Poker Terms and Lingo

I noticed, while making this site, that there are probably a ton of poker terms that beginning poker players might not understand. I don’t want anyone to be confused or left out so below I have made a growing list of poker terms and their definitions.

• 3-bet/4-bet/5-bet… = When a player raises that is the second bet, so a raise by another opponent would be called the third bet, another raise would be called a four bet, etc
• All-in = When a player is playing for all of their chips
• Aggro/Aggressive = When someone plays back a lot by betting and raising as opposed to checking and calling
• Barrel = When a player continues betting the turn and river after betting the flop
• bb/100 = Standard unit of measurement for someone’s win rate. Measured in units of big blinds won/lost per 100 hands
• Bet = Post-flop when a player is the first to puts in chips
• Big Blind = The minimum bet that anyone can play either pre-flop or post-flop
• Bink = When a player hits a card that improves their hand significantly
• Blinds = Bets made before the hands starts to induce action at the tables and force players to play hands
• Bluff = When someone bets thinking they have the worst hand, but that the opponent will fold
• Bluff Catch = When a player checks with the intention of calling a bet in an attempt to catch someone bluffing
• Bubble = In a tournament when you lose all your chips right before the spot that pays out winnings
• Bum Hunting = When a good player looks for weaker players with the intention of winning all of their money
• Button = The position in front of the small blind. Always has position and is the last person to act post flop
• C/R = When a player checks then raises post-flop, usually with the intentions of getting extra money out of their opponent or as a bluff
• Call = When a player matches the bet amount with their own chips
• Cold Call = When someone calls any type of re-raise without having put money into the pot prior to their turn
• Continuation Bet/c-bet = When a person was the initial raiser pre-flop and continues betting on the flop
• Cooler = An “unlucky” hand that plays out where it is almost inevitable where both players get all the money in. The term came from the old days when someone would bring a rigged card deck into the game (“cool” deck) which would deal one player the nuts and the second player the second nuts with the intention of taking all of their money. Today, it is said more in jest and doesn’t imply that cheating happened, but more that the hand was just an unlucky set of circumstances which lead to a player losing all their chips.
• Credit Card Roulette = When people put their credit cards into a hat for a drawing. The persons card that is drawn pays for whatever it is they are wagering. Used as a game of chance usually to see who pays for food
• Cutoff = The position just to the right of the button. Has position on everyone except the button
• Deep Stack = When a player has more than 100 big blinds in their chip stack. Usually greater than 150 big blinds
• Degen/Degenerate = A person with gambling problems. Sometimes used sarcastically to describe a poker player or a situation
• Donkament = A tournament usually at the low limits with a lot of bad players playing
• Donk Bet = When someone bets on the flop before it gets to the pre-flop raiser
• Donkey = Someone who is bad at poker
• Draw = A hand that needs to improve to be a made hand
• Fast Play = When a player with a strong hand raises or bets instead of checking or folding attempting to get maximum value out of their hand
• Fish = Someone who is bad at poker
• Float = When a player calls intending to take the pot away on a later street
• Flop = The second betting round when there are two cards in the players hand and three community cards
• Fold = When a player gives up their hand and forfeits any money they have put in the pot
• FR/Full Ring = A poker table that holds up to 9 or 10 players
• Gap Effect = Tournament concept where your hand range should increase as more people fold to you. This is because when you come into a pot, there will be less people left to fight for the money.
• Grinder = Someone who comes in day in and day out to make profits. Slang for a professional who always plays
• Highjack = The position just to the right of the cutoff. Has position on everyone except the button and cutoff
• HU/Heads Up = a poker table with only 2 players playing
• IP/In Position = When a player is in position on their opponent
• Implied Odds = When you are drawing and figure you will make more money off your opponent after you happen to hit your hand.
• LAG = Loose/Aggressive. Refers to a player who plays a wider range pre-flop and plays aggressively post-flop
• Limp = Pre-flop, when it is the player’s turn to act, they call instead of raising or folding
• Loose = When someone plays a lot of hands
• Main Pot = When a player is all in, the main pot is the pot that any of the players can win as opposed to the side-pot which only the players with money left behind can win
• Nit = Someone who plays very few hands
• Nitreg = A player who is a regular and doesn’t play many hands. Also my screen name as a joke because at the time, I played pretty aggressive relative to other players
• Nuts = The best possible hand at that moment in the hand
• OOP/Out of Position = When a player is out of position on their opponent
• Outs = The number of cards that can improve a hand
• Passive = When a player checks and calls more than they raise or bet
• Peel = When someone calls to see the next community card to come out
• Post-Flop = Refers to any action that happens after the initial three community cards are dealt
• Posting = When you miss a hand and are not in the blinds, you are forced to wager a big blind pre-flop
• Pot = All the money that has been wagered held in the middle of the table
• Pot Equity = Considering what percentage of the pot you will win in the long run given your hand compared to your opponent’s hand or hand range
• Pot Odds = The odds of your hand improving in comparison to the amount of money you need to call in a pot.
• Pre-Flop = The first betting round where there are two hole cards and no community cards
• Prop Bet = A wager by two or more people that requires an action to be done before someone wins. If the action isn’t completed, then the other party wins.
• Raise = When a player puts more money in the pot than the current bet amount is
• Rake = A small percentage of the pot that the casino takes for profit
• Rake Back = After a casino brings in rake at a table, some casinos offer a percentage of their profits back to frequent players as a sort of bonus
• Range = The entire spectrum of hands a player might hold
• Reg = Short for “Regular”. Refers to someone who plays at a given game frequently
• Reverse Implied Odds = When a player plays a drawing hand, only to be behind even if they hit their draw.
• River = The fourth betting round when there are two cards in the players hand and five community cards
• Satellite = A tournament where the prize is a ticket into a higher buyin tournament
• Set Mining = Calling with a pocket pair with the intention of hitting trips and winning a lot of money or folding if you don’t hit trips
• Set = When you have a pocket pair that hits trips using both hole cards and one of the community cards.
• Shark = A very good player
• Short Handed = A table that has a maximum number of players less than 7 but more than 2. Generally 6-max or 4-max
• Short Stack = When a player has less than 100 big blinds. Usually when the player has 20bb-40bb in their chip stack
• Showdown = After all the betting is done and players show their cards to see who has the best hand
• Sick = An over used description given by poker players to describe something that blew them away
• Side Pot = When a player goes all in, the remainder bets by the other players go into a separate pot that the all in player can’t win due to lack of chips
• Slow Play = When a player with a strong hand decides to take checking and calling lines instead of raising and betting lines so they can lure their opponent into the hand
• Slow Roll = When a player doesn’t immediately turn their cards over at showdown when they obviously have the best hand. Usually happens on accident with novice players or on purpose by players wishing to tilt their opponent
• Small Blind = Usually half of a big blind. It is a forced bet for the player just to the left of the dealer button
• Soul Read = Exaggeration when a player makes a difficult read on an opponent
• Spaz = When a player is raising to high amounts and/or at a high frequency which makes them seem crazy or prone to bluffing too much
• Spew = Making -EV decisions usually by shoving all in or calling all in when behind
• Squeeze = When one player bets or raises, one or more players call, then you raise over the top of everyone. In theory, the play looks strong and squeezes out every caller so you can collect their dead money.
• TAG = Tight/Aggressive. Refers to a tough opponent who plays a tight hand range pre-flop but plays aggressive post-flop
• Tight = When a player doesn’t play many hands
• Tilt = When a player deviates from their optimal play. Usually due to frustration or boredom
• Trips = When you hold three of a kind using at least one of your hole cards. When you use both hole cards, it is referred to as a “set”
• Turn = The third betting round when there are two cards in the players hand and four community cards
• UTG (Under the Gun) = The position just after the big blind. UTG is the first person to act.
• UTG+1, +2, +3, etc = Indicates the position of a player starting with the UTG spot, count that number clockwise.
• Value Bet= When someone bets thinking they have the best hand
• Variance = The mathematical ups and downs of poker
• Whale = Someone who is a massive fish
• Win Rate = How much someone wins usually measured in bb/100
• Wrap = Omaha term that refers to having multiple straight draw outs

I’m not perfect and probably missed some words. If you have heard a poker term you don’t understand or spot that I missed a word, post the word down in the comments below.