poker glossaryText Box: C call To place an amount of chips in the pot equal to the previous bet. It is necessary to at least call a bet to stay in the game; the other options are to raise or fold. call the clock A method of discouraging players from taking an excessively long time to act. When someone calls the clock, the player has a set amount of time in which to make up his mind; if he fails to do so, his hand is immediately declared dead. In tournament play, a common rule is that if a player takes too long and no one calls the clock, the dealer or floor personnel will automatically do so. calling station Also known as: Loose-Passive, Policeman. Type of player who will call a lot. They do not think about other people's hands, but rather just want to see if their hand will win. They do not bluff much and are not aggressive; they just call a lot. cap A limit on the number of raises allowed in a betting round. Typically three or four (in addition the opening bet). In most casinos, the cap is removed if there are only two players remaining either (1) at the beginning of the betting round, or (2) at the time that what would have otherwise been the last raise is made. Also, term for the chip, token, or object placed atop one's cards to show continued involvement with a hand. cap game Similar to "cap" above, but used to describe a no-limit or pot limit game with a cap on the amount that a player can bet during the course of a hand. Once the cap is reached, all players remaining in the hand are considered all-in. For example, a no limit game could have a betting cap of 30 times the big blind.[1] cards speak A common rule meaning verbal declarations are not binding, the value of a hand is the value of the cards in the hand itself, no matter what anyone declares case card The last available card of a certain description (typically a rank). The only way I can win is to catch the case king., meaning the only king remaining in the deck. cash plays An announcement, usually by a dealer, that a player requested to buy chips and can bet the cash he has on the table in lieu of chips until he receives his chips. catch To receive needed cards on a draw. I'm down 300--I can't catch anything today. or Joe caught his flush early, but I caught the boat on seventh street to beat him. Often used with an adjective to further specify, for example "catch perfect", "catch inside", "catch smooth". catch up To successfully complete a draw, thus defeating a player who previously had a better hand. I was sure I had Alice beat, but she caught up when that spade fell. catch perfect To catch the only two possible cards that will complete a hand and win the pot, usually those leading to a straight flush. Usually used in Texas hold 'em. Compare with "runner-runner". center pot The main pot in a table stakes game where one or more players are all in. chase To call a bet to see the next card when holding a drawing hand when the pot odds do not merit it. To continue to play a drawing hand over multiple betting rounds, especially one unlikely to succeed. Bob knew I made three nines on fourth street, but he chased that flush draw all the way to the river. To continue playing with a hand that is not likely the best because one has already invested money in the pot. See sunk cost fallacy. check To bet nothing. See check. check out To fold, in turn, even though there is no bet facing the player. In some games this is considered a breach of etiquette equivalent to folding out of turn. In others it is permitted, but frowned upon. check-raise A check-raise in poker is a common deceptive play in which a player checks early in a betting round, hoping someone else will open. The player who checked then raises in the same round. chip betting token. chip declare A method of declaring intent to play high or low in a split-pot game with declaration. See declaration. chip dumping A form of collusion that happens during tournaments, especially in the early rounds. Two or more players decide to go all-in early. The winner gets a large amount of chips, which increases the player's chance of cashing. The winnings are then split among the colluders. chip leader The player currently holding the most chips in a tournament (or occasionally a live no limit game). chip race is an event that takes place in poker tournaments, especially those with an escalating blinds (such as Texas hold 'em), in which chips of denominations that are no longer needed (as the current and upcoming blinds are more easily played with larger chip values) are removed from play. This has the effect of reducing the number of physical chips in front of any player, and makes it easier for the players to count their stacks and their bets. chip up To exchange lower-denomination chips for higher-denomination chips. In tournament play, the term means to remove all the small chips from play by rounding up any odd small chips to the nearest large denomination, rather than using a chip race. coffee housing Talking in an attempt to mislead other players about the strength of a hand. For example a player holding A-A as their first two cards might say "lets gamble here", implying a much weaker holding. Coffee housing is considered bad etiquette in the UK, but not in the USA. This is also called speech play. chop To split a pot because of a tie, split-pot game, or player agreement. To play a game for a short time and cash out. Also "hit and run". A request made by a player to a dealer after taking a large-denomination chip that he wishes the dealer to make change. (To) chop blinds. An agreement by all players remaining in a tournament to distribute the remaining money in the prize pool according to an agreed-upon formula instead of playing the tournament to completion. Usually occurs at the final table of a large tournament. chopping the blinds See chopping the blinds. closed A betting round is said to be closed if no player will have the right to raise in the round. Normally this occurs when a player calls, and the next player whose turn it is to act is the one who made the last raise, so he cannot raise further (this ends the betting round). cold call To call an amount that represents a sum of bets or raises by more than one player. Alice opened for $10, Bob raised another $20, and Carol cold called the $30. Compare to "flat call", "overcall". cold deck deck of cards that a player feels is not yielding an average number of playable hands. collusion A form of cheating involving cooperation among two or more players. See cheating in poker. color change, color up To exchange small-denomination chips for larger ones. combo, combination game A casino table at which multiple forms of poker are played in rotation. come bet, on the come A bet or raise made with a drawing hand, building the pot in anticipation of filling the draw. Usually a weak "gambler's" play, but occasionally correct with a very good draw and large pot or as a semi-bluff. community card The cards in the middle of the table that are shared by everyone complete hand See made hand. completion To raise a small bet up to the amount of what would be a normal-sized bet. For example, in a $2/$4 stud game with $1 bring-in, a player after the bring-in may raise it to $2, completing what would otherwise be a sub-minimum bet up to the normal minimum. Also in limit games, if one player raises all in for less than the normally required minimum, a later player might complete the raise to the normal minimum (depending on house rules). See table stakes. connectors Two or more cards of consecutive rank. continuation bet A bet made after the flop by the player who took the lead in betting before the flop (Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em). Compare to "probe bet". countdown The act of counting the cards that remain in the stub after all cards have been dealt, done by a dealer to ensure that a complete deck is being used. counterfeit Also "duplicate". Sometimes a card will come on the board that will hurt your hand because it makes previously valuable cards in your hand communal property. For example, suppose you hold A9 in a game of Texas Hold'em. The board is 5678. You hold a straight to the 9! However, if the final card on the river comes a 9, your hand is counterfeited. Now, everyone has a straight to the nine. Being counterfeited occurs a lot in Omaha Hi-Lo. Many times people's lows are counterfeited by the board. Suppose you hold AAK2. The board is 367Q. You hold the nut low (A2367). However, if the river comes a 2, you no longer hold the nut low. Your low is A2367 still. However, someone with A4 in their hand will have you beat with a low of A2346. cow A player with whom one is sharing a buy-in, with the intent to split the result after play. To "go cow" is to make such an arrangement. cripple In some community card games, to cripple the deck means to have a hand that makes it virtually impossible for anyone else to catch up to. For example, in Texas hold 'em, if your hole cards are A-T and the flop is A-A-T you have "crippled the deck" and it is unlikely you will make much money from it. crying call Calling when a player thinks he does not have the best hand. cutoff The seat immediately to the right of the dealer button. In home games where the player on the button actually shuffles and deals the cards, the player in the cutoff seat cuts the deck (hence the name). D dark Describing an action taken before receiving information to which the player would normally be entitled. I'm drawing three, and I check in the dark. Compare to "blind". dead blind A blind that is not "live", in that the player posting it does not have the option to raise if other players just call. Usually refers to a small blind posted by a player entering, or returning to, a game (in a position other than the big blind) that is posted in addition to a live blind equal to the big blind. dead button / rule The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly. The small blind or button may be assigned to an empty seat. Players always pay a big blind followed by a small blind. There will be one and only one big blind per hand. If the small blind is assigned to a vacant seat, there is no small blind that hand. When the button is on a vacant seat, the cutoff player has last action on consecutive hands. dead hand A player's hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal for some reason, such as having been fouled by touching another player's cards, being found to contain the wrong number of cards, being dealt to a player who did not make the appropriate forced bets, etc. dead man's hand The dead man's hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights." The hand gets its name due to the legend of it having been the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder dead money See dead money (poker). deal To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played. A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a "hand" (though both terms are ambiguous). An agreement to split tournament prize money differently from the announced payouts. deal twice In a cash game, when two players are involved in a large pot and one is all-in, they might agree to deal the remaining cards twice. If one player wins both times he wins the whole pot, but if both players win one hand they split the pot. Also, "play twice". dealer The person dealing the cards. The person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game, even though someone else might be physically dealing. Also "button". Compare to "buck". dealer's choice A version of poker in which the deal passes each game and each dealer can choose, or invent, a new poker game each hand or orbit. declare To verbally indicate an action or intention. See declaration (poker). defense aggression plays like steals can be very effective; players must occasionally reply to them with defensive plays with hands they might not otherwise play. If, for example, an opponent to a player's right frequently steals when the player has posted a blind, the player can be reasonably sure that the opponent is often doing so with inferior hands (otherwise he wouldn't be doing it so often), the player can likely defend his blind (call or raise back) with more hands than he might otherwise. deuce A 2-spot card. Also called a duck, quack, or swan. Any of various related uses of the number two, such as a $2 limit game, a $2 chip, etc. deuce-to-seven A method of evaluating low hands. See Deuce-to-seven low. discard To take a previously dealt card out of play. The set of all discards for a deal is called the "muck" or the "deadwood". dominated hand A hand that is extremely unlikely to win against another specific hand, even though it may not be a poor hand in its own right. Most commonly used in Texas hold 'em. A hand like A-Q, for example, is a good hand in general but is dominated by A-K, because whenever the former makes a good hand, the latter is likely to make a better one. A hand like 7-8 is a poor hand in general, but is not dominated by A-K because it makes different kinds of hands. See Domination (poker). door card In a stud game, a player's first face-up card. Patty paired her door card on fifth street and raised, so I put her on trips. In Texas hold 'em, the door card is the first visible card of the flop. In Draw poker, the sometimes visible card at the bottom of a player's hand. Players will often deliberately expose this card, especially at lowball. double-ace flush Under unconventional rules, a flush with one or more wild cards in which they play as aces, even if an ace is already present. double-board, double-flop Any of several community card game variants (usually Texas hold 'em) in which two separate boards of community cards are dealt simultaneously, with the pot split between the winning hands using each board. double-draw Any of several Draw poker games in which the draw phase and subsequent betting round are repeated twice. double suited Used to describe an Omaha hold 'em starting hand where two pairs of suited cards are held. May be abbreviated "ds" in written descriptions. AAJT (ds) is widely considered a premium pot-limit Omaha hold 'em starting hand. double through, double up In a big bet game, to bet all of one's chips on one hand against a single opponent (who has an equal or larger stack) and win, thereby doubling your stack. I was losing a bit, but then I doubled through Sarah to put me in good shape. downcard A card that is dealt facedown. drag light To pull chips away from the pot to indicate that you don't have enough money to cover a bet. If you win, the amount is ignored. If you lose, you must cover the amount from your pocket. This is not allowed at any casino or any but the most casual home games; see table stakes. draw, drawing hand Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing, or "drawing", cards. drawing dead Playing a drawing hand that will lose even if successful (a state of affairs usually only discovered after the fact or in a tournament when two or more players are "all in" and they show their cards). I caught the jack to make my straight, but Rob had a full house all along, so I was drawing dead. drawing live Not drawing dead; that is, drawing to a hand that will win if successful. drawing thin Not drawing completely dead, but chasing a draw in the face of poor odds. Example: a player who will only win by catching 1 or 2 specific cards is said to be drawing thin. drop To fold. Money charged by the casino for providing its services, often dropped through a slot in the table into a strong box. See "rake". To drop ones cards to the felt to indicate that one is in or out of a game. dry ace In Omaha hold 'em or Texas hold 'em, refers to an ace in one's hand without another card of the same suit. Used especially to describe the situation where the board presents a flush possibility, when the player does not in fact have a flush, but holding the ace presents some bluffing or semi-bluffing opportunity. Compare to "blocker". dry pot A side pot with no money created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. duplicate To counterfeit, especially when the counterfeiting card matches one already present in the one's hand. E early position Players to the three seats to the left of the dealer are said to be in "early position." This is considered the worst position in poker, since you have to act first without knowing how any of the other players are going to play their hands. eight or better A common qualifier in High-low split games that use Ace-5 ranking. Only hands where the highest card is an eight or smaller can win the low portion of the pot. equity One's mathematical expected value from the current deal, calculated by multiplying the amount of money in the pot by one's probability of winning. For example, if the pot currently contains $100, and you estimate that you have a one in four chance of winning it, then your equity in the pot is $25. If a split is possible, the equity also includes the probability of winning a split times the size of that split; for example, if the pot has $100, and you have a 1/4 chance of winning and a 1/5 chance of taking a $50 split, your equity is $25 + $10 = $35. expectation, expected value, EV See expected value. Often used in poker to mean "profitability in the long run". exposed card A card whose face has been deliberately or accidentally revealed to players normally not entitled to that information during the play of the game. Various games have different rules about how to handle this irregularity. Compare to "boxed card".