POKER GLOSSARY
Speak the language of the lab. Master the terminology.
3-Bet
The third bet in a sequence. Preflop, the big blind is the 1st bet, an open-raise is the 2nd bet, and a re-raise is the 3-bet.
All-In
To place all your remaining chips into the pot.
Ante
A forced bet made by all players before the cards are dealt on each hand, often used in late stages of tournaments.
Bad Beat
A hand where a strong favorite statistically loses to an underdog against the expected odds.
Bankroll
The total amount of money a player has set aside specifically for playing poker, separate from everyday living expenses.
Blind(s)
Compulsory bets placed before the cards are dealt by the two players sitting to the left of the dealer button.
Blocker
A card in your hand that makes it statistically impossible (or less likely) for an opponent to hold a specific hand combination.
Bluff
To attempt to steal the pot by representing a stronger hand than the one actually held.
Board
The community cards showing face-up on the table (flop, turn, and river).
Bubble
The critical point in a tournament where the next player eliminated receives no money, while everyone remaining is guaranteed a cash prize.
Burn
To discard the top card of the deck face down before dealing the community cards to prevent cheating.
Button
The dealer button which denotes the position of the player acting last postflop. The most advantageous position at the table.
Buy-In
The exchange of cash for chips to enter a tournament or sit at a cash game table.
C-Bet (Continuation Bet)
A bet made on the flop by the player who took the initiative and made the last aggressive action preflop.
Call
To match the exact size of the current highest bet or raise made to date.
Calling Station
A loose, passive player who calls bets too frequently but rarely folds or raises. Very profitable to play against.
Check
To pass the action to the next player without betting, provided no one else has placed a bet yet.
Check-Raise
A deceptive and aggressive play where you check initially, and then raise after an opponent makes a subsequent bet.
Donk Bet
A bet made out of position into the preflop aggressor, preventing them from making a C-bet. Historically seen as a "fishy" play, but solvers use it in specific spots.
Effective Stack
The smaller of two chip stacks in a heads-up pot, which dictates the maximum amount of money that can be won or lost in that specific hand.
Equity
Your mathematical share or win probability of the total pot based on your current hand strength.
Expected Value (EV)
The mathematical average of how much money a specific play will win (+EV) or lose (-EV) over the long run.
Fish
Poker slang for an inexperienced, weaker player who frequently makes unprofitable plays.
Float
Calling a bet with a weak hand (or draw) with the specific intention of bluffing the opponent on a later street if they show weakness.
Fold
To throw away your cards and forfeit any claim to the current pot.
GTO (Game Theory Optimal)
A scientifically calculated, unexploitable style of play where a player balances their bluffs and value bets perfectly, making the opponent indifferent to calling or folding.
Gutshot
An inside straight draw where only one specific card rank can complete the straight (e.g., holding 5-6-8-9, needing exactly a 7).
Heads-Up
A poker hand or game contested strictly between two players.
Hole Cards
The private cards dealt face-down to each player that only they are allowed to see.
HUD (Heads-Up Display)
Software (like PokerTracker 4) that displays live statistical data about your opponents directly on the poker table next to their avatars.
Implied Odds
An extension of pot odds that factors in the future money you expect to win on later streets if you hit your draw.
Kicker
An unpaired side card that does not form the main poker combination, but is used to break ties between hands of the same rank.
Limp In
To simply call the size of the big blind preflop instead of raising. Usually a weak play.
Loose
A playing style characterized by entering pots with a wide, speculative range of hands.
Muck
To discard your hand into the pile without showing your cards to opponents at the showdown.
Nuts
The absolute best possible hand available on the current board.
Outs
Unseen cards remaining in the deck that will improve your hand to a winning holding.
Position
Your seating location at the poker table relative to the dealer button, determining when you must act.
Pot
The total collection of chips accumulated from bets, which is awarded to the winner of the hand.
Pot Odds
The mathematical ratio between the size of the current pot and the cost of a contemplated call.
Raise
To increase the size of the current highest bet on the table.
RFI (Raise First In)
When you are the first player to enter the pot voluntarily by making a raise preflop. (Limping is not an RFI).
River
The fifth and final community card dealt on the board.
Rock
An extremely tight, conservative player who only enters pots with premium starting hands.
Set
A hidden three-of-a-kind made using a pocket pair in your hand and one matching card on the board.
Showdown
The final stage of a hand where remaining players turn their cards face-up to determine the winner.
Side Pot
A separate secondary pot created when one or more players are all-in, contested only by the active players with remaining chips.
Slow-Play
Deceptively checking or calling with a very strong hand to keep opponents in the pot and build a larger payout.
Squeeze
Making a large re-raise (3-bet) preflop after one player has opened and one or more players have already called, squeezing the callers out of the pot.
Tilt
A state of emotional frustration or anger that leads a player to make poor, irrational decisions at the table.
Turn
The fourth community card dealt on the board.
Value Bet
A bet made with a strong hand, hoping to be called by a worse hand to extract maximum chips from the opponent.
Variance
The statistical measure of upswings and downswings in a player's bankroll caused by luck (running above or below expected value).
VPIP / PFR
Core HUD metrics tracking how often a player voluntarily puts money in the pot (VPIP) versus how often they preflop raise (PFR).