There’s a ton of poker terms and slang out there and sometimes it can be hard to keep track of it all.
At EasyPoker we’re passionate about facilitating digital poker with friends, and so it seemed only natural to compose a complete poker glossary to go with our app

Poker Terms and Slang
Poker Terms and Slang

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 betted by a player.

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 is to make sure there’s always chips in the pot for a round. It also means that players have a natural shrinkage in their stack so that a completely passive player will lose chips too. Blinds are typically structured as big- and small blind and put down 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 weaker cards but still bet/raise in an attempt to fool your opponent into folding their stronger hand.

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 card 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 chooses to give up his or her cards and take no further part in a 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. 

Muck – After a hand, if a player doesn’t have to show his or her they can choose not to.
This is called ‘to muck’.

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 certain amount of the price that is sometimes taken by the facilitator, be it a casino or an online platform. The EasyPoker app does not do this. 

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, he or she can bet whatever they have left. A side pot is then created, meaning if that players wins they won’t get 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 after showdown they split the pot since there isn’t a winner. 

Tell – An involuntary action that might show if someone is bluffing. For instance if you lean forward or touch your temple (We’ve all seen Casino Royale). 

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 will discard (burn) the top card of the deck. This is to ensure that players won’t have peeked 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 that checks and calls a lot but never really raises or folds.
Generally considered a weak and bad player. 

Chip Leader – The player who has the most chips in their stack.

Crack – When a player is dealt a great hand, but is beaten.
“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 – If a player plays very aggressively, constantly betting and raising, this player is calle a maniac. 

Nuts – When you’ve been dealt the best possible hand given the community cards.
For instance, if you have a straight after the flop you might say you ‘flopped the nuts’. 

Offsuit – When cards are not of the same suit. 

Pocket – The two cards you hold in your hand. 

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 that plays without creativity and only bets when he/she has good cards.
Generally considered a bad strategy, as it is easy to read. 

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 is forced to make the first action of a betting round.

Now go play

Now that you know the basic poker terms and slang, why not put them to use by playing poker with friends? The free EasyPoker app is your digital version of a physical poker set and provides both chips and cards for you and your friends. 

Poker Terms and Slang

Poker is an old game but constantly evolving and growing. We want to keep this glossary fresh and up to date with the newest poker terms and slang, so if you have any additions or feedback please let us know in the comments below.

And if you need a brush up on the rules of poker, check out this post on How To Play Poker