A Comprehensive Glossary of Poker Terms

There’s more to the world’s most popular card game than just the rules and hand strength. If you truly wish to enjoy a game of poker on a regular basis, then you have to learn the language of poker professionals.

That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive glossary of poker definitions, terms, and slang. Fair warning, however — there are hundreds of different phrases you’ll often hear being flung across the poker table. It would be next to impossible to learn them all by heart, just by going over this glossary once.

Therefore, we strongly suggest you bookmark this page so you can use it as a reference and quickly freshen up your memory. That said, let’s jump right into it.

Poker Terms

A

Action —Signifies both the players turn and the specific action they take. You’ll often hear the dealer say “Your action” if an absent-minded player doesn’t realize it’s their turn to play. The specific actions include checking, betting, calling, and raising.

Donk Bet A leading bet made postflop and from out of position, usually small, that usually comes from the non-aggressor in the hand. E.g., in no-limit hold’em a player on the button raises and the.

Pullin my donkey’s tail – A much older way of saying “are you pullin my leg” Pulling a Kite – Making a face. Pulling in the Pieces – To make money. Punching Dogies – Cowpunching, driving the cattle to market. Pung – A rude sort of sleigh, or oblong box made of boards and placed on runners, used for drawing loads on snow by horses. This is a discussion on Differences between a donk and a fish within the online poker forums, in the General Poker section; As we all know donk and fish are two slang words for bad players in. Is that donkey is (poker slang) a bad poker player while jackass is (poker slang) a jack and an ace as a starting hand in texas hold 'em due to phonetic similarity. As nouns the difference between donkey and jackass is that donkey is a domestic animal, (taxlink), similar to a horse while jackass is a male donkey. As a proper noun jackass is.

Ante —An alternative to “blinds” in some poker games. If a game involves an ante, it requires all of the players to add some money into the pot before every round.

Add-on — This refers to the possibility of purchasing additional chips to play with. During tournaments, the option is typically only available at predetermined intervals. Cash games, on the other hand, usually allow add-ons between two rounds.

All-in —A form of raising where a player puts all of their chips into the pot. If a player goes all-in and others bet even more, they will not be eligible to claim the entire pot. This event calls for a side pot, which contains the money players bet on top of the all-in amount of the player who’s out of chips.

If they win, they will win the amount proportional to the chips they’ve bet when they went all-in.

B

Backdoor —A situation in which the Turn and River cards are included to form a winning hand. For example, say you’re holding a 9 and an 8 of hearts. The flop comes up 7 of hearts and two aces. Everyone bets, and you’re relatively confident at least one other player is holding an ace.

A “backdoor” would occur if the turn and river cards were 5 and 6 of hearts. This would mean you have a straight flush, beating someone who held two aces and had a poker of aces during the flop.

Bad Beat —A term poker players use to describe a statistically much weaker hand beating the clear favorite. Most often describes a situation where a hand that has no place in the pot in the first place wins it. The chances are typically only a few percentages since the particular underdog hand requires one or two specific cards out of the entire deck.

Hence, you’ll typically hear the favorite utilize this phrase, out of frustration, because they didn’t lose due to a lack of skill, but to an enormous amount of luck on the opponent’s end.

Big Blind — The first full bet of the round. In games like Texas Hold’em, blinds are used to create the initial pot. They are pre-determined, based on the table minimum buy-in and change each round. The first round, the big blind is the second player to the left of the dealer, with the role moving clockwise by one seat every new round.

Blind — A forced bet at the start of every new round of poker, after the hole cards are dealt, but before any action is taken by the players. There are typically two types of blind bets — small blinds and big blinds.

Bluff — An action which involves betting or raising with a weak hand. The goal behind a bluff is to make an opponent(s) fold, even if they have an objectively stronger hand.

Board — A name for all 5 cards on the poker table during a Hold’em game. This includes the 3 flop cards, as well as the River and Turn cards.

Bottom Pair —A pair that involves the lowest ranked card on the flop. For example, if you’re holding a K and a 7, and the flop reveals Q, 10, and 7, you have “flopped the bottom pair.” The top pair, which is the stronger of the two, would involve the King, rather than the seven.

Button — In games where there is no house dealer, a “button” is the marker that shows which player is the dealer for the round. It isn’t uncommon for the term to be used to signify the actual player on the button.

C

Call —To match the bet of another player. Calling involves putting the same amount of money into the pot as the player who raised.

Cap —In poker, the “cap” is the final raise players are allowed to make during one betting round. Depending on the particular variant, this is typically the third or the fourth raise.

Center Pot — The chips making up the main pot in a poker game, not including other “side” pots which are created in some instances when a player goes all-in.

Check — An action where a poker player effectively passes their turn without betting. Players can only check if nobody before them raised.

Check-Raise —Checking, then retroactively raising after the next player bets. Some players consider this unethical poker, but most casinos allow check-raising as a legitimate strategy.

Cold Call — A player makes a “cold call” when they end up calling two or more bets in a single action. This happens when a player who acts after the big blind, but before you, raises. Then, if you call, you’re effectively calling two bets. It is different than calling an initial bet, and later on any subsequent raise.

Community Cards — “Shared” cards that are always face-up on the table and can be utilized by every player to form a winning hand. Cards on the flop, turn, and river in Hold’em and Omaha.

Complete Hand —A poker hand that’s comprised of five cards. Possible variations of a complete hand involve a full house, straight, flush, and a straight flush.

Counterfeit — A card that significantly lowers the strength of your hand. For instance, if you’re holding an 8 and a 9, and the flop shows 7, 10, J, you have a straight. However, if the turn reveals a 9, your hand is significantly weaker. In this case, you would be beaten by an 8 + any card higher than the 9 you’re holding.

D

Dealer —The player dealing the cards. In case a casino dealer fulfills this role, the button comes into play to signify the theoretical dealer. This is used solely for the purpose of tracking the blinds and the action in each round. The button starts with the actual dealer, then moves clockwise one space after each round. Otherwise, the same two players will always be forced to be the blinds.

Dog —An abbreviation of the term “underdog.”

Draw —Betting on a hand that isn’t strong at the moment, but has good potential if the right cards show up on the Turn and the River. A good example of “drawing” would be calling in hopes of getting a straight while knowing that you’ll most likely lose in every other scenario.

E

Equity —the amount of money in the pot that is “rightfully” yours. If you have a roughly 80% chance to win, based on the flop and your hole cards, and the pot is $100, your equity would be $80. Admittedly, the term is confusing, and frankly — redundant, since you’ll either win the $100 or $0. It simply refers to your chances of winning the pot.

Extra blind —an additional blind on top of the small and big blinds. There are only a few instances where the extra blind comes into effect: when a new player joins the table, a player rejoins the table, or moves the seating position.

F

Family Pot —A pot where every player has called before the flop.

Favo(u)rite —A poker hand with the statistically highest chances of winning.

Flop —The first three cards that are dealt on the table face-up.

Fold —Give up the current betting round. Folding automatically means you do not participate in the current round and are giving up the opportunity to win, even if your hand would’ve been the strongest in the end.

Free Card —A card you get to see without having to bet or call. For instance, if both players are waiting for a specific card and the turn comes with a card that doesn’t fit in either hand, they may both check. In that event, they have both seen the turn card “for free,” and the river card will decide the outcome.

Free Roll —A specific situation in which you either split or win the entire pot. This is only possible when two players are holding the exact same hole cards in different suits. If both you and an opponent are holding A-J; yours are diamonds, theirs are hearts. If the flop comes A-8-J, with the two of the three cards being in diamonds, then you are free rolling. The worst case scenario — you split the pot. Best case — another diamond comes on the Turn or River, and you win the whole thing.

H

Heads Up —A “head-to-head” competition; A poker round where everyone except two players have already folded.

Hit —Community cards that “hit” you are the ones that improve your hand.

Hole Cards —The two cards dealt face-down to each individual player. This term is often used to refer to the two player cards in Hold’em, and the four player cards in Omaha.

High Card — If no player has made a hand, or two (or more) players have identical hands, the highest value card will determine the winner. If the high card is on the flop, rather than in one of the players’ hands, then the pot is split equally between everyone who called.

High-Low (Hi-Lo) — A split pot game. Unlike Hold’em, for example, in Omaha Hi-Low, the strongest hand only wins the first half of the pot, while the other half goes to the strongest qualifying low hand. If neither of the low hands meet the qualifications, the high hand wins the entire pot.

H.O.R.S.E. —A type of mixed game which involves rotating between the five popular variants. They are Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or better.

I

Implied odds — Betting despite the flop not giving you the best chances of winning because you’re confident in your chances of getting the right card(s) on the Turn or River.

Insurance —An additional rule, typically only reserved for high-stakes games. Players can make a deal amongst themselves and voluntarily reduce the size of the pot. Alternatively, one player can buy/sell insurance if they lose the pot.

Isolation — Raising with the intent to go up against a single opponent after the flop.

J

Jackpot —A consolation prize, so to speak, provided by the casino to the player who has lost with an objectively strong hand. This is typically an Aces full house or better. Also, some casinos are quite generous and offer jackpots of up to $50,000.

K

Kicker —The card of the highest rank that’s a part of your hand, but not used in pairs or triples. In Hold’em, kickers are the equivalent of high cards and can be used to determine the winner in some instances.

Kill Game (Kill Pot) —A rule implemented in some poker variants with a fixed limit. Whenever the same player wins several pots in succession, they have “killed the pot.” In response, the blinds for the next round are doubled, and the “pot killer” must add the sum equal to the big blind into the new pot, regardless of where they’re sitting at the table.

L

Laydown —Fold.

Level —The current size of blinds or antes during tournament play.

Lock Up —Reserve your seat at a table if you’re unable to just jump into the game at the given moment. If the casino, or whoever runs the game, agrees, no other player can take your seat.

M

Micro Limits —Extremely low stakes, typically only available at online casinos.

Muck —To fold. Also refers to all the folded hands during one round; A pile of discarded hands.

N

No Limit —A poker variant in which players can bet however many chips they wish.

Nuts —The strongest hand possible, given the community cards.

O

Offsuit —Two hole cards in Hold’em, of different suits.

Omaha —A poker variant involving 5 community cards and 4 player cards.

One-gap —Hole cards that are one rank apart. For example: 7-9 or Q-A.

Open-Ended Straight Draw —A situation in which a player can potentially make a straight with one of two cards. Example: You’re holding 10 and J, and the flop comes Q-8-9. You can make a straight with both a 7 and a K.

Out — A term for a card that will turn your hand from practically worthless to nearly guaranteed to win the pot. For instance, if you’re holding two clubs and the flop shows two more, a club on either the Turn or River will be your “out.”

Outrun —Beat another player’s hand.

Overcard —Every card in a player’s hand may be considered an overcard, provided that it’s of a higher rank than the cards on the board. Say you’re holding KA, and the flop reveals J-8-10; you only have two overcards and no pairs.

P

Pay Off — To call, not because you believe you have the stronger hand, but because you’ve already put a decent amount of money into the pot. At that point, it makes more sense to call on the off-chance you might win than to fold.

Play the Board — To keep betting, even though the best possible hand you can have doesn’t include any of your hole cards. In most cases, this isn’t a smart way of playing, as the best-case scenario is equal split between all players. Unless you bluff them into folding, that is.

Pocket — Another term for hole cards; The ones dealt face-down, which only the individual player can see.

Pocket Pair —Hole cards that make a pair; KK, JJ, 88, and so on.

Poker Face — An expressionless face during a poker game that’s particularly difficult to read.

Protect — Protecting your cards implies holding a hand over them or laying a few chips on top of them. The reason for “protecting” the cards is to prevent them from accidentally being mucked by the dealer.

Q

Qualifier —The requirements that must be met for a low hand in Hi-Lo games to win the second half of the pot.

R

Poker Slang Fish

Rainbow — Three or four community cards, all of different suits.

Raise — Bet an amount of money higher than the current bet.

Rake —The percentage of the pot the house takes after every round; The casino’s commission.

Rakeback — Some online casinos implement reward programs which pay back a small percentage of the total amount raked during their play sessions back to the player. Casinos typically do this on a monthly basis.

Represent — To call or bet as if you were holding a specific hand. Trying to give away false signs that you’re holding a particularly strong hand. This strategy is typically used as a setup for a bluff.

Ring Game — A standard, non-tournament game of poker.

River —The fifth and the last community card, dealt face-up on the board.

Runner —A term poker players use to describe a hand that was only made possible by the Turn and River cards.

S

Scare Card — A card on the turn that all but ruins your previously winning hand. For example, if you’re holding Q-9, and the flop comes 10-J-K. If the turn reveals a Q, you lose to anyone holding an Ace. Hence, the turn Q is a scare card that might make you rethink raising or even calling.

Second Pair — The second strongest pair you can have, given your two hole cards and the flop.

Semi-Bluff — Betting in hopes that other players will fold but having an “out” if someone calls. A pure bluff, on the other hand, is representing a different hand and almost certainly losing if anyone sees through the charade. A semi-bluff leaves room for your hand to be the strongest after the river card comes up.

Set — A set is a “three of a kind” where with twou out of the tree are your hole cards. A pocket pair + an additional card of the same rank on the board.

Short Stack —A small number of chips; minuscule in comparison to the other player’s stacks. If you played with $30 while everyone else had $500 worth of chips, you would be playing with an extremely short stack.

Side Pot — An additional pot created when one of the players goes all-in and runs out of chips, but the others keep raising. The player with no interest in the side pot will only claim the main pot if they have the strongest hand, whereas the side pot winner will be determined separately.

Small Blind —One of the blinds used in a Hold’em game to put some money into the pot before the round starts. The small blind is half the size of the big blind.

Spread Limit —The range of available bets in a limit poker game. For instance, if a spread limit is $1–$10, you can bet any amount in-between during every betting round.

String Bet —A type of bet where a player, either deliberately or accidentally, doesn’t put the required amount of chips into the pot. Unless the raise is verbally declared beforehand, most casinos will not accept the string bet. The reason for this is to prevent the player from effectively calling, seeing the reactions of others, then raising, under the pretense that they wanted to raise anyway.

Suited —Hole cards of the same suit.

T

Table Stakes — The number of chips each player brings to the table before the game. The universal rule in casinos is that you can’t play with additional money (pocket money) during a round. Some casinos allow the players to buy “add-ons” in between rounds, but in general, you need to exchange cash for chips before you sit down at a table.

Tell — A giveaway that a player is bluffing; A hint, clue, sign, motion. Anything that can tip off other players to the fact that your hand isn’t as strong as you represent it to be.

Tilt — Reckless betting; betting without thinking. Players are typically prone to tilting and letting their emotions dictate their playing strategy when they previously lose, often a few times in a row and/or due to extremely bad luck.

Time — Players may request additional time to decide what action they want to take. If the player fails to act and doesn’t call for time, the dealer will typically consider their indecisiveness as if they’ve folded their hand.

Top Pair — A pair you make with a hole card and the highest card on the flop.

Top and Bottom — A hand comprised of two pairs, involving both your hole cards, with one pairing up with the highest, and the other with the lowest card on the flop.

U

Under the Gun —Aterm referring to the specific seating position at the poker table. Players “under the gun” sit to the left of the big blind and act first in a round.

Underdog —The player or a hand with the statistically lowest chances of winning. The difference typically needs to be vast for someone to be considered an underdog. For instance, 25% to 75% odds — the first player is a clear underdog.

V

Poker Slang Donkey Kong Country

Value —Betting for value is the polar opposite of bluffing. You’re betting a decent sum, but not too much to scare others away. You’re hoping other players will either call or raise, thus adding more money into the pot, increasing your potential winnings.

Vig (Vigorish) — Rake.

W

Walk —Folding to the big blind.

Wash —The dealer “washes” the cards by mixing the decks in front of the players, making a washing motion.

Wild Card —Joker; a card that can be used in place of any other.

WPT —World Poker Tour

WSOP —World Series of Poker

Z

Zero Sum Game —A game where the odds of winning or losing are exactly 50/50.

Poker Slang

A

ABC poker —Playing poker “by the book.” You raise when you believe you’ve got the strongest hand and fold when you don’t. Typically, doesn’t involve bluffing.

Advertising —When you make a move that’s so obvious, you’re “advertising” your hand. Giving away what cards you’re holding; all but showing the opponents your hole cards.

Air —A poker hand that’s really weak, with either one weak pair or nothing at all. Having “air” is the equivalent of having nothing.

American Airlines —Pocket Aces (AA).

Anna Kournikova —Hole cards A-K. Some people use this slang to refer to a hand that “looks better than it plays.”

B

Base Dealing — A type of cheating, where the dealer deals the cards off the bottom of the deck to provide a specific player with an unfair advantage.

Benjamin —$100.

Big Full —The strongest possible full house, given the board.

Bleed —Theterm used to describe a poker player who consistently loses small amounts of chips.

Blinded Off — Losing a big portion of your chip stack by paying the blinds.

Boat — Full house.

Bounty —Apart from the standard prize pool, some poker players include “bounties” on one or all players. Whoever knocks the player with a bounty on their head from the tournament will receive the full sum of the bounty.

Brick & Mortar —Land-based casino.

Broadway —Highest possible straight in poker: 10-J-Q-K-A.

Bully — Poker player who relies on their big stack of chips to consistently raise and plays aggressively, is a “bully.”

Burn —The cards that are “burned” are the ones dealt face-down on the table, before the community cards are dealt face-up.

Busto —Slang for going broke; losing all of your chips.

C

Call the Clock —Make a passive-aggressive comment regarding the player whose turn it is to act, but is indecisive. Hurrying another player to make a decision. This is typically considered poor casino etiquette (see “Time”).

Calling Station —A player whose strategy comes down to simply calling. Someone who never folds or raises. Typically a newbie.

Case Card —The last card of any particular rank left in the deck.

Chip Trick —Literal term describing any type of chip manipulation. Players often perform chip tricks to demonstrate their poker experience to the competition.

Chop —A term used exclusively in high-low games. The pot is split, or “chopped” between the two winners. In cash games, “chop” can also refer to the situation where all players fold ahead of the blinds. If that happens, blinds may also fold and take back their chips.

Coffee Housing —Chatting up an opponent during a poker game in hopes of getting a reaction.

Collusion —Cheating by working together with another player towards the same goal.

Continuation bet —Raising before the flop, then continuing to bet after the first 3 community cards are shown.

Cowboys —Pocket Kings.

Cripple —Beating an opponent in a manner that leaves them with only a handful of chips. “Crippling” their chip stack.

Crying Call —Calling a bet, even though you’re convinced that you can’t beat the opponent’s hand, but are hoping for a miracle “out.”

D

Dead Blind — A small blind that a player missed and needs to repay before being dealt in a new round.

Dead Hand —A hand with no chance of winning the pot.

Deuce — A card with the rank 2, in any suit.

Dime —Slang for $1,000.

Dirty Stack —A stack of chips with a single chip of a different value/color.

Donkey —A derogatory term people sometimes use to refer to a bad poker player.

Door Card —The first face-up card each player receives in a Stud game.

Double Up —Winning the pot after you’ve gone all-in against an opponent with more chips. This will effectively double your chip count.

Dry Ace —A hand in Hold’em and Omaha that involves an ace, but doesn’t have any other connected cards or cards of the same suit.

E

Expected Value (EV) — Expected return on your investment, proportional to the odds.

Exposed Card —When you allow other players to get a glimpse of the cards you’re holding, they are effectively “exposed.”

F

Face Cards —Cards with “faces” on them. Jacks, Queens, and Kings.

Feeder —While the main game is in full swing, a “feeder table” will provide additional players, as players of the main table cash out or get knocked out.

Five of a Kind —In poker games involving wilds, it’s possible to have five of a kind. This is the absolute strongest hand possible, beating even the royal flush.

Flash —Accidentally showing/seeing a face-down card.

Forward Motion —Some poker rooms consider any movement of chips closer to the center of the table a bet. So if you’re a new player, don’t feel tempted to play around with your chips too much.

Freezeout —Any poker tournament that doesn’t allow add-ons or re-buys.

Full Ring —Slang for a full poker table. A table with at least nine or ten seats taken.

G

Grinder —A poker player “grinding out” their profits, rather than taking high risk for a chance at higher rewards. Typically playing safe, without bluffing, betting only on objectively strong hands.

H

Hanger —A term for the second card from the bottom that’s typically “hanging” from the side of the deck, thus enabling “base dealing” — a form of cheating.

Heater —A lucky streak of “hot” cards. Getting good combinations of hole cards several times in a row.

Hero Call —The term refers to betting with a weak hand, hoping to catch the opponent in a bluff.

High Society —A chip stack worth $10,000.

I

Idiot End —A poker term that describes the lower end of a straight. If a player is waiting for the “idiot end,” they are waiting for one of the low ranking cards to complete their straight (8 or lower).

In the Hunt —Atournament player who’s “in the hunt” is still in the game, typically with decent chances of winning.

In the Money —Lasting long enough in a poker tournament to be guaranteed a certain cash prize.

J

Jam —Go all-in, “jamming” all your chips into the pot.

Johnnies —Slang for pocket Jacks (JJ).

K

Kojack —Slang for King and Jack as hole cards. Also a reference to the popular 1970s TV show.

L

Lag —The term has nothing to do with laggy games in online casinos. It refers to a loose and aggressive style of play.

Limp —A term for a style of play that involves staying in the round simply by calling. When a player “limps,” they have barely made it into the pot.

Lock —The strongest poker hand, virtually unbeatable; Royal Flush in Hold’em, for instance.

Lotto Hand —A situation where every player bets a certain amount pre-flop, then everyone agrees to check and see who wins. This always happens when a player goes all-in after the hole cards are dealt, and at least one other player calls.

M

Master Baiter —An experienced poker player who baits other players into making a wrong move, successfully bluffs them out, or gets them to raise with a weaker hand.

Monster —A really strong hand.

N

Needle —A player who deliberately taunts others in an attempt to “get under their skin” and influence their plays.

Nitfest —A term commentators use to describe particularly slow games, where the majority of players are especially “tight” — hesitant to bet.

Nosebleed —Poker games with extremely high stakes.

Nut —The best possible poker hand at the given moment.

Nut Air —A combination of the two terms. The strongest hand that doesn’t even include a pair; a hand that wins thanks to the high card.

O

Observer —A person watching the poker game, but not participating. Also known as a “railbird.”

One-eyed Royals —A term referring to a Jack of spades or hearts, and the King of diamonds. All three cards only show one eye.

Open Shove —A term to describe a situation where the player that acts first immediately goes all-in.

Overs —A pair stronger than another player’s pair.

P

Perfect Perfect —An alternative of runner-runner; A situation where you need to “catch” two specific cards on both the Turn and the River in order to win.

Plus V —Plus value. Players often use this phrase to show their positive expectations.

Poker Gods —A “higher power” poker players praise or curse in relation to the outcome of any particular game. Superstitious believe that the outcome of games is predetermined by a god or gods.

Polarized —A hand that can either be the strongest or will end up being a total bluff after all the community cards are dealt.

Price —The chips or cash needed to call any specific bet.

Pumped (Up) —A player who is pumped up has a considerable stack of chips.

Q

Quarter —A chip with $25 value. May also refer to a $2,500 bet in a high stakes game.

R

Rabbit Hunt —Watching which cards show up after you’ve already folded.

Race —Slang that describes a situation in a poker game that is a coin toss; 50/50 chance.

Rag —Low ranked card that doesn’t improve your hand.

Railbirds —Spectators of a poker game.

Rock —An extremely “tight” player — one who only bets on the strongest hands.

Rolled Up —A term in a Stud game, where the first three cards you are dealt are of the same rank, making up a “three of a kind.”

Rounder —A poker veteran that plays poker for a living.

Rush —Same as the heater; a surprisingly long winning streak.

S

Sandbag —A strategy which involves calling with a powerful hand, rather than raising. The goal is to make your opponent throw more chips into the pot by not giving away the fact that you’re most likely to win it.

Satellite —A smaller poker tournament where players win entry into a larger tournament on top of the cash prize.

Scoop —In a split pot game, scoop refers to winning both halves of the pot.

Shark — An experienced player; a poker veteran who typically preys on newbies by hiding their skill level, with the intention of easily winning the games.

Shoot —The final call of the round, where all players agree to see all the remaining community cards, without further betting.

Shootout —A type of poker tournament where a player wins only after knocking out every other opponent.

Short Buy —Buying in for less than the table’s declared minimum. A casino will typically only allow this if a player already paid the full buy-in sum but has lost all their chips and wants to continue playing.

Shorthanded —A poker table with 6 players or less.

Showdown —After the betting is complete, all players reveal their hands and await the outcome. May also refer to the time needed to evaluate which hand is the strongest.

Sit and Go —A type of poker tournament that begins the moment a required number of players joins the table.

Splash the Pot —Throw the chips into the pot, as opposed to slowly pushing your chips towards the middle of the table. This makes it rather difficult to discern exactly how much a player has bet and is often frowned upon.

Squeeze Play —Raising after someone has already bet and the others have called. You’re “squeezing out” more money from each player since they’ve already called and are more likely to call again, rather than to fold.

Steal —To win the pot by making a timely bet and scaring every other player into folding.

Steam —When a player is “steaming,” they are angry and typically tilting.

Strip Poker — A poker variant where players remove a piece of clothing each time they lose, rather than betting cash or chips every round.

Suck Out —Get really lucky. Typically involves getting an unlikely out and beating a previously much stronger hand.

T

Poker Slang Donkey Play

TAG — Tight and aggressive betting style.

Tank —To tank is to be absent-minded during a round, or it may refer to the time a player takes to make a decision.

Tapping the Glass —Apoker term used to describe the frustration of experienced players and their counter-intuitive behavior which typically involves “educating” other players. Poker veterans should have the discipline not to act as coaches or critics during an ongoing game, so this term signifies inappropriate behavior.

Telegraph — Giving away your intentions even before your action, making it evident what your action will be. Telegraphing a hand is a lot more obvious than a subtle tell and is effectively equivalent to showing everyone else around the table your cards.

Third Man Walking — The general rule of thumb of poker games is that a maximum of two players can be absent from the table at a time. The third player who leaves is dubbed the “third man walking.” When it comes to them to be one of the blinds, the dealer will remove their chips from the table, effectively removing them from the game.

Tight —A player who has a hard time parting from their chips and calls/bets only when they have one of the strongest hands. The term can also mean a full house.

Toke — A tip the pot winner gives to the dealer. Tokes are typically small amounts of money, but are often given to the dealer after every round and are most often the dealer’s only source of income.

You’re All Set to Join a Poker Table

There you have it, you’ve reached the end of our extensive poker glossary. Admittedly, the overabundance of terms we’ve shared with you here can feel slightly overwhelming, especially if you’re a brand-new player.

However, as we’ve mentioned in the beginning, you don’t have to learn all the terms and phrases by heart. You can always use this page as a quick reference or occasionally brush up on your knowledge.

The only thing we wouldn’t recommend is looking up specific phrases during a game. It might come to your action, and the dealer may very well consider you’ve folded if you take too much time to make a move. Good luck at the poker table!

Donk Betting is a term that is often misused or misunderstood. The term does not mean the player making the bet is a donk, or that they’ve done something donkey-like. In this article we are going to define what it is and talk about some situations where one might wish to use this play.

Donk Betting Defined:

‘A donk bet is a bet that is made into the aggressor from the prior betting round, denying them an opportunity to make a continuation bet’.

So for example, a player in middle position opens for a raise, the button, and the big blind calls. On the flop, the most common action for the big blind is to “check to the raiser”, allowing them an opportunity to c-bet (continue their betting lead in the hand) or check. If, however, the big blind leads right out into the preflop raiser, that by definition is a donk bet. It’s important to note, this bet is only when there is a continuation bet opportunity that the bettor is denying by “donking out” (donk betting) into the prior street’s aggressor.

If the pot is limped preflop, any flop bet is simply referred to as a lead (taking the betting lead), not a donk bet as there is no player who has seized the betting lead preflop with a raise. If the flop is checked around, a turn bet is, again, a lead… not a donk bet. If the aggressor from the prior street fails to continuation bet, any future bet is not a donk bet, just a lead. In the example above, if the big blind “checks to the raiser”, the preflop raiser checks, and the button now bets, they are not donk betting as the PFR already had an opportunity to c-bet and simply failed to do so.

In short, any time there is an aggressor from the prior street, and they are denied an opportunity to continue their aggressive lead in the hand by being bet into on the current street, that’s a donk bet.

Now that we are clear on what donk betting is, let’s talk about some situations one might wish to use a donk bet.

• When the PFR (pre-flop raiser) isn’t expected to C-bet.
• When our hand is at its apex of strength.
• When many future cards will freeze action.
• When we want to trap players in multiway pots.

Example 1

Say we have been raised from MP and defend our big blind with JTo. The flop comes T87. This is a texture that the preflop raiser may not c-bet frequently as it interacts well with many hands in the caller’s range. If the opponent is a low-frequency c-bettor to begin with, or reasonably savvy, you can expect them to check back this texture a lot and take free cards with AK/AQ/KQ/99 and the like. Adopting a donking bet strategy here will serve to deny equity to these hands. Additionally, with the gut shot component along with our pair, a donk bet is resilient to a flop raise, so you can continue vs. all but the most outrageous sizing’s should you be raised. Here conditions 1 and 3 are met.

Example 2

There’s a preflop raise and we defend our BB with 66. The flop comes 732. The standard line is to check/call, but this is a nice spot to consider a donk bet. If we do check and the preflop raiser checks behind us they are benefiting from a free card. Additionally, our hand strength is going to stay the same or get worse on most run outs… it’s just about as strong as it’s going to be right now. Our hand is clearly too strong to fold to a single continuation bet, but it’s not really strong enough to check/raise, and check/calling can get awkward on the turn as if we check again and the villain checks behind us, they get to realize their equity against us. If we do check/call flop, consider donking the turn to prevent high cards from realizing that equity.

Example 3

There are 3 limpers, and the button raises. We call from the big blind with 6♥5♥ and all 3 limpers call. The flop comes 10♥7♥2♥ . This is a great spot to consider leading out with a donk bet. We have 3 weaker players between us and the preflop raiser who we may be able to trap for a flop call before the preflop raiser potentially raises, which they may do with a big heart or overpair to “protect their hand”. Our hand is literally at the apex of its strength, and a 4th heart coming will freeze the action, if it doesn’t beat us. Additionally, should everyone check to the raiser, they may opt to check behind with some unpaired misses, allowing the entire field a free card for that 4th heart. All four conditions are met in this example.

Donk betting is a largely misunderstood and woefully underutilized tool, but it has valid applications and can be a powerful added weapon in your arsenal. Hands that don’t really fit well into any other range may be great candidates for a donk bet. That is hands that aren’t really good enough to check/call or are awkward to do so, not quite strong enough to check/raise, but a bit too strong to check/fold. If your hand seems to not fit well anywhere else, and some of the criteria above are met, you have a prime donk betting situation to take advantage of.

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