Texas Hold’em Poker Glossary

This is a poker glossary designed for a player that has played poker before and knows the rank of hands and the suits and such, but is new to Texas Hold’em. This glossary will help you through some of the specialized words and lingo you may hear at a Hold’em table.

Aggressive – A player that tends to bet and raise a lot, opposite of passive.
All In – A move in No-Limit Texas Hold’em where you put all of your chips into the pot.
American Airlines – A colloquial name for a pair of Aces in the opening hand.
Backdoor Flush Draw – A flush draw that requires two more cards of the appropriate suit to be complete.
Big Blind – The larger of two forced bets at a Texas Hold’em table. The player two seats to the left of the dealer must pay the big blind. The Big Blind is equal to the minimum bet, and causes its player to act last pre-flop.
Blinds – Forced bets that the players in the two seats on the dealer’s left must pay. The small blind is next to the dealer, and the big blind is to the small blind’s left. The two blinds bet last before the flop, but then first in each other round
Broadway – A starting hand with two, high, unpaired cards, like Ace Jack.
Burn – The card the dealer puts face down before dealing the flop, the turn, and the river. The burn is to insure that no one has seen the top card of the deck.
Button – The button is a plastic disc that says the word “Dealer” on it. The button is used in casino settings so there can actually be a casino dealer that doesn’t play in the game. The player with the button, although not actually the dealer, gets to act last in all betting rounds after the flop, and last before the blinds pre-flop. This position is called “on the button.”
Check-Raise – This is a betting play usually used to extract extra money on a good hand. The player checks the first time around, hoping someone else will bet, then raises when someone else bets.
Check-Raise Bluff – This bluff is a check-raise done with a poor hand. It takes advantage of the implied hand quality of a check-raise. Check-raising is a show of a lot of strength, and can get other players to fold. It is best used if you think the person that bet has a weak hand or draw, and you can get them to fold.
Community Cards – These are the cards that count as part of everyone’s hands: the flop, the turn, and the river.
Cowboys – A colloquial name for a pair of Kings in the opening hands.
Draw – A hand, such as 4-cards of a straight or flush, that is currently weak, but can improve to a much stronger hand.
Fifth Street – The fifth community card, also called the “River.”
Flop – The first three community cards, all put out at once.
Fourth Street – The fourth community card, also called the “Turn”
Gut-Shot Straight Draw – A straight draw that needs a specific card in the middle to be complete, such as 56 on a board of 79K.
Hole Cards – The two cards you are dealt; the cards in your hand.
Limit – A variety of hold’em where bets must be in increments of a certain number, depending on the betting round. For example, in limits of $5/$10, all bets before and just after the flop must be in $5 increments and after the turn and river must be in $10 increments.
Limp In – To call the big blind before the flop.
Loose – A player that plays a lot of hands is said to be loose, opposite of tight.
Made Hand – The opposite of a draw, a made hand is a strong hand that has little to no chance to improve.
No-Limit – The most popular form of Hold’em in which a player may bet their entire chip stack at any time during the game. For cash games, there is a limit to how much money players can bring to the table.
Open-Ended Straight Draw – A straight draw made up of four, consecutive cards that can be completed on either end; for example, 45 with a board of 67Q.
Passive – A player that tends to fold and call a lot, rather than raise or bet, opposite of aggressive.
Pocket Pair – Refers to a pair in the player’s hole cards. Individual pairs are referred to with the word “pocket” in front of them, such as “Pocket Kings” and “Pocket Threes.” Aces are sometimes called “Pocket Rockets.”
Pot Limit – A form of Hold’em similar to No-Limit in which the maximum bet is equal to the size of the pot.
Pre-flop – The betting round before the flop
Rebuy – An option available in some tournaments with which a player can buy a new starting stack of chips if they lose all of their chips.
River – The fifth and last community card, also called “Fifth Street.”
Runner-Runner – Making a hand using both the turn and the river. For example, a hand of KJ with a flop of A65, a turn of, Q, and a river of T would be a runner-runner straight.
Semi-Bluff – A bluff made by a player holding a draw. The goal is to have other players fold, but the draw is there as a back-up in case the bluff is called.
Small Blind – A forced bet that is usually a half or two thirds of the minimum bet. The player sits to the left of the dealer, and acts next to last before the flop, but first afterwards.
Stealing the Blinds – A pre-flop raise aimed at getting all other players to fold so the raiser can take the blind bets.
Suck-Out – To get lucky and hit an improbably hand on the turn or the river for a win over a previously better hand. For example, if player 1 has AA and player 2 has 56, and the flop is A37, the turn is a J, and the river is a 4, then you would say that player 2 “sucked-out” on the river by hitting a straight.
Suited – When the two cards in your hand are the same suit.
Tight – A player that does not play many hands, opposite of loose.
Turn – The fourth community card, also called “Fourth Street.”
Under the Gun – The player sitting to the left of the big blind who is the first to act pre-flop.
Value Bet – A bet made with a good hand with the intention of getting other players with worse hands to call; usually made on the turn and river.