poker a-zText Box: F family pot A deal in which every (or almost every) seated player called the first opening bet. fast Aggressive play. I was afraid of too many chasers, so I played my trips fast. Compare to "speeding". feeder In a casino setting, a second or third table playing the same game as a "main" table, and from which players move to the main game as players there leave. Also called a "must-move table." felt The cloth covering of a poker table, whatever the actual material. Metaphorically, the table itself: Doyle and I have played across the felt. fifth street The last card dealt to the board in community card games. Also "river". The fifth card dealt to each player in stud poker. fill, fill up To successfully draw to a hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of a straight, flush, or full house. Jerry made his flush when I was betting my kings up, but I filled on seventh street to catch up. final table The last table in a multi-table poker tournament. The final table is set when a sufficient amount of people have been eliminated from the tournament leaving an exact amount of players to occupy one table (typically no more than ten players). fish An unskilled player who plays loosely and passively, calling a lot of bets. To risk money on a long-shot bet. The action of calling bets on the flop and the turn to make a hand on the river. five of a kind A hand possible only in games with wild cards, or a game with more than one deck, defeating all other hands, comprising five cards of equal rank. fixed limit, flat limit the amount you can bet or raise is fixed for each round of betting flash To show the bottom card of the deck while shuffling. To show one or more downcards from one's hand. After everyone folded, Ted flashed his bluff to the other players. flat call A call, in a situation where one might be expected to raise. Normally I raise with jacks, but with three limpers ahead of me I decided to flat call. Also "smooth call". Compare to "cold call", "overcall". See slow play (poker). floorman, floorperson A casino employee whose duties include adjudicating player disputes, keeping games filled and balanced, and managing dealers and other personnel. Players may shout "floor!" to call for a floorperson to resolve a dispute, to ask for a table or seat change, or to ask for some other casino service. flop the name for the first three cards dealt, face-up on the board, in community card games like Texas Hold'em and Omaha. flop game A community card game. flush A hand comprising five cards of the same suit. See rank of hands (poker). fold lay down your cards and stop playing the hand. You are out. fold equity The extra value gained by forcing your opponents to fold, rather than seeing the showdown. See also equity. forced bet Any wager that is required in order to begin game play, such as an ante, blind forced-move In a casino where more than one table is playing the same game with the same betting structure, one of the tables may be designated the "main" table, and will be kept full by requiring a player to move from one of the feeder tables to fill any vacancies. Players will generally be informed that their table is a "forced-move" table to be used in this way before they agree to play there. Also "must-move". forward motion A house rule of some casinos states that if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves his hand toward the pot ("forward motion with chips in hand"), this constitutes a commitment to bet (or call), and the player may not withdraw his hand to check or fold. Such a player still has the choice of whether to call or raise. Compare to "string bet". fouled hand A hand that is ruled unplayable because of an irregularity, such as being found with too many or two few cards, having been mixed with cards of other players or the muck, having fallen off the table, etc. Compare to "dead hand". four-flush Four cards of the same suit. A non-standard poker hand in some games, an incomplete drawing hand in most. four of a kind A hand containing four cards of equal rank. Also "quads". See rank of hands (poker). four-straight Four cards in rank sequence; either an open-ender or one-ender. A non-standard poker hand in some games, an incomplete drawing hand in most. Sometimes "four to a straight". fourth street The fourth card dealt to the board in community card games. Also "turn". The fourth card dealt to each player in stud. free card A card dealt to one's hand (or to the board of community cards) after a betting round in which no player opened. One is thereby being given a chance to improve one's hand without having to pay anything. I wasn't sure my hand was good, but I bet so I wouldn't give a free card to Bill's flush draw. freeroll In playing a particular hand of poker, a freeroll is a situation that arises (usually when only two players remain) before the last card has been dealt, in which one player is guaranteed to at least split the pot with his opponent no matter what the final cards are, but where there is some chance he can win the whole pot if certain final cards are dealt. This most commonly occurs in a high-low split game where one player knows that he has a guaranteed low hand made, his opponent cannot make a better low no matter what the last card is, but the player who is low might possibly catch a lucky card that gives him a straight or flush, winning high as well. Freeroll tournament used to describe a tournament with no entry fee freezeout The most common form of tournament. There's no rebuy, play continues until one player has all the chips. full, full boat, full hand, full house A hand with three cards of one rank and two of a second rank. Also "boat", "tight". See rank of hands (poker). full bet rule In some casinos, the rule that a player must wager the full amount required in order for his action to constitute a raise. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing an opening bet of $4 who wagers $7 is deemed to have flat called, because $8 is required to raise. Compare to "half bet rule". See Public cardroom rules (poker) and "All in" betting. G gap hand In Texas hold 'em, a gap hand is a starting hand with at least one rank separating the two cards. Usually referred to in context of one-gap and two-gap hands. going south To sneak a portion of your chips from the table while the game is underway. Normally prohibited in public card rooms. Also "ratholing". grinder A player who earns a living by making small profits over a long period of consistent, conservative play. Compare to "rock". guts, guts to open A game with no opening hand requirement; that is, where the only requirement to open the betting is "guts", or courage. Any of several poker variants where pots accumulate over several hands until a single player wins. See guts. gypsy To enter the pot cheaply by just calling the blind rather than raising. Also "limp". H half bet rule In some casinos, the rule that placing chips equal to or greater than half the normal bet amount beyond the amount required to call constitutes a commitment to raise the normal amount. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing a $4 opening bet who places $6 in the pot is deemed to have raised, and must complete his bet to $8. Compare to "full bet rule". See Public cardroom rules (poker) and "all in" betting. hand Collective term for the cards dealt to each player hand-for-hand The situation that arises near the end of a tournament in which, usually, two tables remain and a few players must bust out before the tables are combined for the final table, all of the players at which will finish in the money. Because some players might hope to guarantee a place in the money by playing slowly, hoping to outlast someone else who might go broke, the tournament director sometimes stipulates that whichever table finishes a hand first must wait for the other table before starting the next deal, and the tables play hand for hand. handhistory, hand history The textual representation of a hand (or hands) you played. Also see: Poker tools head up, heads up Playing against a single opponent. After Lori folded, Frank and I were heads up for the rest of the hand. high, high hand The best hand using traditional poker hand values, as opposed to lowball. Used especially in high-low split games. high card A no pair hand, ranked according to its highest-ranking cards. To defeat another player by virtue of high-ranking cards, especially kickers. To randomly select a player for some purpose by having each draw one card, the highest of which is selected (for example, to decide who deals first). When all the players get here, we'll high card for the button. Often high card by suit is used for this purpose. high-low, high-low split If a game is played High-Low or Hi/Lo, instead of the highest hand winning the whole pot, the high hand splits the pot with the low hand. hole, hole cards Face-down cards. Also "pocket cards". I think Willy has two more queens in the hole. A seat, often preceded by a number relative to the button. Sara opened from the 2-hole. hole cam a camera that displays a player's face-down cards ("hole cards") to television viewers. Also "pocket cam". home game A game played at a private venue (usually the home of one of the players), as opposed to a casino or public cardroom. horse A player financially backed by someone else. I lost today, but Larry was my horse in the stud game, and he won big. H.O.R.S.E. mixed game poker. "Mix Games" are games that you play in rotation, with the game changing at pre-determined times, either based on time or number of hands. In HORSE, you will play: Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud 8 or better. I idiot end In flop games, a player drawing to, or even flopping, a straight with undercards to the flop has the idiot end of it. A player with 8-9 betting on a flop of A-T-J puts himself at great risk, because many of the cards that complete his straight give credible opponents higher ones. implied odds, implied pot odds Implied odds are the pot odds adjusted for future betting and should be considered when deciding whether to continue playing your hand improve To achieve a better hand than one currently holds by adding or exchanging cards as provided in the rules of the game being played. I didn't think Paula was bluffing, so I decided not to call unless I improved on the draw. inside straight See inside straight draw. Also "belly buster", "gutshot". Compare to outside straight draw. insurance A "business" deal in which players agree to split or reduce a pot (roughly in proportion to the chances of each of them winning) with more cards to come rather than playing out the hand, or else a deal where one player makes a side bet against himself with a third party to hedge against a large loss. in the middle In a game with multiple blinds, an incoming player may sometimes be allowed to post the blinds "in the middle" (that is, out of their normal order) rather than having to wait for them to pass. A player being whipsawed is said to be "in the middle". in the money To place high enough in a poker tournament to get prize money. Also "ITM". in turn A player, or an action, is said to be in turn if that player is expected to act next under the rules. Jerry said "check" while he was in turn, so he's not allowed to raise. irregular declaration An action taken by a player in turn that is not a straightforward declaration of intent, but that is reasonably interpreted as an action by other players, such as pointing a thumb up to signify "raise". House rules or dealer discretion may determine when such actions are meaningful and/or binding. irregularity Any of a number of abnormal conditions in play, such as unexpectedly exposed cards, that may call for corrective action. See Public cardroom rules (poker). isolation isolation play is usually a raise designed to encourage one or more players to fold, specifically for the purpose of making the hand a one-on-one contest with a specific opponent J jackpot A game of "jackpot poker" or "jackpots", which is a variant of five-card draw with an ante from each player, no blinds, and an opening requirement of a pair of jacks or better. A large pool of money collected by the house and awarded for some rare occurrence, typically a bad beat. joker A 53rd card used mostly in draw games. The joker may usually be used as an Ace, or a card to complete a straight or flush, in high games, and as the lowest card not already present in a hand at low. See bug. A joker may give a player a great many outs. juice Money collected by the house. Also "vig", "vigorish". See Rake (poker). K kicker A kicker, also called a side card, is a card in a poker hand that does not itself take part in determining the rank of the hand, but that may be used to break ties between hands of the same rank. kill game, kill pot In the fixed limit betting structure, a kill game means that the stakes are doubled for that particle hand. When the same person wins two hands in a row, the game is considered 'killed.' So if you play $2-$4 kill, normal hands are played with $2 and $4 bets. However, if someone wins two hands in a row, the next hand is played $4-$8. The game stays 'killed' until someone else wins a hand. kitty A pool of money built by collecting small amounts from certain pots, often used to buy refreshments, cards, and so on. The home-game equivalent of a rake. L laydown A tough choice to fold a good hand in anticipation of superior opposition. lead The player who makes the last bet or raise in a round of betting is said to have the lead at the start of the next round. leg-up (also, leg-up button) The button used to signify who has won the previous hand in a kill game. Winning a pot in a "2 consecutive pots" kill game with the leg-up button in front of you, results in a kill. limit The minimum or maximum amount of a bet. limp, limp in To enter a pot by simply calling instead of raising. limp-reraise A reraise from a player that previously limped in the same betting round. I decided to limp-reraise with my pocket eights to isolate the all-in player. Also backraise. live bet A bet posted by a player under conditions that give him the option to raise even if no other player raises first; typically because it was posted as a blind or straddle, or to enter a new game. live cards In stud poker games, cards that will improve your hand that have not been seen among anyone's upcards, and are therefore presumably still available. In games such as Texas hold 'em, a player's hand is said to contain "live" cards if matching either of them on the board would give that player the lead over his opponent. Typically used to describe a hand that is weak, but not dominated. live game A game with a lot of action, usually including many unskilled players, especially maniacs. lock up To "lock up" a seat in a cash game means to place a poker chip, player's card, or other personal effect on the table in front of the seat, to signify that the seat is occupied even though the player may not be present. loose Compare to "tight", "aggressive", "passive". low The lowest card by rank. The low half of the pot in a high-low split.