How to play Poker Texas Holdem - game rules
All-in – "betting" or "calling" with all of your chips. After going "all-in", you can't participate in the next rounds of betting for that hand. If any more bets are placed after someone calls "all-in", a side pot is created.
Ante – chips put into the pot before a hand is dealt. "Ante" is usually used in tournaments to speed up the game.
Back Door – a hand that is made using cards drawn from the 'turn' or 'river'. If you use both the 'turn' and 'river' cards, then your hand is called a "Runner-Runner".
Bad beat – losing a hand (when someone was thought to be the favorite) before or after the flop has been dealt.
Bankroll – the amount of chips that you have in your account. The size of your "bankroll" determines how high of stakes you can bet.
Broadway – a deal that could potentially complete "a nuts straight" (AKQJT), for example: KQ.
Big Blind – a forced bet that's placed by the player who sits to the left of the dealer. It also determines the stakes for the table, the maximum "buy-in", and the minimum raise amount.
Big stack – a player with at least 100 BB in the cash games or that has an above average stack in the tournament.
Big stack bully – the player with the biggest stack at the table that uses it to his advantage to bully the other players
Bluff – betting with a very weak hand but implying that you have a monster hand so that you can win the pot without a showdown.
Board – all of the community cards on the table.
Button – the button (a small, round disk) is given to the player who bets last after the river is dealt (in other words, the dealer), therefore he/she has the best position at the poker table.
Buy-in – the amount of chips paid for entering the game, both in tournaments and cash games.
Call – calling the bet and putting the same amount of chips into the pot.
Calling station – a passive player that wants to see the flop and other streets as often as possible, even if his hand is very weak.
Check – if no one bets before you, you can check and pass to next player, without betting.
Check Raise – a play in which after checking on your turn, someone raises the next bet. Usually used to bait players to put more into the pot, while holding a very strong hand.
Coin flip – a situation in which both players have very similar odds of winning the hand, for example AK vs QQ.
Combo draw – drawing for multiple hands at the same time, for example: a flush and a straight.
Community cards – the cards that are face up on the table and belong to all of players.
Connectors – two cards that are one apart in rank, for example: 8 and 9.
Crying call – a desperate call when you are almost certain you have the worst hand.
Cut off – the position at the table that is to the right of the dealer. One of the last positions taken.
Dominant hand – a hand that is dominated by your opponent, usually by holding one of your outs and a higher kicker, for example: AK dominates KQ.
Donkey – a very weak player that is mostly losing.
Draw – the possibility of greatly improving your hand and creating a monster hand with certain cards that might be dealt on later streets.
Drawing Dead – a player that can't possibly improve his hand and win the pot.
Early position – usually the first three positions at the table, the worst positions to be in.
Fish – a very weak player that can only win with luck, not skill.
Flop – the first three community cards.
Flush draw – whenever a player can improve his hand to flush on the later street, he has a flush draw.
Fold – giving up the pot after a bet and mucking your cards.
Freeroll – free-to-enter tournament, a great way to build up your initial bankroll.
Freeze-out – a type of tournament without re-buys. When you lose all of your chips, you are eliminated.
Full ring – tables with 9 or 10 players.
GF – good fold. Used whenever one of the players makes a very good fold.
GG – good game, a greeting used to thank others for the game.
Gutshot – a draw in which we need exactly one card to complete a straight. For example: AKQT needs one of the jacks to complete a "broadway".
Heads-Up – a "one-on-one" poker game.
Isolating – raising to minimize the amount of players involved in a hand, making it more likely to able to play "Heads-Up"
Kicker – one of the cards in your hand that isn't used to complete your hand, but it could determine whether or not you win the pot.
Late position – "button", "cut-off", and the position to the right of these two, which makes them the best positions the table.
Leak – making the same mistake over and over that causes a player to lose more chips in a long run.
Limp – calling the "big blind", a very passive play.
Loose – a term used to describe a player that plays a lot of hands, even the weak ones.
Maniac – an overly aggressive player.
Middle position – one of the middle positions at the table.
Monster – very strong hand that is a heavy favorite to win the pot.
Muck – A pile of all the folded cards, or to not show your hand at the showdown when you have been beaten.
Nh – nice hand.
Nuts – the best possible hand in certain situations.
Offsuit – pocket cards of different colors.
Open Ended Straight Draw – a hand that can complete a "straight draw" using higher or lower sequential cards, for example: "KQJT" can have either an "ace" or a "9" added to them to form a "straight draw".
Out – a card that could come up on the table which would greatly improve your hand and let you win the pot.
Overbet – betting a very high amount that greatly exceeds the pot.
Overcards – pocket cards that are higher than any other card on the table, for example: AK with the 6,4,5 flop.
Overpair – a pocket pair that is higher than any pairs on the table, for example: JJ with the T74 flop.
Passive – a way of playing in which the player is mostly checking and calling, allowing the others to take the initiative.
Pocket Cards – two cards dealt to you by the dealer.
Pot limit – a type of poker game in which the maximum bet is the same size as the pot.
Pre-flop – the first round of betting, before the first community cards are shown.
Rags – worthless cards, usually after the flop or during later streets.
Rainbow – community cards that are different colors and make it impossible to form a "flush draw".
Re-raise – raising a raise. A very aggressive tactic, usually used when a player has a strong hand.
Rebuy – adding chips to your stack after losing some.
River – the final and fifth community card.
Satellite – a tournament in which the prizepool are tickets to better tournaments.
Short stack – a player who doesn't have very many chips at the table.
Showdown – the final stage of the game, when players reveal their cards to determine the winner.
Sit and go – a tournament that begins when the required amount of players registers.
Sit out – taking a break from the game.
Short handed – tables with a maximum of 6 players.
Slowplay – a passive play used by a player with a very strong hand to bait other players into putting more in the pot and to get more value.
Small Blind – a forced bet, equal to half of a "big blind", placed by player to the right of the player who executed a "big blind".
Suited – pocket cards of the same suit. For example: AJ of diamonds.
Suited connectors – connectors of the same suit, for example: the 8,9 of clubs.
Stack – the amount of chips you have on the table.
Steal – raising from a late position with a weak hand to force "blinds" to fold.
Straight draw – a hand that can be improved to form a "straight".
Tight – a way of playing where the player "raises" and "calls" with only strong hands and folds his/her weak ones. This is one of the most effective strategies.
Tilt – a player's mental state after losing one or more hands in a very unlucky way. Having the "tilt" can cause you to play much worse and taking a break to cool off is strongly advised.
Top Pair Top Kicker – a hand in which you have the possible pair on the table with the best kicker. For example: AJ on J28 flop.
Turn – the fourth card put on the table by the dealer.
Ty – thank you.
Under The Gun – the first player to act "pre-flop".
Underdog – a hand that is dominated by another hand and has very low odds of winning. For example: KK vs AA.
Value bet – a bet in which the goal is to increase the size of a pot and take more chips from other players while holding a very strong hand.
Wheel – the lowest straight possible: A2345.
WP – well played.
