More Terminology
More Terminology
| Edge | In the long run luck evens out and only skill remains as a deciding factor between players. Edge is the slight advantage one player has over another through better skill, larger stack or better position. |
| Grinder | A player that consistently plays for hours with the intent of slowly and carefully building a large bank roll. |
| Fish | A nickname for bad, losing players, given by better, winning players. |
| Flat call | Making a call in a situation where a raise would have been feasible. |
| Freeroll | A huge tournament that is free to enter. |
| Heads-up | One-on-one poker game. |
| Hole cards | Your starting hand, also known as pocket cards. |
| Gut shot | To draw to a very unlikely draw like an inside straight. |
| Inside straight | On a 5, 9, Q flop with 6, 7 hole cards, an 8 would make the inside straight. |
| Kicker | In case of two players holding equal hands, like the same pair, the highest unpaired card, the kicker, will decide the winner. See Dominated. |
| Limit | The dollar value of the blind. Defines how “big” the game is. You need a much larger stack to play a $50 limit game than a $0.50 game, obviously. |
| Limping | Calling the big blind in pre-flop action. |
| Nuts | To hold the absolutely best combination of cards currently possible. Remember, although you have the nuts on the flop, you may lose after the turn and the river. Holding J10 a flop of 7, 8 and 9 would give you the nuts. Best possible straight! But if the turn or river brings another 9, a guy holding 99 would now have a four of a kind making them the nuts. |
| Open-ended straight | A straight draw that can hit both ways. With a J10 on the flop, a player holding KQ has an open-ended straight draw, hitting with an ace or a nine. See Inside straight. |
| Outs | The total number of possibilities a player has to win a pot based on the current situation. If he holds 99 and needs another 9 to win, then he would have a total of two outs. |
| Over card | Pocket cards that have a value higher than the highest card currently on the board. An ace and a king are over cards to a 57J flop. |
| Pocket pair | Holding two equally valued cards like AA, KK, 77 or 22. |
| Position | A player’s position in relation to the dealer’s button. As the button moves so does your position. |
| Early | First three seats left of (after) the button. The least advantageous position since these players makes their moves first. |
| Middle | Seats 4 through 7 after the button. |
| Late | Positions 8 and 9. Playing out of this position gives players an edge since they already know the other players moves. |
| On the | This seat acts last and thus has an even button bigger edge than the late position. |
| Rag | Low value communal card that probably does not affect the outcome of a hand. |
| Ring game | Single table game where all bets are made directly from a player’s stack and not put into a prize pool and divided at the end as in a tournament. It’s every hand for it self. Players can join and enter the games as they please. Also known as a cash game. |
| A set | A pocket pair that connects with the board making a three of a kind. |
| Showdown | All players still left in the pot after the final betting round reveal their cards so that the winner can be determined. |
| Stack the pot | Winning the pot and adding it to your stack. |
| Starting hand | The two face-down cards dealt to each player at the start of a hand. |
| Steam | To lose your temper and start playing badly. |
| Streak | To be 'in the zone' and win with whatever cards you are dealt. |
| Suited / off suit | Starting hands with matching suits - hearts, clubs, spades or diamonds. |
| Tells | Behavioral patterns that reveal a players moves and strategies. |
| Tilt | To completely lose it and play like a madman. Most commonly after taking several bad beats. |
| Trap | To lure other player to stay in and preferably raise a pot you are absolutely sure you are going to win. |





