theoretically.
Deuce – Slang for the card with a value of two.
Discard Tray – A receptacle for storing cards that have been burned or played.
Dog – Slang for underdog.
Draw – To receive replacement cards; a form of poker in which cards can be replaced.
Drop – Alternative term for Fold.
Equity – One’s expected share of a pot at any given time; the value of the pot divided by the number of player’s remaining in the hand.
Face Cards – The King, Queen, Jack of any suit; aka Picture Cards or Court Cards.
Favorite – The hand most likely to win.
Fish – Slang term for a novice or poor player.
Fishhook – Slang for a Jack.
Flop – The first three community cards dealt face up.
Flush – Any five cards of the same suit, not all in sequence.
Fold – To drop out of play, abandon the hand and surrender any wagers made.
George – Slang for a novice or poor player.
Hand – The cards each player holds; also, all that happens between deals.
Heads Up – A pot contested by just two players.
High Card – A hand containing cards of different suits and values, not all in sequence and with no pairs; Aces count as high. Also referred to as “nothing.”
Hit – To take a card; also, to receive a favorable card.
Hole or Hole Cards – Cards dealt face down to a player.
House – The organizer of the game.
House Rules – The specific rules by which the game is played at a particular card room, setting the betting limits, amount of buy-ins, the rake, etc.
Jackpot – A bonus paid for certain hands.
Kicker – The unpaired card in a hand.
Knave – Slang for a Jack.
Lady – Slang for Queen.
Limit – A poker game in which bets may not exceed a preset maximum.
Maniac – Any hyper-aggressive player, especially one who frequently, bets, raises and bluffs.
Mechanic – Slang for a cheater, especially a dealer who benefits the House by manipulating the cards.
Muck – Discarded cards; to fold a hand face down, unseen.
No Limit – A poker game in which players may wager any amount up to the total amount of chips they hold at a given time.
Nuts – The best possible hand based upon the community cards.
Odds – The probabilities related to poker play.
Off-suit – A card or cards not of the same suit as others.
One-Eyed Jack – Either the Jack of hearts or spades, whose face shows in profile.
Out – Any card that will turn a hand into a winner.
Paint – Slang for any Face Card—the King, Queen or Jack.
Pair – Two cards of the same rank.
Picture Cards – The King, Queen, Jack of any suit; aka Face Cards or Court Cards.
Play – To bet or raise.
Pocket – The hole or hole cards.
Pocket Pair – Two cards of the same rank in the hole.
Poker Room – Card Room.
Post – The act of betting, especially placing an Ante.
Pot – The total amount of wagered by all players at any give time.
Pot Limit – A poker game in which no wager may exceed the amount currently in the pot.
Pot Odds – The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount that must be added to the pot in order to continue playing.
Push – To tie or draw, with no winner or loser declared. In most poker games, players who push split the pot equally.
Quads – Slang for Four of a Kind.
Rabbit – Slang for a weak player.
Rack – A wooden, plastic or metal tray that holds casino chips.
Railbirds – Slang for spectators.
Rainbow – Cards of different suits.
Raise – To increase the amount previously bet.
Rake – The House commission deducted from each pot.
Rank – The relative value of a card or a hand.
Reraise – To increase the raise previously made.
Ring Game – Alternative term for a cash game; a non-tournament game.
River – The last community card dealt face up.
Rock – Slang for a very tight, uncreative player.
Run – Another term used for a straight.
Running Flush – Another term for a straight flush.
Session – Any period of time for which a game is played.
Set – Three of a Kind.
Short Stack – A small amount of chips compared to the stacks of opponents.
Showdown – To compare players’ hands after all betting has concluded.
Shuffle – Randomly mixing up the order of the cards between deals.
Singleton – Any card in a hand that is the only card of its particular value.
Skin or Skoon – Slang for dollar.
Slow Play – To play a strong hand as if it were a weak one.
Small Blind – The smaller of the two blinds posted in a poker game
Spikes – Slang for a pair of Aces.
Split Pot – A pot shared by two of more players.
Spread Limit – A poker game in which wagers may be any amount between certain preset limits.
Stack – The total amount of chips a player holds at any given time.
Straight – Any three cards in sequence, not all of the same suit.
Straight Flush – Three sequential cards, all of the same suit.
Streak – A run of winning hands or losing hands.
Suited – When two or more cards are of the same suit.
Suicide King – Slang for the King of hearts, holding sword pointed at his head.
Suit – One of the four groups of cards in a deck: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds or Clubs.
Table Limits – Minimum and maximum wagers allowed at the table.
Table Stakes – Betting is limited to the amount on the table at any given time; players may not exchange cash for additional chips when a hand is in play.
Tell – Any behavior that gives a clue or hint to the strength of a player’s hand.
Three of a Kind – Three cards of identical value.
Tilt – To play wildly or recklessly.
Trey – Slang for a card with a value of three.
Trio, Triplets, or Trips – Three of a Kind.
Turn – The forth community card dealt face up.
Underdog – A hand unlikely to win.
Under the Gun – The player who must act first in a betting round.
Valet – Slang for Jack.
Wild Card – A card that can substitute for the value of other cards.