Poker’s popularity has spawned a whole poker slang with poker idioms that refer either to the cards, the way the game is going, or the behavior of the players. Wherever in the world the game is being played, the language of poker remains universal. Here’s a list of words and phrases that you need to know if you’re hanging out with other players.

Technical Poker Terms Explained

These words and poker phrases are more terminology than slang, but are an important part of your poker vocabulary. Of course, the only way to really understand them is to play the best types of poker for beginners until you understand them completely. Don’t go entering any online poker tournaments until you’re completely familiar with them.

All in: Save this for when you have a winning hand. It’s when you put all your chips in the pot. Sometimes known as the shove in poker.

Blind: Blinds in poker are the amount put in the pot by two players to the left of the dealer. See also: blind vs. blind strategy.

Small blind: This is the wager placed by the first player to the left of the dealer.

Big blind: Double the value of the small blind and placed by the player to the left of the small blind.

Bluff: Something you’ll need to learn to do. Dissembling by wagering on your own hand to convince other players they should fold. See also: poker bluffing for beginners.

Button: The plastic disk that denotes the dealer’s position. Also known as the dealer button. 

Call: This is when a player puts the minimum amount required to stay in the game in the pot.

Community cards: Cards dealt face-up that can be used by any player.

Fold: When you concede by placing your hand face down on the table. You also lose all your stakes up to this point in the game.

Raise: This is when you put the minimum wager, plus an additional amount, into the pot.

What’s In Your Hand

Whether it’s Texas Hold’em poker or any other format of the game, next, you need to know exactly what it is you’re holding. As a bare minimum, you’ll want to be comfortable with the basic starting hands in poker and know the poker hand rankings inside out. Add the best multi-table poker hands if you’re looking to enter multi-table tournaments. 

With that said, here are the terms for the most important poker hand combinations you’ll encounter.

Pair: Any two cards of the same value.

Two pair: Two sets of two cards of the same value.

Three of a kind: These cards can be of any suit but must be of the same value.

Straight: When you’re holding a series of sequential cards.

Flush: This is a hand of five cards of the same suit in no particular order.

Straight flush: This is a good hand. Five cards of the same suit, in sequence.

Full house: Three of a kind, plus a pair. When it comes to full house vs flush, this hand wins.

Royal flush: This is the best hand: an ace-high straight flush.

Popular Poker Slang

Whether playing popular Texas Hold’em poker game variations or exploring other options, there are some expressions that players commonly use that you really need to know. You’ll hear these expressions in land-based casinos as well as during online poker games.

Around the Poker Table

Airballing: A term for bluffing.

Ammo: This is your “ammunition,” or stack of chips. Do you have enough ammo to stay in the game?

Arsenal: Airballing is part of your arsenal, that is, the skills you bring to the table.

Busted: Out of the game. A poor hand or not enough ammo.

Clicking buttons: You definitely don’t want to be accused of doing this. This is when you make a move just for the sake of it. A novice thing to do. In addition, taking too much or too little time to make a move is also risky and can be read by other players as so-called timing tells in poker.

Donkey: Someone who doesn’t play well. For example, only a donkey would click buttons.

Drawing dead: In poker terms, this means you have no chance of winning. Outside of the game, it means that things really can’t get much worse. 

Fish: Plays like a donkey but spends money like a fish, to the benefit of more experienced players.

Freeroll: A freeroll tournament has no buy-in, so there’s little risk and the promise of some reward – perfect for beginner players.

Nit: At the table, this refers to a person who is risk-averse, but can also describe someone who is somewhat stingy. Don’t be a nit.

Nosebleed: There are stakes, high stakes, and then there are nosebleeds. These are nosebleed-inducing stakes. Probably a good time to fold. Watch out for people placing astronomically high stakes in some of the richer online poker tournaments.

Nut high or nut low: If you’re holding the nuts in poker, it means you have the strongest hand in a specific situation. The nut high is the best high hand, and the nut low is the best low hand. Don’t be confused – “nut low” has nothing to do with feeling low.

Running bad: This means you’re having an entire run of drawing dead or a streak of bad luck.

Shark: Essentially, the opposite of a donkey — someone who plays well.

Tilted: Either of the above is enough to leave you tilted — meaning frustrated, angry, or upset.

On the Street (Betting Rounds)

In poker, the different betting rounds are also known as streets.

Preflop: This is the initial betting round, when players build the pot before the community cards are revealed.

Flop: These are the first three of the five community cards dealt after the first round of bets has been placed.

Turn or fourth street: The fourth community card, dealt face-up by itself.

River: Last card of the five community cards to be dealt. See also: river poker strategy.

Glossary of Other Essential Poker Terminology

The aforementioned are the most important entries in the average poker dictionary. Keep on reading for a more complete poker glossary. While you’re at it, check out this guide to Texas Hold’em poker terms for more of the typical lingo used in games and this list of more unusual poker terms with their explanations.

Poker Terms Starting with A

Ace: The highest and lowest ranking card in the deck.

Ace in the hole: An ace as a hole card.

Ace-rag: An ace paired with an unhelpful card.

Action: Poker play, as in “action at the table” or the “action is on you.”

Add-on: An opportunity to purchase more chips in a rebuy tournament for an extra fee.

Air: A hand with no value, as in “He’s raising with air.”

Angle shoot: To intentionally play incorrectly to gauge the response of an opponent, considered unethical and sometimes illegal.

Ante: Mandatory bet based on tournament structure as a way to spur action.

Poker Terms Starting with B

Backdoor: The possibility of turn and river cards completing a flush or straight.

Bad beat: A bad beat in poker is an initially strong hand losing to an initially weaker hand.

Bankroll: Money allocated specifically for poker. See also: poker bankroll management.

Bet: Money or something of value used as a wager in a hand. 

Blank: Community card providing no help to players’ hands.

Board: Total of five face-up community cards used by all players.

Boat: Full house.

Broadway: Highest possible straight of ten, jack, queen, king, and ace.

Bullet: Buy-in, as in “I played a reentry tournament and spent two bullets.”

Burn card: Card mucked by the dealer before distributing hole cards, flop, turn, and river.

Bustout: Elimination from a poker tournament.

Buy-in: Money required to play a card game.

Poker Terms Starting with C

Call: A bet matching one made by another player during a round of play.

C-bet: When a player raises preflop, then continues with another bet on the flop

Check: A move to indicate staying in the hand without betting additional chips.

Check-call: A play that starts with a check, but then a call when another player bets.

Chip: A round disk used in poker to represent value.

Chop: A split pot due to two or more players holding the same hand.

Color-up: Process in a tournament by which lower denomination chips are removed from play as blinds increase.

Community cards: Five cards dealt face-up by the dealer to be used by any player.

Countdown: One of the lesser-known poker variants, this game allows players to replace cards at a price.

Cutoff: Poker table position to the right of the button.

Poker Terms Starting with D-G

Draw poker: Any version of poker involving discarding a card to replace it with another. These types of stud poker are often included in mixed poker games.

Downswing: Bad run of poker results over time.

Equity: The expected value of a hand based on the odds of winning as compared to the value of chips available to win.

Family pot: A hand in which every player enters a pot during a betting round.

Floor: Any person working in poker room management with decision-making authority.

Flop: First three community cards dealt face up for the use of all players, also referred to as third street. See also: preflop poker.

Grinder: Player who competes regularly, possibly to earn a living.

Gutshot: An inside straight draw, only missing the card in the middle of the straight.

Poker Terms Starting with H-M

Heads-up: A hand consisting of only two players. See also: how to play heads-up poker.

Hijack: The position two from the button.

Hole card: Initial cards dealt face-down to each player, two in Hold’em and four in Omaha.

Hold’em: The form of poker played with two hole cards and five community cards.

In position: Last person to act in a round of betting.

Inside straight: Straight draw only missing the middle card to make the straight.

Junk: A hand or a card with little value.

Kicker: A high card that decides a hand when two or more players have a flush.

Limp: To call a blind or minimum bet. See also: open limp in poker.

Min-bet: The minimum bet possible.

MTT: Multi-table tournament. See also: multi-table poker tournament strategy.

Muck: To fold without showing the cards; the pile of cards unused in a hand.

Poker Terms Starting with N-R

Nuts: Best possible hand considering the cards dealt.

Omaha: One of the most popular poker variants, Omaha is played with four hole cards and five community cards, in which two of the four hole cards must be used to create a playable hand. See also: Omaha poker strategies and variants.

Open: First bet of a hand.

Open-ender: A straight draw with the possibility for a card to complete it on the high or low end.

Orbit: Full round of play with every player having played every position.

Outs: Number of yet-unseen cards available to make a winning hand. 

Overcard: A higher card than players’ hole cards.

Pocket pair: Two hole cards of the same rank.

Position: Place at the table dictating when to act, such as button, small or big blind, under the gun, hijack, or early or middle position.

Pot: Chips collected in the middle bet by all players, held for the winning player.

Pot bet: A bet that matches the size of the pot.

Quads: Four of a kind, of the same rank.

Rack: A holder for chips used when moving tables or counting chips for a color-up.

Rag: An unhelpful card.

Rainbow: Most often used to describe a flop of three different suits.

Range: The array of hands a person may play.

Rebuy: A tournament option that allows a player to buy in again to obtain more chips.

Reentry: A tournament option for players who bust to buy in again.

Poker Terms Starting with S-Z

Satellite: A tournament with the chance of paying a lower buy-in to win a seat into a tournament with a larger buy-in.

Semi-bluff: Wagering with a weak hand – but one with potential to improve – to trick an opponent into taking a specific action. See also: the semi-bluff in poker.

Set: Three of a kind of the same rank, two of which are hole cards.

Shootout: A type of poker tournament played like an SNG, where only one or two players survive a table and move to the next round of play.

Shot clock: A clock that counts down the amount of time a player has to act or risk their hand being automatically folded.

Showdown: The action of showing hands when two players remain to contend for a pot after all betting rounds end.

SNG: A sit-n-go or sit-and-go in which a specific number of players, most often at just one table, compete until one player remains. See also: how to play sit & go poker tournaments.

Splash: A discouraged action by players who throw chips into the pot to create disorganization.

String bet: A motion to bet more chips after already betting, illegal in most poker rooms.

Tell: Indication of the strength of a hand through physical movements or actions. See also: tells in poker.

Tournament: An event with a set buy-in for everyone that plays to a winner, in which players must compete until they are eliminated or win and cannot cash out until payouts are implemented for the top finishers. Tournaments can include many types of poker other than Texas Hold’em.

Trips: Three of a kind of the same rank, only one of which is a hole card.

Turbo: Fast tournament structure with short levels and rapidly increasing blinds.

Under the gun: First person to act pre-flop.

Upswing: Positive run of poker results over time.

Value bet: A bet made to extract value and encourage a bet from an opponent.

Variance: A discrepancy in results due to the luck factor, which can include upswings and downswings.

Walk: A win by the big blind prompted by all other players folding.

Wheel: The lowest straight possible of A-2-3-4-5.

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