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Online Poker Glossary
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Satellite: A tournament that does
not award cash to its winners, but awards a seat in a
following "target" tournament.
Scare Card: A card that may well
turn the best hand into trash. If you have Tc-8c and the
flop comes Qd-Jd-9s, you almost assuredly have the best
hand. However, a turn card of Td would be very scary
because it would almost guarantee that you shall lose.
Second Pair: A pair with the
second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and
the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second pair.
See "top pair."
Sell: In a spread-limit game this
means betting less than the maximum when you have a very
strong hand, hoping players will call whereas they would
not have called a maximum bet.
Semi-Bluff:
It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called,
but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be
correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure
bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may
be a positive expectation play. Example: you have Ks-Qs,
and the flop is Th-5s-Jc. If you bet now, it's a
semi-bluff. You probably don't have the best hand, and
you'd like to see your opponents fold immediately.
Nevertheless, if you do get callers, you could still
improve to the best hand.
Set: Three of a kind when you have
two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the
board.
Short Stack: A number of chips
that is not very many compared to the other players at
the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and
everybody else at the table has over $100, you are
playing on a short stack.
Showdown: The point at which all
players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and
determine who has the best hand -- i.e., after the
fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a
final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown.
Side Pot: A pot created in which a
player has no interest because he has run out of chips.
Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carl calls,
but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that
either Al or Beth can win, but not Carl. Carl, however,
can still win all the money in the original or "center"
pot.
Slow Play: To play a strong hand
weakly so more players will stay in the pot.
Small Blind: The smaller of two
blind bets typically used in a hold'em game. Normally,
the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first
round bet. See also "big blind" and "blind."
Smooth Call: To call. Smooth call
often implies slow playing a strong hand. Example: "I
flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the
guy in front of me bet -- I didn't want to scare anybody
out."
Soft-Play:
To go
easy on another player at the table (e.g., not betting
or raising against him). Suppose you and your brother
are the last two people left in a hand. On the river,
you have the nuts, but he bets. If you don't raise, you
are "soft-playing" him. Please note that soft-playing is
prohibited in tournaments and can result in penalties,
up to and including forfeiture of winnings.
Splash the Pot: To toss chips
directly into the pot rather than put them in a stack in
front of you. Don't do it.
Split Pot: A pot that is shared by
two or more players because their hands are equal.
Split Two Pair:A
two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks
appears on the board as well. Example: you have T9, the
flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair. This is in
comparison to two pair where there is a pair on the
board. Example: you have T9, the flop is 9-5-5.
Spread-Limit: A betting structure
in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every
betting round. A typical spread-limit structure is
$2-$6, where a player may bet as little as $2 or as much
as $6 on every betting round.
Stop-and-Go: A play where you call
(rather than re-raising) a raise, but then come out
betting on the next card.
Straddle: An optional extra blind
bet, typically made by the player one to the left of the
big blind, equal to twice the big blind. This is
effectively a raise, and forces any player who wants to
play to pay two bets. Furthermore, the straddler acts
last before the flop, and may "re-raise."
String Bet: A bet (more typically
a raise) in which a player doesn't get all the chips
required for the raise into the pot in one motion.
Unless he verbally declared the raise, he can be forced
to withdraw it and just call. This prevents the
unethical play of putting out enough chips to call,
seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising.
Structured: Used to apply to a
certain betting structure in poker games. The typical
definition of a structured hold'em game is a fixed
amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the
flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river.
Example: a $2-$4 structured hold'em game: bets and
raises of $2 before the flop and on the flop; $4 bets
and raises on the turn and river.
Suited: A hold'em starting hand in
which the two cards are the same suit. Example: "I had
to play J-3 -- it was suited."
Table Stakes: A rule in a poker
game meaning that a player may not go into his pocket
for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount
of money in front of him into the current pot. If he
runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created
in which he has no interest. All casino poker is played
table stakes. The definition sometimes also includes the
rule that a player may not remove chips from the table
during a game. While this rule might not be referred to
as "table stakes," it is enforced almost universally in
public poker games.
Tell: A clue or hint that a player
unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand, his
next action, etc. May originally be from "telegraph" or
the obvious use that he "tells" you what he's going to
do before he does it.
Thin: As in "drawing thin." To be
drawing to a very few outs, perhaps only one or two.
Tilt: To play wildly or
recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is
not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying
wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.
Time: (1) A request by a player to
suspend play while he decides what he's going to do.
Simply, "Time, please!" If a player doesn't request time
and there is a substantial amount of action behind him,
the dealer may rule that the player has folded.
(2) An amount of money collected either
on the button or every half hour by the cardroom. This
is another way for the house to make its money (see
"rake").
To Go: The amount a player must
call if he wishes to continue playing. Example: "The big
blind was $20. Sarah raised $40 more, making it $60 to
go."
Toke: A small amount of money
(typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the dealer by the
winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the great
majority of a dealer's income.
Top Pair: A pair with the highest
card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes
Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair. See "second pair."
Top Set: The highest possible
trips. Example: you have Tc-Ts, and the flop comes
Td-8c-9h. You have flopped top set.
Top Two: Two pair, with your two
hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board.
Top and Bottom: Two pair, with
your two hole cards pairing the highest and lowest cards
on the board.
Trips:
Three
of a kind.
Turn:
The
fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also
known as "fourth street."
Under the Gun: The position of the
player who acts first on a betting round. For instance,
if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are
under the gun before the flop.
Underdog: A person or hand not
mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if
you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a
2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is,
you will make your flush about one in three times). See
also "dog."
Value: As in "bet for value." This
means that you would actually like your opponents to
call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally it's
because you have the best hand. However, it can also be
a draw that, given enough callers, has a positive
expectation.
Variance: A measure of the up and
down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not
necessarily a measure of how well you play. However, the
higher your variance, the wider swings you'll see in
your bankroll.
Wheel:
A
straight from ace through five.
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