Poker Terms

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E

Early Position : Position in poker refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategy implications. Players who act first are in "early position".

Effective Odds : Please see our Poker Theory page for a full explanation.

Expectation / Expected Value / EV : Please see our Poker Theory page for a full explanation.

Exposed card : A card whose face has been deliberately or accidentally revealed to players normally not entitled to that information during the play of the game. Various games have different rules about how to handle this irregularity.

Exposed Pair : An open pair that is in full view, generally in reference to a stud game.

Even Money : A 50/50 betting proposition or scenario.

Extra Blind : A blind put in by a player just entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his position at the table.

F

Face Card : A king, queen or jack.

Family Pot : A hand where all or almost all the players in a game are involved.

False Cut : A cut that appears to be real but in reality the cards are still in the same sequence as before.

False Shuffle : A shuffle that appears to randomise the cards but in reality does not alter the sequence of the deck to any extent.

Fast Play : To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible.

Favourite : A hand that has the best chance of winning.

Feeder : In a casino setting, a second or third table playing the same game as a "main" table, and from which players move to the main game as players there leave. Also called a "must-move table."

Felt : The cloth covering of a poker table, whatever the actual material. metaphorically, the table itself.

Fifth street : The last card dealt to the board in community card games. Also "river". The fifth card dealt to each player in stud poker.

Fill, fill up : To successfully draw to a hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of a straight, flush, or full house.

Final Table : The last table in a multi-table poker tournament. The final table is set when a sufficient amount of people have been eliminated from the tournament leaving an exact amount of players to occupy one table (typically no more than ten players).

Fish : 1) An unskilled player who plays loosely and passively, calling a lot of bets. It's a well-known (though not well-followed) rule among good players to not upset the bad players, because they'll stop having fun and perhaps leave. Thus the phrase, "Don't tap on the aquarium."
2) To risk money on a long-shot bet.
3) The action of calling bets on the flop and the turn to make a hand on the river.

Five Card Draw : A poker variation where a player is dealt 5 cards face down and then can ‘draw’ to replace them.

Five Card Stud : A poker variation where the player is dealt one down card then 4 more face up cards with four rounds of betting (some variations of this game involve a player getting the last card face down).

Five of a kind : A hand possible only in games with wild cards, or a game with more than one deck, defeating all other hands, comprising five cards of equal rank.

Fixed Limit : Any betting structure where the amount of the bets are predetermined. Also known as structured limit or fixed betting.

Flash : 1) To show the bottom card of the deck while shuffling.
2) To show one or more downcards from one's hand. After everyone folded, Ted flashed his bluff to the other players.

Flat Calling / Flat Calls : Merely calling a bet where a raise might be expected or seem more appropriate.

Flat Limit : A poker betting structure where the betting amounts available do not vary from one betting round to another.

Float : Calling a bet in order to take a pot down later, kind of like a bluff slow play or a bluff call. e.g. You call suspected continuation bets on the flop in the hopes that the bettor will give up his unimproved AK and check on the turn. You then bet and hopefully take the pot away from the pre-flop aggressor.

Floorman, Floorperson : A casino employee whose duties include adjudicating player disputes, keeping games filled and balanced, and managing dealers and other personnel. Players may shout "floor!" to call for a floorperson to resolve a dispute, to ask for a table or seat change, or to ask for some other casino service.

The Flop : 1) The first three community cards revealed in Holdem style games.
2) Seeing the Flop: staying in the pot to until the first three cards are revealed.
3) Post-Flop: betting or action after the flop cards have been revealed.
4) Hitting the Flop: having the flop cards coordinate well with your personal cards.

Flop game : A game played using community cards.

Flush : A hand comprising five cards of the same suit.

Fold / Folding a Hand : To throw away your hand; to surrender all claim to the current pot.

Fold equity : The extra value gained by forcing your opponents to fold, rather than seeing the showdown. Normally refering to a strategy that includes aggression, thus enabling your opponent to fold, and relating to the likelihood of that happening.

Forced Bet : A required bet that a player must make because he is in position (blinds) because he is dealt in (antes), or because he has a certain card (bring-in).

Forced-move : In a casino where more than one table is playing the same game with the same betting structure, one of the tables may be designated the "main" table, and will be kept full by requiring a player to move from one of the feeder tables to fill any vacancies. Players will generally be informed that their table is a "forced-move" table to be used in this way before they agree to play there. Also "must-move".

Forward motion : A house rule of some casinos states that if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves his hand toward the pot ("forward motion with chips in hand"), this constitutes a commitment to bet (or call), and the player may not withdraw his hand to check or fold. Such a player still has the choice of whether to call or raise.

Fouled Hand : A hand that can no longer be involved in the action, a dead hand, due to some violation like having too many or two few cards in the hand

Four-flush : Four cards of the same suit.

Four of a kind : A hand containing four cards of equal rank. Also "quads".

Four-straight : Four cards in rank sequence; either an open-ended or one-ended.

Fourth street : The fourth card dealt to the board in community card games. Also "turn". The fourth card dealt to each player in stud.

Free card : A card dealt to one's hand (or to the board of community cards) after a betting round in which no player opened. One is thereby being given a chance to improve one's hand without having to pay anything. I wasn't sure my hand was good, but I bet so I wouldn't give a free card to Bill's flush draw.

Freeroll : 1) A free-to-enter tournament
2) To freeroll - freerolling: to have a chance to win a pot without risk;
for example, one player has AsKs while another has AdKc and the flop cards are QsJsTd, in this case the pot will be split unless a spade comes on the fourth or fifth card; the player with the AsKs is freerolling" to a spade flush
3) Freerolled: a situation like above, where one player had a no risk chance to win more while the other player merely could hope to not lose.

Freezeout : The most common form of tournament. There are no rebuys; play continues until one player has all the chips.

Front Seat : The player who is first to act in a hand.

Full, Full boat, Full hand, Full house : A hand with three cards of one rank and two of a second rank. Also "boat".

Full bet rule : In some casinos, the rule that a player must wager the full amount required in order for his action to constitute a raise. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing an opening bet of $4 who wagers $7 is deemed to have flat called, because $8 is required to raise.

G

G, a : One thousand dollars. Also known as a "grand".

Gambler : When used in poker to identify a player this word may be used to categorise the highest class of player. Meaning that player is not actually a gambler at all, but a very skilled player.

Gap hand : In Texas hold 'em, a gap hand is a starting hand with at least one rank separating the two cards. Usually referred to in context of one-gap and two-gap hands. 10-8 would be a one gap and 9-6 would be a two gap.

Gar Hole : A term used to describe the situation where chips are in the possesion of a tight and skillful player and therefore difficult to access.

Get Full Value : Betting, raising and re-raising in order to manipulate the size of the pot so that you will be getting maximum pot odds if you win the hand.

Get There : To make your hand ( normally refering to a drawing hand that completes its requirements.

Give Action : A player who is actively participating in hands more than just calling is said to be "giving action".

G.I.Q. : "Get It Quietly". An expression said to a player who is overly loud and celebratory when he or she wins, often meant as "show an amount of respect to the losing player".

Going South : To pocket winnings in the middle of a playing session, with the intention of keeping it and not gambling it.

Guts, guts to open : A game with no opening hand requirement; that is, where the only requirement to open the betting is "guts", or courage. Any of several poker variants where pots accumulate over several hands until a single player wins.

Gutshot : A term used to describe the card needed to fill an inside straight. Often used in referring to a type of straight draw.

Gypsy : To enter the pot cheaply by just calling the blind rather than raising. Normally used in conjunction with Lowball.

H

Half bet rule : In some casinos, the rule that placing chips equal to or greater than half the normal bet amount beyond the amount required to call constitutes a commitment to raise the normal amount. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing a $4 opening bet who places $6 in the pot is deemed to have raised, and must complete his bet to $8.

Hand : 1) The collection of cards that a player is holding, making up a particular rank (e.g. Straight, Full House, etc.).
2) A particular game or round of card-playing (i.e. "That was a fun hand")

Handhistory, hand history : The textual representation of a hand (or hands) played in an Internet cardroom.

Hammer, The : 7-2 off suit, specifically a winning hand when holding these cards, popular amongst the blogging community.

Hard Rock : A particularly tight player.

Heads-up : When a game is reduced to two players, these players are said to be competing ’heads-up’ for the pot.

Heinz : Pocket cards OF 5-7 in Hold’em.

High, high hand : The best hand using traditional poker hand values, as opposed to lowball. Used especially in high-low split games.

High card : 1) A no pair hand, ranked according to its highest-ranking cards.
2) To defeat another player by virtue of high-ranking cards, especially kickers.
3) To randomly select a player for some purpose by having each draw one card, the highest of which is selected (for example, to decide who deals first. Often high card by suit is used for this purpose.

High/Low : 1) A stipulation added to any game, usually Stud games, where the pot is split in half between the player with the best hand and the player with the worst hand (see Lowball),
2) A Seven-Card stud game in its own right with no wild cards and with the pot split between best and worst hands.

High Roller : A player who gambles for large sums of money.

High Society : The highest denomination chip available in a particular establishment.

Hilton Sisters : Pocket Queens.

Hole, hole cards : 1) Face-down cards. Also "pocket cards".
2) A seat, often preceded by a number relative to the button. Sara opened from the 2-hole.

Hole cam : A camera that displays a player's face-down cards ("hole cards") to television viewers. Also "pocket cam".

Hold 'Em : A form of Community poker where some cards are dealt to each player and the rest are dealt in the middle of the table and shared by all players.

Hold Out : To deliberately conceal cards for the purposes of introducing them to the game later, a common form of cheating.

Honest : To call another player's bets in case they are bluffing to ensure that they do not win the pot by default. Also called "paying to see", in that if a player wins a pot by default, he or she is not obliged to show his or her hand because nobody paid to see what the player has.

Home game : A game played at a private venue (usually the home of one of the players), as opposed to a casino or public cardroom.

Home Run Hitter : A player who makes big plays that have miximum risk.

Hooks : Pocket Jacks.

Horse : A player financially backed by someone else.

H.O.R.S.E. : A combination or mixed game comprising a round of each of the following : Hold em, Omaha (Hi or Hi Lo depending on what is specified) Razz , Stud and Stud Eight or better (Stud Hi Lo)

House, the : The game’s host; the place in which the game is being played.

House Rules : The written or assumed rules and regulations that govern the specific play of poker in a given place; i.e. "The House Rule here is that a Five-of-a-Kind beats a Royal Flush."

Hot : A When a player is on a winning streak he may be described as running hot.

Hustler : A good poker player who makes the rounds playing at various venues to earn a living from the game. Not generally regarded as the highest class of player.

I

Idiot end or Ignorant End : In flop games, a player drawing to, or even flopping, a straight with undercards to the flop has the idiot end of it. A player with 8-9 betting on a flop of A-T-J puts himself at great risk, because many of the cards that complete his straight give credible opponents higher ones.

Implied odds : Please see our Poker Theory page for a full explanation.

In The Dark : Betting without knowledge of either your hole cards or before the next card is dealt.

In the middle : In a game with multiple blinds, an incoming player may sometimes be allowed to post the blinds "in the middle" (that is, out of their normal order) rather than having to wait for them to pass.

In the money : To place high enough in a poker tournament to get prize money. Also: "ITM".

In turn : A player, or an action, is said to be in turn if that player is expected to act next under the rules. Jerry said "check" while he was in turn, so he's not allowed to raise.

Irregular declaration : An action taken by a player in turn that is not a straightforward declaration of intent, but that is reasonably interpreted as an action by other players, such as pointing a thumb up to signify "raise". House rules or dealer discretion may determine when such actions are meaningful and/or binding.

Irregularity : Any of a number of abnormal conditions in play, such as unexpectedly exposed cards, that may call for corrective action.

Isolation : To raise with the intention of reaching a heads up between yourself and a single other player.