There’s a ton of poker terms and slang out there, and sometimes it can be hard to keep track of it all. Below you’ll find the terms you actually need at the table – the basic vocabulary first, then the slang you’ll hear once people get comfortable.
At EasyPoker we’re passionate about facilitating digital poker with friends, so it seemed only natural to compose a complete poker glossary to go with our app. If you’re starting from scratch, pair this glossary with our guide to the rules of poker.
Basic Poker Terms
Ante – A small bet put down by all players after being dealt their cards. The ante makes sure there are always some chips to be won in each hand. Most poker styles, however, use ‘blinds’ instead of an ante.
All-in – Betting all the chips you have.
Bet – An amount wagered by a player. Our guide to poker betting covers when each option makes sense.
Betting Round – Refers to the windows of time where players can make bets. In Texas Hold’em, this would be before the flop, after the flop, after the turn and after the river.
Blind – A forced bet by one or more players before any cards are dealt in a hand. This makes sure there are always chips in the pot to play for, and it means every stack shrinks naturally over time, so even a completely passive player will lose chips. Blinds are structured as a big blind and a small blind, posted by the players sitting to the left of the dealer.
Big Blind – A forced bet by the person sitting left of the dealer to get the pot going. Typically twice the value of the small blind.
Bluff – When you think you have the weaker cards but still bet or raise in an attempt to fool your opponent into folding their stronger hand. See our guide on how to bluff.
Call – To follow the most recent bet or raise and put down the minimum amount to do so, without raising further.
Check – If a betting round still hasn’t had a bet, you can choose to check, which is essentially betting 0 amount, with the option to call or raise if another player chooses to bet.
Community Cards – The cards placed on the table for all players to see and compare their hand to. Also called ‘The Board’. In Texas Hold’em and Omaha this would be the five cards of the flop, turn and river.
Dealer – The person who’s in charge of dealing the cards. If you’re not at a casino, the role of the dealer typically travels clockwise around the table after every hand. Even if you’re playing digitally and no cards are shuffled or dealt physically, you still need the role of the dealer, since this dictates the role of small- and big blind.
Flop – The first three community cards. These are all placed on the table for all players to see after the initial betting round.
Fold – When a player gives up their cards and takes no further part in the hand. This can be done in any betting round.
Heads up – When only two players are competing for the pot.
Kicker – The highest unpaired card in your combination. If two players have almost the same hand, the player with the highest kicker wins. Our poker hands guide shows how the combinations rank.
Muck – To discard a hand face-down without revealing it. If a player isn’t required to show their cards at showdown, they can choose to muck instead.
No Limit – Different styles of poker have slightly different rules. Some styles have an upper limit to how much players can bet. No limit means players can choose to bet as much as they have whenever it’s their turn.
Pocket – Refers to the two cards you were dealt and have in your hand. Like ‘pocket fives’ or ‘pocket aces’.
Raise – To raise means you not only call a bet, but further increase the amount.
Rake – A cut of the pot that is sometimes taken by the facilitator, be it a casino or an online platform. EasyPoker doesn’t take a rake – the whole pot goes to whoever wins it.
Small Blind – A forced bet by the person sitting left of the ‘big blind’ to get the pot going. Typically half the value of the big blind.
Showdown – When all final bets are placed and players show the cards in their hand to determine who’s got the better cards.
Side Pot – If a player doesn’t have enough chips to call a bet or raise, they can go all-in with whatever they have left. A side pot is then created for the remaining players, meaning that if the all-in player wins they won’t collect the full pot, since they didn’t put as many chips on the line.
Split Pot – When two or more players have the same hand at showdown, they split the pot evenly since there’s no single winner.
Tell – An involuntary action that might give away whether someone is bluffing, such as leaning forward or touching your temple. We’ve collected the most common ones in our guide to poker tells.
Turn – The fourth community card on the table, drawn and placed face-up after the second betting round.
Poker Slang
Backdoor – When you play a ‘bad’ hand and catch some good cards on the turn and river to make a winning combination.
Bad Beat – When a player wins with a weak hand that most players would say you shouldn’t play. Typically used to describe dumb luck.
Blank – A community card that doesn’t affect any of the hands left in the betting round.
Board – Meaning all the community cards, both the flop, turn and river.
Bullets – A pair of aces in the hand.
Burn – Before drawing the turn and river, the dealer discards (burns) the top card of the deck. This makes sure no one has caught a glimpse of the card to come.
Button – A white chip that usually says ‘dealer’. The button is placed on the table in front of whoever is considered the dealer of the round and of course travels with the role.
Calling Station – A passive player who checks and calls a lot but rarely raises or folds. Generally considered a weak player, and one of the four poker playing styles.
Chip Leader – The player who has the most chips in their stack.
Crack – When a player is dealt a great hand but still gets beaten, as in “I cracked your pair of aces”.
Dog – Short for underdog.
Draw – A hand that has potential to be good but needs the right community cards.
Maniac – A player who plays very aggressively, constantly betting and raising with little regard for their cards.
Nuts – The best possible hand given the community cards. If you make an unbeatable straight on the flop, you’d say you ‘flopped the nuts’.
Offsuit – When cards are not of the same suit.
Quads – Slang for ‘four of a kind’.
Rainbow – When the board has no more than two cards of the same suit, meaning a flush is not possible.
Rock – A player who plays without creativity and only bets when they have good cards. Easy to read, and generally considered a losing approach.
Set – A set is three of a kind made from the two cards in your hand and just one card from the board.
Slow Play – When you have a great hand but still don’t raise or bet too aggressively, in an effort to lure the other players to stay in the round and not fold their cards.
Stack – The personal amount/pile of chips all players have.
Suited – Cards of the same suit.
Trips – Slang for three of a kind.
Under the Gun – The player who has to act first in a betting round, sitting directly left of the big blind. It’s the toughest seat at the table, as our guide to poker positions explains.
Now Go Play
Now that you know the basic poker terms and slang, why not put them to use? The free EasyPoker app is a digital version of a physical poker set, dealing the cards and handling the chips so you and your friends can focus on the game. Everyone joins the same private table from their own phone.
Poker is an old game, but it keeps evolving. We want to keep this glossary fresh and up to date with the newest poker terms and slang, so if you have an addition or a correction, get in touch and we’ll add it.
The terms above cover Texas Hold’em, and most of them carry straight over to the other games in the app – EasyPoker deals Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck (6+) and Reverse Hold’em, so a flop is a flop whichever one you pick.
And if you need a brush up on the game itself, start with how to play poker, then work through poker tips for beginners and our poker strategy guide.
Poker Terms FAQ
Which poker terms should a beginner learn first?
Start with the words that describe the actions you’ll take on every hand: blind, bet, call, check, raise and fold. Add flop, turn and river so you can follow the shape of a hand, then showdown and kicker so you know how a winner is decided. That’s enough to sit down at a table without getting lost, and the slang can wait until later.
What does it mean to muck a hand?
To muck is to discard your cards face-down without showing them. If you’re not required to reveal your hand at showdown, because someone else has already won the pot, you can muck instead and keep the information to yourself.
What is the difference between trips and a set?
Both are three of a kind, but they’re made in different ways. A set is a pocket pair plus one matching community card, while trips is one card in your hand plus a pair on the board. A set is the stronger situation, because it’s much harder for opponents to see it coming.
What does ‘the nuts’ mean in poker?
The nuts is the best hand possible given the community cards on the table. Nothing an opponent can hold beats it, so if you have the nuts on the river you’re guaranteed at least a share of the pot.
Which poker games can you play on EasyPoker?
EasyPoker deals Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck (6+) and Reverse Hold’em. Reverse Hold’em is our own variant, where the river is dealt first and the flop comes last. The glossary on this page is written around Texas Hold’em, but nearly every term applies to the other three as well, since they share the same betting rounds and community cards.