Poker Glossary A-B

A: ABC:1) One-two-three, as in ace-deuce-three
2) ABC player: a predictable player known for playing only obviously good hands
3) Most literally, a hand that starts as the best possible, e.g. A-2-3 in razz

Ace : The highest-ranked card in most forms of poker.

Ace-High : A five card hand that contains one Ace, with no straight or flush or pair in it.

Aces Full : A full house with three aces and any pair

Aces Up : A hand that contains two pairs, one of which is Aces.

Acey Deucey : (1) Any game where Aces and Twos are wild; (2) When a player's two cards, or two cards showing are an Ace and a Two

Act – Action : 1) Act: a player's turn to do an available action; to literally act on your hand. 2) Action: to fold, check, call, bet or raise 3) Action player: someone who freely bets or raises.

Action card : A card appearing on the board that causes significant betting action in Texas hold 'em or other community card games, because it helps two or more players. For example, an ace on the flop when two players each hold an ace.

Active Player : Any player who is still in the hand.

Add-On : The option for any tournament player to buy a set amount of chips at the end of a rebuy period.

Advertising : To make an obvious play or expose cards in such a way as to deliberately convey an impression to your opponents about your style of play. For example, to make a bad play or to show only good hands to convey the impression that you’re either a weak or tight player, and then use their assumptions against them in future hands.

Agent : Participant in a cheating scam.

Aggressive : A style of play characterised by regular betting and raising, making it expensive for other players to stay in the pot.

Ahead : (1) The amount of profit that has been made in a session. For example, "I’m ahead $10." (2) The holding that is winning at any given moment during a hand

All In : When a player bets all of his/her chips. (In online poker, you may be deemed "All-in" when you are disconnected, even if you have chips remaining).

Angle : A technically legal, but borderline unethical, play. For example, deliberately miscalling one's own hand to induce a fold, or placing odd amounts of chips in the pot to confuse opponents about whether you mean to call or raise. A player employing such tactics is called an "angle shooter".

Ante : A forced bet required from all players before the start of a hand in some poker games, primarily Stud.

Ante Up : A dealer’s verbal request for antes to be paid before they begin to deal.

Art Gallery : A five-card poker hand made up entirely of face cards.

Automatic Bluff : A bluff made without thinking about it, made automatically because of a particular situation. Depending on the circumstance this bluff will often be made regardless of the players cards.

B

Baby : A card of low rank; generally 5 or lower.

Backdoor : (1) A draw requiring two or more rounds to fill. For example, catching two consecutive cards in two rounds of seven-card stud or Texas hold 'em to fill a straight or flush. (2) A hand made other than the hand the player intended to make. "I started with four hearts hoping for a flush, but I ‘backdoored’ two more kings and my trips won".

Back to Back : A pocket pair e.g. "Back to back Jacks"

Back Into, To : To end up with a hand other than the one originally anticipated; i.e. chasing a flush and "backing into" a straight flush.

Backraise : A reraise from a player that previously limped in the same betting round. I decided to backraise with my pocket eights to isolate the all-in player. Also: limp-reraise.

Backer: A person who puts up the money for a player (known as a horse) to play in exchange for a share of the profits (if any). Also known as a "financial backer" or a "staker".

Bad Beat : 1) To lose a hand in a particularly unlucky way. Overused term used by masochistic story tellers of "bad beat stories" 2) Bad Beat Jackpot: An amount of money that can be won when a player loses a hand with a qualifying holding; for instance when four of a kind loses to a straight flush. A staple of online cash tables.

Bankroll : 1) The sum total of money a player has with which to play poker

Bankroll Management: the science of playing in the most sensible and favourable way based upon how much money you have.

Behind : (1) Not (currently) having the best hand. (2)Describing money in play, but not visible as chips in front of a player. For example, a player may announce "I've got $100 behind" while handing money to a casino employee, meaning that he intends those chips to be in play as soon as they are brought to him.

Bellybuster ; 1) An inside straight draw. Also known as a gutshot. 2) Double Bellybuster: having two inside straight draws. E.g. in Texas Holdem when you hold 65 and the first four board cards are 9-8-3-2) where both a 7 and a 4 will complete inside straights.

Belly Hit : To complete an inside straight.

Bet : 1) Placing a wager into the pot when it is your turn to do so 2) Betting: the various ways money enters a pot 3) Big Bet: in structured limit games, the larger of the two betting rounds 4) Big Bet Poker: No Limit or Pot Limit games

Bet For Value : Bet in order to raise the total in the pot to rather than to make an opponent raise or fold.

Bet Into To : bet before a stronger hand, or a player who placed a strong bet on the prior round.

Bet The Pot : To bet the value of the pot.

Betting structure : The complete set of rules regarding forced bets, limits, raise caps, and such for a particular game.

Bicycle 1) A low, five high straight: 5-4-3-2-A (also known as a "wheel straight") 2) The best possible hand in Lowball games

Big Bet Poker : Another term for Pot limit or no limit Poker.

Big Dog : To be a large underdog to win a particular pot.

Big Full : The highest possible full house in Texas Hold em Poker: A-A-A-K-K.

Big Lick : Pocket cards of 6 and 9. Also known as "dinner for two" and "prom night", if suited.

Big One : $1,000

Big Slick : Hole cards of an Ace and a King.

Blackleg : A nineteenth century term for a card player of ill repute.

Black Chip : $100 Casino chip.

Black Mariah : (i) A term used in the Seven-Card Stud game High Chicago where a player has the best hand at the table and the highest Spade face-down; (ii) a Seven-Card Stud game in its own right where the hand that wins the pot must be both the best hand and have the highest Spade face-down.

Blank : A card, frequently a community card, of no apparent value. I suspected Margaret had a good draw, but the river card was a blank, so I bet again. Also called: "rag", "brick".

Blinds: 1) Forced bets in community card games similar to the use of antes, but normally only required of the two players to the left of the dealer. 2) Small Blind: the smaller of two forced bets, usually 1/2 the minimum opening bet. 3) Big Blind: the larger of two forced bets, usually equal to the minimum opening bet. 4) Stealing the Blinds: make a raise on the opening betting round with the goal of winning the blind bets without any further action on the hand 5) Betting blind: betting without taking the option to look at the next card(s)

Blocker : In community card poker, refers to holding one of the opponent's outs, typically when the board threatens a straight or straight draw. The board was A-2-3 but with my pair of fives I held two blockers to the straight.

Blue : The colour of poker chip most often used to represent the highest denomination of money. (Derived from "blue chip" stock).

Bluffing : 1) Betting or raising with a weak hand in the hope that all other players will fold 2) Semi-bluffing: betting or raising a drawing hand, like a draw to a flush, in the earlier betting rounds enabling you to sometimes win the pot uncontested, but with the backup of being able to actually make the winning hand when more cards are dealt. 3) Bluffer: a player with the reputation of bluffing often. 4) Calling a Bluff: calling a player's bet because you think they may be bluffing.

Board : These are the community cards in Hold ’Em and other community poker games. In Stud games, these are the cards dealt face-up in each player’s hand.

Boat : A Full House.

Bobtail : An outside-straight.

Boss : The strongest hand in any betting round.

Bot : Short for "robot". In a poker context, a program that plays poker online with no (or minimal) human intervention.

Bottom Dealer : A Card manipulator who can deal from the bottom of the deck without others noticing.

Bottom end : The lowest of several possible straights, especially in a community card game. For example, in Texas hold 'em with the cards 5-6-7 on the board, a player holding 3-4 has the bottom end straight, while a player holding 4-8 or 8-9 has a higher straight. Also: "idiot end".

Bottom pair, bottom set : In a community card game, a pair (or set) made by matching the lowest-ranking board card with one (or two) in one's private hand

Boxed card : A card encountered face-up in the assembled deck during the deal, as opposed to one overturned in the act of dealing. Most house rules place a boxed card aside as if it didn't exist.

Break : In a draw poker game, to discard cards that make a made hand in the hope of making a much better one. For example, a player with J-J-10-9-8 may wish to break his pair of jacks to draw for the straight. (2) To end a session of play; During a tournament, an interval where play ceases and the players are free to refresh or relieve themselves.

Brick : A "blank", though more often used in the derogatory sense of a card that is undesirable rather than merely inconsequential, such as a card of high rank or one that makes a pair in a low-hand game. Also known as a "bomb".

Brick & Mortar : A "real" casino or card room with a building, tables, dealers, etc.

Broadway Straight : An ace high straight: A-K-Q-J-T

Broken Game : A cash game that was going previously but now no longer exists

Bridge order : Poker is neutral about suits, apart from certain minor situations: (i) In determining the dealer at the start of a game (ii) Determining the outcome of a ‘chip race’ (iii) Determining the bring-in bettor in a stud game. In these instances, the order is: Spades-hearts-diamonds-clubs.

bring in : (1) To open a betting round; "Alice brought it in for $4, and Bob raised to $10" (2) A forced bet in stud games. In the first betting round, the holder of the worst (lowest or highest, depending) upcard must post a bring in bet. The bring in bet is typically a quarter to a third of a small bet. The bring in bettor may look at his cards, and place a full bet if it is prudent to do so.

Broken Fall : A flop where a straight cannot be made on the next card, such as Q,7,2.

Bubble : The last finishing position in a poker tournament before entering the payout structure. Also used to describe any situation close to the payout structure.

Buck : The dealer button which indicates which player represents the "dealer" in casino play (this player receives the last card in the deal). Source of the phrase "The Buck stops here". See also: "button".

Bug : A Joker included in the game that can only be used as an Ace, or to complete a Straight or a Flush.

Bull : Another name for an Ace.

Bullet(s) : An Ace or pair of Aces.

Bump : To raise.

Buried : A card that a player needs to complete his hand that does not end up being dealt from the deck is said to have been "buried".

Burning a Card / Burn Card : Discarding the first card off the deck face down each time cards are dealt after the initial deal. This act is burning a card, with the card being known as the burn card.

Burn and Turn.: 1) To burn the top card and give their active players their cards, community or otherwise. 2) An expression usually said by the last player to act indicating he or she also checks.

Bust / Busted : 1) Missing a draw; busted flush draw 2) To be eliminated from a tournament; losing all your chips

Bust a Player : To eliminate a player from a tournament by taking all of his chips.

Button : A plastic disc used in casinos where there is a house dealer to designate the player who would have otherwise been dealing if the deal were rotating. The player dealing the hand is said to be "on the button."

Buy In : The minimum (and occasionally maximum) amount needed to enter a game or tournament

Buy the pot : Making a bet when no one else is betting so as to force the other players to fold in order to win the pot uncontested.