Poker Glossary (Terms & Definitions)

Low pocket pairs. 22-55 are definitely babies. 66 probably is. 77 is approaching adolescence.

A raise from a player who has previously called a bet in the same betting round.

A draw on the flop that requires both turn and river cards to complete. As5s on a 6sTdJc is a backdoor flush draw and will make a flush if both the turn and river come spades. Also used as a verb as in "she backdoored the straight".

A low-probability, yet long-term statistically inevitable event that is never discussed at Red Chip Poker.

The money which you set aside to play poker.

Betting with the intention of betting future streets under certain conditions. Thus a three-barrel bluff is a planned line in which, having completely missed the flop, you bet all three postflop streets with air.

Abbreviation. The big blind, used to indicate that position at the table. Conventionally 'BB' refers to the position, whereas 'bb' is used to denote quantities such as stack depth and bet size as a multiple of the big blind. The notation bb/100 is often used to denote the number of bbs won or lost per 100 hands played.

A variant of PLO8 in which each player is dealt five hole cards.

Archaic term for the hold'em hole cards AK, now rarely heard outside of Canada.

A card in your hand that makes it impossible or less likely for your opponent to hold a specific hand or hand type. For example, if there are three hearts on board and you hold the Ah, you "block" your opponent from holding the nut flush, and reduce the likelihood that they hold any flush.

Bet with a hand that you figure to be beat, invariably with the hope of folding out better hands.

The overall composition of community cards, including their ranks, suitedness and connectedness. See also, FLOP (wet, dry, static, dynamic).

An open-ended straight draw (see OESD).

A situation in which we put in the last preflop raise and are in position postflop against one or two players. The term was coined in this poker sense by Tommy Angelo and is one of the most profitable situations in poker.

Risk divided by risk plus reward, or in other words, the mathematical way of saying "if X play works this often, I will break even, if it works less often or more often, the decision is -EV and +EV respectively".

A card that does not change the board texture.

An AKQJT straight, also known as a "treetop".

Any card needed to make Broadway.

Any hand that includes two broadway cards that are not paired.

Abbreviation. "Button" as used for the position at the table that acts last on each postflop street. The notional position of the dealer.

In poker tournaments, the finishing position immediately before prizes are awarded. The player busting out in this position is said to have "bubbled," at which point the "bubble bursts" and ill-mannered players clap.

In tournament poker, the total entry cost of the tournament. Also used in cash games to indicate the amount of chips with which you initially sit. Many cash games require your initial buy in to be above a minimum amount, but no more than a "cap". Many Las Vegas $1/$2 games, for example, limit buy-ins from $100 to $300.