GLOSSARY
Where no game is mentioned, the terms relate to play poker .
Aces up- Two pairs, the higher being Aces. Also Kings up, etc.
All-in – To have all one’s chips in the pot.
Ante - A compulsory stake made before the deal.
Back door (Holdem and Omaha) – To complete a flush or straight with the last two board cards, when this was not the primary objective.
Betting intervals - The periods in a deal when players must bet, raise, call check or fold.
Blind - Compulsory bets made by the first two players to the left of dealer before the deal. The first is a ‘small blind’, and the second, usually of twice or three times the amount, a ‘big blind ’. They count as active bets.
Blind –Compulsory bets made by the first two players to the left of dealer before the deal. The first is a ‘small blind’, and the second, usually of twice or three times the amount, a ‘big blind ’. They count as active bets.
Board -The set of communal cards turned up on the table.
Bug -A single wild card, usually the Joker.
Burn -To remove from play the first down-card before dealing (to prevent cheating).
Bust (Blackjack and Pontoon)To reach a total of over 21.
Call -To match the previous bet.
Case card -The fourth card of a rank, when the other three are already in play.
Cash in –To cash one’s chips and retire from the game.
Check- To stay in the game without betting. Sometimes indicated by tapping the table (but all must agree this convention). A player who checks may later bet or call.
Chips - The counters of various colors used to bet with, each color representing a different amount of money.
Community cards - Those cards in games like Holdem which are common to all players’ hands.
Declarer (Napoleon) - The highest bidder who plays against all other players.
Deuce – A card of the 2 rank.
Double Down (Blackjack) - to double the stake on a hand and receive a third card.
Draw - The exchange of some cards in a poker hand for others.
Fifth street – The fifth and final community card in Holdem and Omaha. Also known as the river.
Flop – The first three community cards in Holdem and Omaha.
Flush– Five cards of the same suit.
Fold – To take no further part in a deal.
Fourth street – The fourth community card in Holdem and Omahs. Also known as the turn.
Freeze–out - A game in which all players start with equal chips and play until one player has won all the chips.
Full house - Three cards of the same rank and two of different rank.
Go gin (Gin Rummy) - To go out without any unmatched cards.
Go out (Gin Rummy) – To lay down one’s hand. (Rummy) To get rid of all one’s cards.
Hand (a) – The five cards that form a player’s holding. (b) The action from deal to showdown.
Hard hand (Blackjack rules) A hand which counts the Ace as one.
Heads up – A hand in which only two players remain in the action.
Hole-cards - Concealed cards. A player’s first card in stud, first two in Holdem and first four in Omaha.
Inside straight –A holding such as 8,7,6,4 that requires a card to fill a gap to make a straight.
Kicker – (a) A card retained with a pair at the draw in Draw Poker, e.g. the Ace in A, 10, 10(b) The lower of the two hole-cards in Holdem e.g. the 8 in A, 8.
Limits – The minimum and maximum amount or number of chips a player is allowed to bet.
Loose player – A player who bets in defiance of the odds.
Main Pot – If a side-pot (q.v.) is formed by a player going all-in (q.v.) the original pot is called the main pot.
Meld(Rummy and Gin Rummy) – A set of three or more cards (a) of the same rank (b) of the same suit and in sequence.
Nap (Napoleon) – A bid to make all five tricks.
Natural (Baccarat) - A point of 8 or 9. (Blackjack) a count of 21 with two cards, an Ace and 10 –count.
No-limit – A game in which players may bet as many chips as they have on the table. See also ‘Table stakes’.
Off-suit– Cards of differing suits, particularly in describing the two hole-cards in Holdem.
Open-ended straight – A holding such as 8,7,6,5, where a card at either end (9 or 4) will complete a straight.
Openers – The cards required to open the betting, e.g. a pair of Jacks in Jackpots.
Pass– To fold. In the USA it can also mean to check.
Pat hand – A hand in Draw Poker to which no cards need be drawn.
Point (Baccarat) – The pip-count of a hand.
Pontoon (Vingt-et-Un) - (a) The common English name for vingt-et-un. (b) a count of 21 with two cards, an Ace and 10-count.
Pool (Red Dog) – The amount in the centre of the table which players add to or take from.
Position – Place at the table in relation to dealer; place in the betting order.
Pot– The chips or money at stake on the table.
Pot Limit – A game in which the maximum raise is the total in the pot at the time of betting.
Prial (Brag) A hand of three of a kind.
Quads – Four of a kind; four cards of the same rank.
Raise – To call and increase the previous bet.
River – The last community card on the board.
Round of betting- A betting interval.
Royal Flush – The highest hand in Poker, the A, K, Q, J, 10, of the same suit.
Run – A straight.
See – To call.
Semi-bluff – To bet with a hand not worth much, but with the potential to improve.
Showdown - The display of cards at the end of a hand to determine the poker winner.
Side-pot - A separate pot contested by the other players when one player is all-in.
Slow play - To bet small or check with a good hand in order to entice others to bet ad enlarge the pot.
Soft hand (Blackjack) A hand which counts the Ace as 11.
Split Aces (Vingt-et-Un) – To use a pair of aces as the first cards of two separate hands.
Split pairs (Blackjack) – To use a pair as the first cards of two separate hands.
Split pot– A pot that is shared because hands are equal.
Stand (Blackjack and Vingt-et-Un) – To play with the cards dealt and not buy or twist another.
Stand pat– To decline to exchange cards at the draw.
Stay – To remain in a pot by calling.
Straddle – The last blind before the deal.
Straight flush – Five cards of consecutive rank and of the same suit.
Table stakes – A game in which a player’s bet is limited to the amount of money or chips he has on the table before him. No-limit and pot-limit games are played this way.
Tap out– To bet all one’s chips.
Tight player – A player who bets only on strong hands.
Trey– A card of the 3 rank.
Trips, triple, triplets– Three of a kind, three cards of the same rank.
Turn – The fourth communal card at Holdem or Omaha, also called fourth street.
Twist (Vingt-et-Un) – To take an extra face-up card.
Undercut (Gin Rummy) – To win a hand by having a lower count than the knocker.
Wild card – A card that by agreement can represent any other card in the pack.