Poker glossary

Poker has its own vocabulary, and most of it is English everywhere in the world, including in Romania. Here is what the words mean.

A - C

All in - betting every chip you have.
Ante - a small forced bet from every player, used in tournaments and Short Deck.
Bad beat - losing a hand you were a big favourite to win.
Bankroll - money set aside only for poker. See bankroll management.
Big blind (BB) - the larger forced bet, two seats left of the button; also the unit stacks are measured in.
Blinds - the two forced bets posted before the cards are dealt.
Blocker - a card in your hand that makes a certain opponent hand less likely.
Bluff - a bet meant to make better hands fold. See bluffing.
Board - the community cards in the middle.
Broadway - the cards ten through ace; also the ace-high straight.
Button (BTN) - the dealer position, which acts last after the flop.
Buy-in - the chips you start with, or the cost to enter a game or tournament.
C-bet - a continuation bet: the preflop raiser betting the flop.
Call - matching the current bet.
Calling station - a player who calls too much and rarely folds.
Check - passing without betting, when nobody has bet.
Check-raise - checking, then raising after someone bets.
Chop - splitting the pot.
Community cards - the five shared cards.
Cooler - a hand where two very strong hands meet and one loses big, through no mistake.
Cutoff (CO) - the seat to the right of the button.

Dealer - the player on the button, or the person who deals.
Dominated - holding a hand that shares a card with a better one, like KJ against AK.
Draw - a hand that needs more cards to become strong, like four to a flush.
Equity - your share of the pot based on your chance of winning. See outs and equity.
EV (expected value) - what a decision wins or loses on average. See expected value.
Fish - slang for a weak player.
Flop - the first three community cards.
Fold - giving up your hand.
Freeroll - a tournament with no entry fee.
Gutshot - a straight draw needing one card in the middle, like 9-8-6-5 needing a 7.
Heads-up - two players.
Hijack (HJ) - two seats right of the button.
Hole cards - your private cards.
Implied odds - money you expect to win later if your draw hits.
Kicker - a spare card that breaks ties between equal hands.
Limp - just calling the big blind instead of raising.
Muck - folding, or throwing away a hand at showdown without showing it.

No-limit - any bet up to all your chips is allowed.
Nuts - the best possible hand on that board.
Offsuit - two cards of different suits (AKo).
Open-ended - a straight draw with two ways to complete, like 9-8-7-6 needing a 10 or a 5.
Outs - cards that improve your hand to a winner.
Overcard - a card higher than any on the board, or higher than a pair.
Pocket pair - a pair in your hand.
Position - where you act relative to others. See positions.
Pot odds - the price you are getting on a call. See pot odds.
Pot-limit - the biggest bet allowed is the size of the pot.
Rake - the fee a cardroom takes from each pot.
Range - all the hands a player could have in a situation.
Raise - increasing the bet.
Rebuy - buying more chips after losing your stack.
River - the fifth and last community card.

Semi-bluff - a bet with a draw: it can win now or by improving.
Set - three of a kind made with a pocket pair.
Showdown - showing hands at the end to decide the winner.
Side pot - a separate pot that an all-in player cannot win. See how betting works.
Slowplay - playing a strong hand weakly to trap.
Slow-roll - taking a long time to show the winning hand: very rude.
Small blind (SB) - the smaller forced bet, left of the button.
Stack - the chips in front of a player.
Straddle - an optional extra blind posted before the cards, usually twice the big blind.
Suited - two cards of the same suit (AKs).
3-bet - the first re-raise before the flop. See 3-betting.
Tilt - playing worse because of emotion. See tilt.
Trips - three of a kind made with one hole card and a pair on the board.
Turn - the fourth community card.
Under the gun (UTG) - the first player to act before the flop.
Value bet - a bet hoping to be called by a worse hand. See value betting.
Wheel - the lowest straight, A-2-3-4-5.