Poker Glossary: Every Term You'll Hear at a Home Game

Every game has its own language, and poker is no different. Sit down at a home game for the first time and you'll hear: "he's got the nuts," "she's UTG," "that was a sick bad beat," "stop slow-rolling" — and have no idea what any of it means. This glossary covers every term you'll encounter. Bookmark it.

A

• ▸Action — General term for betting activity. "The action is on you" means it's your turn.
• ▸Add-on — A one-time chip purchase at a specific point in a tournament, available to all players regardless of stack size.
• ▸All-in — Betting all of your remaining chips. Once all-in, you compete only for the main pot.
• ▸Ante — A forced bet from every player before cards are dealt, in addition to the blinds. Common in later tournament levels.
• ▸Ace-high — A hand where the best card is an Ace but no pair or better was made.

B

• ▸Bad beat — Losing a hand you were heavily favored to win.
• ▸Backdoor — Making a hand using both the turn and river (e.g., hitting runner-runner flush).
• ▸Bankroll — The total amount of money set aside for playing poker.
• ▸Bet — The first chips put into the pot on any given street.
• ▸Big blind (BB) — The forced bet placed by the player two seats left of the dealer.
• ▸Blank — A community card that doesn't help anyone's hand.
• ▸Bluff — Betting or raising with a weak hand to make opponents fold.
• ▸Board — The 5 community cards dealt face-up in the center of the table.
• ▸Broadway — An Ace-high straight (A-K-Q-J-10).
• ▸Burn card — A card dealt face-down and discarded before each community card round.
• ▸Button (BTN) — The dealer position. Best post-flop position — acts last on every street.

C

• ▸Call — Matching the current bet to stay in the hand.
• ▸Check — Passing the action without betting when no bet has been made.
• ▸Check-raise — Checking first, then raising when an opponent bets. A strong move.
• ▸Chip-up (color up) — Exchanging smaller denomination chips for larger ones as blinds increase.
• ▸Continuation bet (c-bet) — Betting on the flop after being the pre-flop raiser.
• ▸Cutoff (CO) — The seat directly right of the button. Second-best position.

D–F

• ▸Dead money — Chips in the pot from players who have already folded.
• ▸Dealer button — The small disc that marks the dealer position. Rotates clockwise each hand.
• ▸Donk bet — Betting into the pre-flop aggressor on the flop (generally a weak play).
• ▸Draw — A hand that needs more cards to become strong (e.g., four to a flush).
• ▸Equity — Your mathematical share of the pot based on your probability of winning.
• ▸Felt — The playing surface of a poker table. "Felted" means being knocked out (all chips lost).
• ▸Fish — A weak player who loses money consistently.
• ▸Float — Calling a bet with a weak hand intending to bluff on a later street.
• ▸Flop — The first three community cards dealt face-up.
• ▸Fold — Discarding your hand and forfeiting the pot.

G–K

• ▸Gap concept — You need a stronger hand to call a raise than to make one.
• ▸Gutshot — An inside straight draw needing one specific card (e.g., holding 5-9 with 6-7 on board, needing an 8).
• ▸Heads-up — Playing one-on-one against a single opponent.
• ▸Hijack (HJ) — The seat two to the right of the button. A late-middle position.
• ▸Hole cards — Your two private face-down cards.
• ▸Implied odds — The additional chips you expect to win if you make your draw.
• ▸Kicker — The highest unpaired card used to break ties between same-ranked hands.

L–N

• ▸Limp — Calling the big blind pre-flop instead of raising. Generally considered weak.
• ▸Live blind — A blind that still has the option to raise even if no one else raised.
• ▸Loose — Playing too many hands. "Loose-passive" = calling too much; "loose-aggressive" = LAG style.
• ▸Muck — Discard pile. To muck = to fold without showing your cards.
• ▸Nit — An extremely tight, conservative player who rarely bluffs.
• ▸No Limit (NL) — Can bet any amount up to your entire stack at any time.
• ▸Nuts — The best possible hand given the current board.

O–P

• ▸Outs — Cards remaining in the deck that will improve your hand to a winner.
• ▸Open — The first raise pre-flop. "Open to 3x" = raise to 3 times the big blind.
• ▸Open-ended straight draw (OESD) — 4 consecutive cards needing either end to complete the straight (e.g., 6-7-8-9 needs a 5 or 10).
• ▸Overcall — Calling after another player has already called.
• ▸Overcard — A hole card higher than any card on the board.
• ▸Overpair — A pocket pair higher than the highest card on the board (e.g., KK with a J-8-3 board).
• ▸Pocket pair — Two hole cards of the same rank (e.g., 8-8).
• ▸Position — Where you sit relative to the dealer button. See our full positions guide.
• ▸Pot — All chips bet during the current hand.
• ▸Pot odds — The ratio of the pot size to the call amount. Used to evaluate drawing hands.
• ▸Pre-flop — The first betting round, before any community cards are dealt.
• ▸Protection bet — Betting to prevent opponents from drawing cheaply against your made hand.

R–S

• ▸Rabbit hunt — After a hand ends, dealing out remaining community cards to see what would have come.
• ▸Rake — Fee taken from the pot by the house. Usually none in private home games.
• ▸Range — The entire set of hands a player could have in a given situation.
• ▸Rebuy — Purchasing more chips after losing your stack.
• ▸River — The 5th and final community card.
• ▸Run it twice — Dealing the remaining board cards twice when all-in to reduce variance. Common in high-stakes games.
• ▸Semi-bluff — Betting with a drawing hand that can improve (e.g., flush draw).
• ▸Set — Three of a kind made with a pocket pair + one community card.
• ▸Short stack — A player with significantly fewer chips than others.
• ▸Showdown — Revealing hole cards after the final betting round to determine the winner.
• ▸Slow-roll — Deliberately delaying showing a winning hand. Considered very poor etiquette.
• ▸Slowplay — Playing a strong hand passively to disguise its strength.
• ▸Small blind (SB) — The forced bet placed by the player immediately left of the dealer.
• ▸Squeeze — 3-betting after a raise and one or more calls, applying pressure on multiple players.
• ▸Stack — Your total chip count.
• ▸Straddle — An optional blind bet placed by the UTG player, usually double the big blind.
• ▸Street — Each betting round: flop, turn, and river are all "streets."
• ▸String bet — Placing chips in multiple motions without declaring the amount. Illegal — must bet in one motion.
• ▸Suited — Two cards of the same suit.
• ▸Suited connectors — Two cards of the same suit in consecutive order (e.g., 8♠-9♠).

T–Z

• ▸Tank — Taking a long time to make a decision. "In the tank" = deep thought.
• ▸Tell — A physical or behavioral cue revealing information about a player's hand.
• ▸Tight — Playing a narrow, selective range of hands.
• ▸Tilt — Playing emotionally after a bad beat or loss, leading to poor decisions.
• ▸Top pair — Pairing the highest card on the board with one of your hole cards.
• ▸Trips — Three of a kind made with one hole card and two community cards.
• ▸Turn — The 4th community card.
• ▸Under the Gun (UTG) — The player who acts first pre-flop. Worst position.
• ▸Value bet — Betting with a strong hand expecting to be called by a worse hand.
• ▸VPIP — Voluntarily Put chips In Pot. A stat tracking how often a player enters the pot.
• ▸Wheel — The lowest possible straight: A-2-3-4-5.

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Related Reading

• ▸Texas Hold'em Rules: The Complete Beginner Guide for Home Games — /blog/texas-holdem-rules-complete-guide-home-games
• ▸Poker Hand Rankings: Complete Visual Guide — /blog/poker-hand-rankings-complete-guide
• ▸Poker Positions Explained — /blog/poker-positions-explained
• ▸How to Host a Home Poker Game: The Complete 2026 Guide — /how-to-host-a-poker-night