Poker Glossary: The Complete Guide to Poker Terms Every Player Should Know

Poker has one of the steepest learning curves of any game—not because the rules are hard, but because the language is dense.

New players often feel lost because conversations, strategy articles, and table talk are filled with terms that assume prior knowledge. This glossary exists to fix that.

Whether you’re brand new to poker or tightening up your fundamentals, this page gives you clear, plain-English definitions of the most important poker terms—without unnecessary jargon or fluff.

Bookmark this page. You’ll come back to it often.

Core Poker Basics (Start Here)

Poker
A card game where players compete to win chips or money by forming the best hand or convincing opponents to fold.

Hand
A single round of poker from the deal to the final action.

Deck
A standard 52-card deck used in most poker games.

Buy-In
The amount of money used to enter a game or tournament.

Bankroll
Money set aside specifically for poker. Not rent money. Not emergency funds.

Rake
The fee the house or club takes from each pot or session.

Pot
The total amount of chips or money players are competing for in a hand.

Positions & Table Terms

Button (BTN)
The dealer position. Acts last postflop and has the strongest positional advantage.

Small Blind (SB)
Forced bet posted to the left of the button.

Big Blind (BB)
Forced bet posted to the left of the small blind.

Under the Gun (UTG)
First player to act preflop. One of the toughest positions.

Under the Gun (UTG+1)
Appears when 8 or 9 people are at the table. Play tight and disciplined, as you still face many players behind you and should avoid marginal openings.

Low Jack (LJ)
First player after the under-the-gun in tables of 6 to 8 players. Open with solid but expanding ranges, focusing on hands that play well postflop.

High Jack (HJ)
To the left of the LJ on full ring tables. This is a profit-driving seat where you can open wider and apply pressure to blinds and passive players.

Cutoff (CO)
Position directly to the right of the button.

In Position (IP)
Acting after your opponent’s postflop.

Out of Position (OOP)
Acting before your opponent postflop.

Quick Position Order (Full Ring Example)

UTG → UTG+1 → UTG+2 → LJ → HJ → CO → BTN → SB → BB

Betting Actions

Check
Passing action without betting (only allowed if no bet has been made).

Bet
Putting chips into the pot when no one has bet yet.

Call
Matching an opponent’s bet.

Raise
Increasing the size of the current bet.

Fold
Giving up your hand and forfeiting the pot.

All-In
Betting all remaining chips.

Hand Rankings (High to Low)

Royal Flush A♠️ K♠️Q♠️J♠️10♠️

A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit.

Straight Flush 5♦️6♦️7♦️8♦️9♦️

Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Four of a Kind (Quads) AAAA8
Four cards of the same rank.

Full House AAAKK
Three of a kind plus a pair.

Flush A♥️8♥️7♥️6♥️5♥️

Five cards of the same suit.

Straight A2345
Five consecutive cards of any suit.

Three of a Kind (Trips / Set) 33310A
Three cards of the same rank.

Two Pair 5566A
Two different pairs.

One Pair JJ5910
Two cards of the same rank.

High Card AK694
No made hand—highest card plays.

Preflop Strategy Terms

Opening
The first raise in a hand.

Open-Raise
Raising when action folds to you preflop.

Cold Call
Calling a raise without previously putting money in the pot.

3-Bet
Re-raising a raise.

4-Bet / 5-Bet
Subsequent re-raises.

Limp
Calling the big blind without raising.

Isolation Raise
Raising to isolate a weak player.

Postflop Strategy Terms

Flop
The first three community cards.

Turn
The fourth community card.

River
The fifth and final community card.

Continuation Bet (C-Bet)
A bet made by the preflop aggressor on the flop.

Double Barrel
Betting both flop and turn.

Triple Barrel
Betting flop, turn, and river.

Check-Raise
Checking with the intention of raising after an opponent bets.

Drawing & Equity Concepts

Draw
A hand that can improve with future cards.

Flush Draw
Four cards to a flush.

Straight Draw
Four cards to a straight.

Open-Ended Straight Draw (OESD)
Eight possible cards can complete the straight.

Gutshot
A straight draw missing one inside card.

Equity
Your percentage chance to win the pot.

Outs
Cards that improve your hand.

Odds & Math

Pot Odds
The ratio of the cost to call versus the size of the pot.

Implied Odds
Future money you expect to win if you hit your hand.

Reverse Implied Odds
Money you risk losing when you hit a dominated hand.

Expected Value (EV)
The long-term profitability of a decision.

Positive EV (+EV)
A profitable play over time.

Negative EV (-EV)
A losing play over time.

Player Types & Archetypes

Recreational Player (Rec)
Plays for fun, often makes fundamental mistakes.

Reg (Regular)
Consistent player with experience.

Nit
Extremely tight, risk-averse player.

Calling Station
Calls too often, rarely folds.

Maniac
Overly aggressive, plays too many hands.

Fish
Very inexperienced or weak player.

Behavioral & Mental Game Terms

Tilt
Playing emotionally instead of logically.

Steam
Aggressive tilt after a loss.

Cooldown
Taking a break to regain composure.

Scared Money
Playing too cautiously because stakes feel too big.

Ego Play
Making decisions to prove something rather than maximize EV.

Variance & Results

Variance
Short-term swings caused by luck.

Downswing
Extended period of losses.

Upswing (Heater)
Extended period of winning.

Cooler
A situation where strong hands collide and loss is unavoidable.

Sample Size
The number of hands needed for results to be meaningful.

Tracking & Analytics

Hands per Hour
Number of hands played in an hour.

bb/100
Win rate measured in big blinds per 100 hands.

VPIP
Percentage of hands a player voluntarily plays.

PFR
Percentage of hands a player raises preflop.

Aggression Factor (AF)
Measure of betting and raising versus calling.

Tournament-Specific Terms

MTT (Multi-Table Tournament)
Large tournament with many tables.

Bubble
Stage just before payouts begin.

In the Money (ITM)
Reaching a paid position.

ICM
Independent Chip Model—tournament equity calculation.

Late Registration
Period where players can still enter a tournament.

Online & App Poker Terms

HUD
Heads-Up Display showing stats (where allowed).

Timing Tell
Information revealed by betting speed.

Auto Top-Up
Automatically refilling stack to max buy-in.

Union / Club
Private poker groups on apps like ClubGG.

Poker Slang & Hand Nicknames (What Players Actually Say)

Poker players rarely say “Ace-King offsuit.”
They say Big Slick.

Below is a beginner-friendly slang glossary players will recognize instantly.

🂡 Premium Hands

Pocket Rockets – A♠A♦ (Pocket Aces)
Cowboys – K♠K♦ (Pocket Kings)
Ladies – Q♠Q♦ (Pocket Queens)
Hooks / Fishhooks – J♠J♦ (Pocket Jacks)
Big Slick – A♠K♦ (Ace-King)

🂡 Medium & Tricky Hands

Ace-Rag – Any Ace with a weak kicker (A2–A7)
Broadways – Cards Ten through Ace (T-A)
Paint – Face cards (J, Q, K)
Overcards – Cards higher than the board cards

🂡 Small & Speculative Hands

Ducks – 2♠2♦ (Pocket Twos)
Bullets – Pocket Aces (alt name)
Snowmen – 8♠8♦
Walking Sticks – 7♠7♦
Boats – Full House
Wheel – A-2-3-4-5 straight

🂡 Drawing & Board Slang

Nut Hand / The Nuts – Best possible hand
Dirty Outs – Outs that may still lose
Backdoor Draw – Needs turn and river to complete
Rainbow Board – No two cards share a suit
Wet Board – Many draws available
Dry Board – Few or no draws available

🂡 Action & Behavior Slang

Donk Bet – Leading into the preflop aggressor
Float – Calling with the intention to bluff later
Slow Play – Trapping with a strong hand
Hero Call – Calling with a marginal hand to catch a bluff
Value Own Yourself – Betting when only worse hands fold
Spew – Losing chips unnecessarily
Punishing the Blinds – Stealing frequently from late position

🂡 Results & Variance Slang

Cooler – Unavoidable loss (set over set, straight vs higher straight)
Heater – Extended winning streak
Brick – Card that changes nothing
Run Bad – Prolonged negative variance
Sun Run – Winning with constant favorable outcomes

🂡 Player Descriptions (Table Talk)

Nit – Extremely tight player
Calling Station – Calls too often
Maniac – Over-aggressive, high variance
TAG – Tight-Aggressive (solid style)
LAG – Loose-Aggressive
Rec – Recreational player
Reg – Regular grinder

Poker is a game of decisions—but language is the gateway to understanding those decisions.

If you ever feel lost reading a strategy article or listening to a poker conversation, come back to this glossary. Every strong player once needed it.

If you’re serious about improving: