# Glossary of Poker Terminology

- Aggressive Player
  A player who is characterized by frequently betting and raising.

- Aggressive Check
  To min bet or bet very little into a very large pot, instead of just checking. This is done for several of the followings reasons: to show weakness or lack of knowledge of NL betting, to confound others, and/or in late position to give your opponent a chance to check-raise.

- All-in
  To have one's entire stake committed to the current pot. Action continues toward a side pot, with the all-in player being eligible to win only the main pot.

- All-in Equity
  The expected income if the current hand was permitted to go to the showdown with no further betting.

- Ante
  A mandatory fee placed into the pot from each player at the start of a game (in some types of Poker).

- Bet
  To make the first wager of a betting round (compare raise).

- Big Bet (bb)
  The largest bet size in limit poker. $20 in $10-$20 Hold'em.

- Big Blind (BB)
  A forced bet made before the deal of the cards. $10 in $10-$20 Hold'em, posted by the second player to the left of the button.

- Blind
  A forced bet made before the deal of the cards (see small blind
  and big blind).

- Bluff
  To bet with the expectation of losing if called.

- Board
  The community cards shared by all players.

- Button
  The last player to act in each betting round in Texas Hold'em.

- Call
  To match the current level of betting. If the current level of betting is zero, the term check is preferred.

- Check
  To decline to make the first wager of a betting round (compare call).

- Check-Raise
  To check on the first action and then raise in the same betting round after someone else has bet.

- Community Cards
  The public cards shared by all players.

- Connectors
  Two cards differing by one in rank, such as 7-6. More likely to make a straight than other combinations.

- Draw
  A hand with good potential to make a strong hand, such as a straight draw or a flush draw (compare made hand).

- Dry
  Lacking possible draws or betting action, as in a dry board or a dry game.

- Flop
  The first three community cards dealt in Hold'em, followed by the second betting round (compare board).

- Fold
  To discard a hand instead of matching the outstanding bet, thereby losing any chance of winning the pot.

- Free-Card Raise
  To raise on the flop intending to check on the turn.

- Hand
  (a) A players private cards (two hole cards in Hold'em). (b) One complete game, from the dealing of the cards to the showdown (or until one player wins uncontested).

- Hole Card
  A private card in Hold'em.

- Implied Odds
  The pot odds based on the probable future size of the pot instead of the current size of the pot.

- Income rate
  The expected amount a hand will win.

- Independent Chip Model (ICM)
  The EV of the current number of chips you have in a tournament. It is calculated as:
  (the probability of getting first) * (prize for first) +
  (probability of getting second) * (prize for second) +
  ... for all prizes ...
  For more detailed information: http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~sharnett/ICM/info.html.

- Jam
  To raise all-in, putting all your chips in the pot.

- Kicker
  A side card, often deciding the winner when two hands are otherwise tied (eg. a player holding Q-J when the board is Q-7-4 has top pair with a Jack kicker).

- Loose Game
  A game having several loose players.

- Loose Player
  A player who does not fold often (eg. one who plays most hands at least to the flop in Hold'em).

- Made hand
  A hand with a good chance of currently being the best, such as top pair on the flop in Hold'em (compare draw).

- Mixed strategy
  Handling a particular situation in more than one way, such as to sometimes call, and sometimes raise.

- Near-optimal
  A good approximation of a game-theoretic optimal solution.

- Off suit
  Two cards of different suits (compare suited).

- Open-Ended Draw
  A draw to a straight with eight cards to make the straight, such as 6-5 with a board of Q-7-4 in Hold'em.

- Outs
  Cards that will improve a hand to a probable winner (compare draw).

- Passive Player
  A player who is characterized by frequently checking and calling his hand rather than betting or raising.

- Pocket Pair
  Two cards of the same rank, such as 6-6. More likely to make three of a kind than other combinations (see set).

- Pot Odds
  The ratio of the size of the pot to the size of the outstanding bet, used to determine if a draw will have a positive expected value.

- Pre-flop
  In Hold'em, the first betting round after the deal of the cards and before the flop.

- Raise
  To increase the current level of betting. If the current level of betting is zero, the term bet is preferred.

- River
  The fifth community card dealt in Hold'em, followed by the fourth (and final) betting round.

- Second pair
  Matching the second highest community card in Hold'em, such as having 7-6 with a board of Q-7-4.

- Set
  Three of a kind, formed with a pocket pair and one card of matching rank on the Board. A powerful well-disguised hand (compare trips).

- Showdown
  The revealing of cards at the end of a hand to determine the winner and award the pot.

- Side-pot
  A second pot for the bets made by active players after another player is all-in.

- Slow-play
  To call with a strong hand, and then raise in a later betting round, for purposes of deception.

- Small Bet (sb)
  The smallest bet size in limit poker. $10 in $10-$20 Hold'em.

- Small Blind (SB)
  A forced bet made before the deal of the cards. $5 in $10-$20 Hold'em, posted by the first player to the left of the button.

- Stakes
  The size of the bets for ring games or the buy-in amount for tournaments.
  - In a limit ring game the stakes are in small bets / big bets. For example $2 / $4: the blinds are typically a $1 small blind / a $2 big blind and the bet sizes are a $2 small bet / a $4 big bet.
  - In a no limit right game the stakes are in small blind / big blind. For example $2 / $4 NL the blinds are $2 small blind / $4 big blind and the bet is always equal or greater than the big blind.
  - For tournament the buy-in is the amount that goes to the prize pool + the rake. For each the stakes of $5 + $1, $5 will go toward the total prize and the house will take $1.

- Suited
  Two cards of the same suit, such as both Hearts. More likely to make a flush than other combinations (compare off suit).

- Suited-Connector
  A hand that is both Suited and a Connector (i.e. Qh-Jh).

- Table Image
  The general perception other players have of one's play.

- Table Stakes
  A poker rule allowing a player who cannot match the outstanding bet to go all-in with his remaining money, and proceed to the showdown (also see side pot).

- Taking a Bath
  A term for when a player becomes over-committed to a hand like Ace-King or a small pocket pair and can't fold, despite missing the flop.

- Texture of the Board
  Classification of the type of board, such as having lots of high cards, or not having many draws (see dry).

- Tight Player
  A player who usually folds unless the situation is clearly profitable (eg. one who folds most hands before the flop in Hold'em).

- Top pair
  Matching the highest community card in Hold'em, such as having Q-J with a board of Q-7-4.

- Trips
  Three of a kind, formed with one hole card and two cards of matching rank on the board. A strong hand, but not well-disguised (compare set).

- Turn
  The fourth community card dealt in Hold'em, followed by the third betting round.

- Under-the-gun
  The position of the player who is first to act in the betting round. Also known as in the flower bed, primarily by Canadians who prefer a more non-violent term.

- Wild Game
  A game with a lot of raising and re-raising. Also called an action game.

### Glossary Adapted From:

> The Challenge of Poker.
> Darse Billings, Aaron Davidson, Jonathan Schaeffer, and Duane Szafron,
> Artificial Intelligence Journal, vol 134(1-2), pp 201-240, 2002.
> `http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/AIJ02.html`