holdem glossaryText Box: S satellite A tournament in which the prize is a free entrance to another (larger) tournament. scare card A card dealt face up (either to a player in a game such as stud or to the board in a community card game) that appears to create a strong hand for someone. The Jack of spades on the turn was a scare card because it put both flush and straight possibilities on the board. scoop In high-low split games, to win both the high and the low half of the pot. second pair In community card poker games, a pair of cards of the second-top rank on the board. Compare bottom pair, top pair. sell In spread limit poker, to sell a hand is to bet less than the maximum with a strong hand, in the hope that more of your opponents will call the bet. semi-bluff When a player bluffs on one round of betting with an inferior or drawing hand that might improve in a later round. See semi-bluff. set Three of a kind, esp. the situation where two of the cards are concealed in the player's hole cards. Compare to "trips". set-up A deck that has been ordered, usually King to Ace by suit (spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds). In casinos, it is customary to use a set-up deck when introducing a new deck to the table. The set-up is spread face up for the players to demonstrate that all of the cards are present before the first shuffle. Also called to "spade the deck". sevens rule A rule in many A-5 lowball games that requires a player with a seven-low or better after the draw to bet, rather than check or check-raise. In some venues a violator loses any future interest in the pot; in others he forfeits his interest entirely. shark A professional player. See also card sharp. shoe A slanted container used to hold the cards yet to be dealt, usually used by casinos or in professional poker tournaments. shill Compare to "proposition player". shootout A poker tournament format where the last remaining player of a table goes on to play the remaining players of other tables. Each table plays independently of the others; that is, there is no balancing as players are eliminated. This format is particularly common in European televised poker programs, including Late Night Poker. short buy In no-limit poker, to buy in to a game for considerably less money than the stated maximum buyin, or less than other players at the table have in play. short stack A stack of chips that is relatively small for the stakes being played. shorthanded A poker game that is played with around six players or less, as opposed to a full ring game, which is usually nine or ten players. showdown After the river betting round, players show their hands to each other to determine the winner. This is called the showdown. side pot A separate pot created to deal with the situation of one player going "all in". See table stakes. sit and go A poker tournament with no scheduled starting time that starts whenever the necessary players have put up their money. Single-table sit-and-goes, with nine or ten players, are the norm, but multi-table games are common as well. Also called sit n' gos and a variety of other similar spellings. slow play See slow play (poker). Also "sandbag". slow roll To delay or avoid showing one's hand at showdown, forcing other players to expose their hands first. When done while holding a good hand likely to be the winner, it is considered poor etiquette, because it often gives other players "false hope" that their hands might win before the slow-roller's is exposed. small blind See blinds. smooth call See "flat call". snow To play a worthless hand misleadingly in draw poker in order to bluff. The worthless hand in question. soft-play To intentionally go easy on a player (e.g. not betting or raising against him when you usually would). splash the pot To throw one's chips in the pot in a disorderly fashion. Not typically allowed, because the dealer can't tell how much has been bet. split The starting hand of 7 10. split two pair In community card poker, a two pair hand, with each pair made of one of your hole cards, and one community card. spread The range between a table's minimum and maximum bets. spread-limit A form of limit poker where the bets and raises can be between a minimum and maximum value. The spread may change between rounds. stack The total chips and currency that a player has in play at a given moment. A collection of 20 poker chips of the same denomination, usually arranged in an orderly column. stakes The definition of the amount one buys in for and can bet. For example, a "low stakes" game might be a $10 buy-in with a $1 maximum raise. stand pat In draw poker, playing the original hand using no draws, either as a bluff or in the belief it is the best hand. starting hand In the poker game Texas hold 'em, a player's starting hand consists of two hole cards, which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players. Five community cards are also dealt into play. Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed, and continues throughout the hand. steal To steal is to raise with a hand less valuable than what might normally be considered a raising hand, normally a below average one, or to bluff stop and go Stop and go or stop 'n' go is when a player bets into another player who has previously raised or otherwise shown aggression. Example: On the flop, Bill bets into Tom, Tom raises, and Bill just calls. On the turn, Bill bets into Tom again. Bill has just pulled a stop 'n' go play. Another version of the "stop and go" is in tournament poker when a player raises pre-flop with the intention of going all in after the flop regardless of the cards that fall. This is typically done when the blinds are high and every chip becomes vital. straddle bet A straddle is a blind bet made by the person under the gun. A straddle bet is equivalent to two big blinds. The person who posts the straddle gets to bet last in the preflop round. A straddle is very ill-advised in a limit game because you are unnecessarily posting a large blind bet out of position. Straddles are more common for games such as pot limit Omaha, where the straddle acts to increase the stakes of the game. straight A poker hand consisting of 5 cards whose ranks form a sequence. The highest possible straight is AKQJT (Broadway) and the lowest straight is 54321 (the wheel). When used with an amount, indicates that the speaker is referring to the total bet, versus the amount being raised. Alice bets twenty. Bob raises to fifty straight. Also "altogether" or "all day". straight flush A hand consisting of consecutive cards of the same suit strategy card A wallet sized card that is commonly used to help with poker strategies in online and casino games. string bet A call with one motion and a later raise with another, or a reach for more chips without stating the intended amount. String bets are prohibited in public cardroom rules. Compare to "forward motion". A player can (and should) defend himself against string bet complaints by declaring his intention before moving any chips. Note that the "I call, and raise..." cliche is a string bet. structured A structured betting system is one where the spread of the bets may change from round to round. stud stud poker a variant of poker. A card dealt face up in Stud poker. suited Having the same suit. See card suits. suited connectors Two hole cards of the same suit that are consecutive in rank. e.g. 9 and 8 of clubs super satellite A multi-table poker tournament in which the prize is a free entrance to a satellite tournament or a tournament in which all the top finishers gain entrance to a larger tournament. T table stakes All poker games are played table stakes. This means one can only bet what one has in front of him on the table on any given hand. Players cannot reach into their pockets and add to their bets. If a player runs out of chips in front of him in the middle of a hand, he or she is considered all-in tell A tell in poker is a detectable change in a player's behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player's assessment of his hand. A player gains an advantage if he observes and understands the meaning of another player's tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable. Sometimes a player may fake a tell, hoping to induce his opponents to make poor judgments in response to the false tell. third man walking A player who gets up from his seat in a cash game, after two other players are already away from the table, is referred to as the "third man walking". In a casino with a "third man walking rule", this player may be required to return to his seat within 10 minutes, or one rotation of the deal around the table, or else his seat in the game will be forfeited if there is a waiting list for the game. three of a kind Aka "trips", "set" three cards of the same rank, three pair In a seven card game, such as seven-card stud or Texas hold 'em, it is possible for a player to have 3 pairs, although a player can only play two of them as part of a standard 5-card poker hand. This situation may jokingly be referred to as a player having a hand of three pair. Note that in Omaha hold 'em, it is possible to "have" 4 pair in the same manner. tight See loose/tight play. Compare to "loose", "aggressive", "passive". tilt aka "steam" terms for a state of mental confusion or frustration in which a player knowingly adopts a sub-optimal, over-aggressive strategy to go A term used to describe the amount that a player is required to call in order to stay in the hand, "Alice was deciding whether to call now it was $50 to go." toke In a brick and mortar casino, a toke is a "tip" given to the dealer by the winner of the pot. Tokes often represent a large percentage of a dealer's income. top kicker In community card poker games, top kicker is the best possible kicker to some given hand. Usually it would be an Ace, but with an Ace on the board it would be a King or lower. Having "top pair, top kicker" is frequently enough to win a Texas hold 'em hand. top pair In community card poker games, top pair is a pair of the same rank as the highest ranking card on the board. Compare second pair, bottom pair. top two A split two pair, matching the highest-ranking two flop cards. trey A 3-spot card. Casino personnel refer to the 3♣ as the "trey of clubs". trips When one of a players hole cards in Texas hold 'em connects with two cards on the board to make three of a kind. This differs from a set where three of a kind is made when a pocket pair connects with one card on the flop to make three of a kind. Three of a kind. Compare to "set". turn The turn card or fourth street, in poker, is the fourth of five cards dealt to the board, constituting one face-up community card that each of the players in the game can use to make up their final hand. U under the gun The playing position to the direct left of the blinds in Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em. The player who is under the gun must act first on the first round of betting. underdog An underdog or dog is a player with a smaller chance to win than another specified player. Frequently used when the exact odds are expressed. referred to as a "big wrap" because it has twenty outs rather thaHarry might have been bluffing, but if he really had the king, my hand was a 4-to-1 dog, so I folded. up When used with a card rank to describe a poker hand, refers to two pair with the named card being the higher pair. For example, a hand of QQ885 might be called "queens up". upcard An upcard is a card that is dealt face up so that all players in the game can see it. Generally, the term is applied only to cards that are dealt face up to an individual player, but it can be used to describe the fact that community cards are always dealt face up, as well up the ante Increase the stake. Also commonly used outside the context of poker. V value bet A bet made by a player who wants it to be called (as opposed to a bluff or protection bet). This is typically because he has a superior hand that he expects to win at showdown, or a very good draw for which he can increase his pot equity by more than the amount of his bet. See value (poker). vig, vigorish The rake. See vigorish. W wake up To "wake up with a hand" means to discover a strong starting hand, often when there has already been action in front of the player. walk A walk is the situation where all players fold to the big blind. wash To mix the deck by spreading the cards face down on the table and mixing them up. A dealer may wash the deck before shuffling. weak ace An ace with a low kicker (e.g. four). Also "small ace," "soft ace," "ace-rag." wheel A 5-high straight (A-2-3-4-5), with the Ace playing low. See wheel. In deuce-to-seven lowball, the nut low hand (2-3-4-5-7). wild card See wild card (poker). Compare to bug (poker). window card An upcard in stud poker. The first window card in stud is called the "door card". In Texas hold'em and Omaha, the window card is the first card shown when the dealer puts out the three cards for the flop. wrap In Omaha hold 'em, an open ended straight draw comprising two board cards and three or four cards from a player's hand. A player holding 345A with the board 67K has a "wrap", as any 3, 4, or 5, or 8 will make a straight. A hand of 4589 would also be a wrap draw, but would often be referred to as a "big wrap" because it has twenty outs rather than thirteen, and is not at the idiot end.

Poker Glossary S-W

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