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Texas Hold'em - Terminology

To help you to familiarize yourself with proper hold’em terminology, I wrote below the most used terms.

A

Aces up

A poker hand where you have two pair, aces and something else. This hand should not be referred to as “two pair”, when one of the pairs is aces, but rather “aces up”.

Aquarium

Tap the Aquarium. T oberate weaker palyers, (called fishes), giving them unsolited advice on their game. This risks making the table less profitable as the player may leave the table or play better.

AK

or Anna Kournikova. It’s a nick name for ace-king starting hand. This is given because people joke that neither ever wins.

All in

When a player’s final chips are in pot. The hand is not folded, but if the pot continues to grow, the all-in player’s winnings are limited proportionally using a side pot.

Ante

Money that players must put in the pot before the deal. It seeds the action by providing something to fight over. In hold’em, antes are called blinds and are paid by only a couple players each hand.

B

Bad Beat

Having a great hand, playing it well, but still losing, such as a full house falling to four-of-a-kind. Bad beats are more maddening if your opponent sucked out (won with a bad hand that gets lucky).

Bet

To wager. Putting money in the pot and increasing opponents’ price for staying in a hand.

Big Blind

A type of ante put up by the second person to the left of the dealer in hold’em.

Bluff

Seeming to have a better hand than you.

Board

The community cards dealt face up on a hold’em table.

Buy in

Exchanging currency for chips and entering a game.

Button or Dealer button

A big piece of plastic with a “D” on it. In hold’em, it is advantageous to be the dealer and last to act. If there is a professional dealer, the button passes from player to player after each hand. It keeps track of who the “dealer” would be if it was a self-dealt game. This way, the privilege of being last to get cards is shared fairly.

C

Call

Matching previous bets. This allow a player to stay in the hand.

Check

Not betting. Possible only if no one has bet before you.

Community Cards

The cards dealt face up and used by everyone to form hands. Players combine community cards with their personal hole cards to create the best possible five card poker hand. A complete board is composed of five cards: three dealt on the flop, then one each on the turn and river.

Continuation Bet

Si tratta di un bluff che consiste nel puntare nella fase di preFlop e continua nella fase dopo il Flop nonostante non sia migliorato il proprio punto.

D

Dealer

In home games, the dealer likely plays, but even if there is a professional dealer, the last player to act (who has the dealer button) is still referred to as the dealer.

Double pair

two pair of the same rank (i.e., A-A and K-K).

Double up

Doubling your chips in one hand.

E

Early Position (EP)

Players in early position are some of the first to act in a betting round (like the player who is under the gun)

F

Flop

The first three community hold’em cards dealt face up in the middle of the table for everyone to see an use. (see board).

Fold

Giving up a hand rather than put money in pot.

Flush

A completed poker hand composed of five cards of the same suit. Beats a straight, but not a full house.

H

Hit

Get a good hand; receive helpful community cards.

Hole cards

The cards dealt face down to each player, which combined with community cards on the board to make a hand.

K

Kicker

The all-important unpaired high cards in a hand used to settle ties. If player X holds AK, and player Y holds AQ, and they both pair the ace, then X wins because she has a higher kicker (K vs. Q). Hold’em is a game of kickers because players so often have similar hands due to use of community cards. If no one has a kicker higher than a board card, then it really is a tie. Or more precisely, the kicker is the highest board card, and everyone possesses it. Kicker can be decisive in many types of hands.

Kojak

King and Jack.

L

Late position (LP)

Players are some of the last to act in a betting round (like the cutoff seat and the player on the button)

Limp

Entering a pot passively by calling, not raising, especially with a speculative hand.

Loose

Playing bad cards, staying in hands too long, and/or over betting.

M

Middle position (MD)

Is naturally the players in between.

N

Nuts

Best possible player’s hand for a given board.

O

Outs

Cards that improve a hand.

P

Pair

Two cards of the same rank (i.e., K-K). Is weaker than two pair, stronger than any single high card.

Pot

The pile of money or chips in the middle of the table.

Preflop

First stage in a hand of hold’em. All players have received cards, but there will be a round of preflop betting before the community cards are dealt. It is the most important decision in the game

whether to play or throw a hand away.

R

Raise

Form of bet where you put more money in the pot than the previous bettor. Your opponent must either fold, match (call), or reraise.

River

The fifth and final community card in hold’em, dealt face up in the middle of the table, which anyone can use as part of a hand.

S

Show down

After the River, players still in play show their cards. Who holds the best hand win.

Side-Pot

A separate pot created to keep track of who wins what in complicated all-in situations. When a short-stacked player shoves in all his remaining chips, everyone else can continue betting into a side pot. The all-in player can win only the main pot, (which contains his entire stack, plus a matching amount from everyone else). The non-all-in players have a chance to win either or both pots. It is impossible to have multiple side pots.

Slow playing

A strong hand pretending to be weak in order to lure opponents. Slow players check and call, rather than bet and raise.

Small Blind

A type of ante paid by the first person to the left of the dealer. The small blind is typically ½ the amount of the first round bet. The small blind can either fold, or call by putting in another half bet (unless there’s been some raising going on).

Stack

All of a player’s chips.

Straight

A completed poker hand off ive cards in sequence, such as T-J-Q-K-A. The ace can also make a five-high straight, known as a wheel. Beats three of kind, but not a flush.

T

Tight

Selectively palying only the best hands or situations. Following the money, not the thrills. A tight player folds if there is no mathematical edge, he does not chase long shots fun.

Turn

The fourth community card dealt face up in the middle of the table, which anyone can use as part of a hand.

U

Under the gun

This is the first player to take action in the hand. This player will be to the left of the big blind. Being under the gun is considered to be the worst position in hold’em. In its defence, it is a lousy position, but an under the gun player will actually have better position post-flop than the blinds.