Poker Glossary

Ante

A small bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a hand. Most hold'em games do not have an ante, they use "blinds" to seed the pot.

All-In

To bet all your remaining chips.

Blind

A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Blinds are usually put in by players immediately to the left of the deal.

Board

All the community cards in a hold'em game - the flop, turn, and river cards together.

Bottom Pair

A pair made with the lowest card on the flop.

Burn

To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before dealing the next community card(s). It is done to prevent any player seeing the next card to be dealt.

Button

A white disk to indicate who is the dealer. Typically the 'Button' moves to the player on the left after each hand.

Buy the Pot

To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called.

Cap

To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. This is usually the third or fourth raise.

Check

To pass the bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. The same as betting zero dollars.

Flop

The first three community cards, put out face up, all together.

Free Card

A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet.

Kicker

The card sometimes used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands.

Muck

The pile of cards in front of the dealer. You can also 'muck' a losing hand, which means to fold the cards so no one can see them.

No-Limit

A variation of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips, up to the number in front of him. Betting all your chips is known as going 'All In'.

Offsuit

A starting hand in HoldEm in which the two cards are of different suits.

Pocket

Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, "He had pocket nines" (a pair of nines).

Pot Limit

A variation of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot.

Quads

Four of a kind.

Rainbow

A flop that contains three different suits, which means no flush can be made on the turn.

Rake

The amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer - this is the house's income.

Rank

The numerical value of a card.

River

The fifth and final community card. Also known as "fifth street".

Showdown

The point at which all remaining players turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand.

Side Pot

A pot in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips (he went 'All In' in the previous betting round).

Split Pot

A pot which is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.

Suited

Refering to cards of the same suit.

Top Pair

A pair made with the highest card on the flop.

Trips

Three of a kind.

Turn

The fourth community card. Also known as "fourth street."