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Poker’s most famous hand, a royal flush, cannot be beaten. It consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a single suit.
Five cards in sequence, of the same suit. In the event of a tie, the highest rank at the top of the sequence wins.
Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest side card (‘kicker’) wins.
Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank. In the event of a tie, the highest three matching cards wins.
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. In the event of a tie, the player holding the highest ranked card wins.
Five non-suited cards in sequence. In the event of a tie, the highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.
Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest, and if necessary, second-highest side card (‘kicker’) wins.
Two cards of matching rank, two cards of different matching rank, and one kicker. If both players have an identical Two Pair, the highest kicker wins.
Two cards of matching rank, and three unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest, and if necessary, second or third-highest side card wins.
Any hand that does not qualify under the categories listed. In the event of a tie, the highest card wins, such as ‘ace-high’.
At our site you’ll find all the world’s most popular poker games, including Texas Hold’em, Omaha and many more.
Normally, the victor of each hand of poker is the player that holds the most elevated positioned hand when all cards are appeared toward the finish of the hand – known as the ‘standoff’ – or the player that makes the last uncalled wager, accordingly winning without expecting to arrive at a confrontation.
Uncertain about whether a flush beats a straight? Can’t recollect how to make a full house? You can discover all the data you require to think about hand rankings in the table beneath (click here for additional). The most grounded hands are in the top column, running from left to right, with the most vulnerable conceivable hand being just a high card.
Poker games normally include a constrained wager, for example, the Big Blind and Small Blind in Hold’em and Omaha. These constrained wagers involve the beginning pot in some random hand of poker, which is the primary motivator players need to win the hand. Activity emerging from the resulting rounds of wagering further expands the size of the pot.
After any initial cards are dealt, players are usually called upon to act in turn, moving clockwise around the table.
Each player can usually take one of the following actions when it is their turn to act:
Different variants of poker have different betting rounds. Texas Hold’em and Omaha are the two most popular poker games in the world and have identical betting structures, with four rounds of betting known as pre-flop, the flop, the turn and the river.
The pre-flop betting round begins as soon as all players have received their hole cards, before any community cards have been dealt; betting on the flop occurs after the first three community cards are dealt; on the turn after the fourth community card; and on the river after the fifth and final community card.
On each betting round, betting continues until every player has either matched the bets made or folded (if no bets are made, the round is complete when every player has checked). When the betting round is completed, the next dealing/betting round begins, or the hand is complete.
Here’s an example of a Texas Hold’em hand after all the cards have been dealt. As you can see, players may use any of their two hole cards with any of the five community cards to make the best five-card hand they can make – in this case, you can use both your hole cards and three of the shared community cards to make a straight.
Once the last bet or raise has been called during the final round of betting, a showdown occurs; the remaining active players must show or ‘declare’ their hands, and the player(s) with the best ranking hand(s) win the pot.
Players often show their hands in order, rather than all at the same time. Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot divided in different ways depending on the game rules and how each player’s hand ranks against their opponents.
Betting limits refer to the amount players may open and raise. Typically, poker games are of the following types; no limit, pot limit or fixed limit.
For No Limit and Pot Limit games, the ‘Stakes’ column in the SupremeKing lobby indicates the Small Blind and Big Blind in that game, while for Mixed Games, the Stakes listed in the lobby are the betting amounts for Limit games; in Pot Limit and No Limit rounds, the blinds are usually half of the blinds in limit games.
You may have seen a poker scene in a movie or on TV where a player is faced with a bet for more chips than they have at the table, and is forced to wager a watch, a car or some other possession in order to stay in the hand. This may make for good drama, but it is not generally the way poker is played in real life!
All games on our site are played ‘table stakes’, meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand can be used during the hand. The table stakes rule has an application called the ‘All-In’ rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a poker hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot up to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a ‘side pot’, which the All-In player is not eligible to win. If more than one player goes All-In during a hand, there could be more than one side pot.
Now you’ve got the rules, what’s stopping you? Download and play!
It’s been said that poker is anything but difficult to adapt yet difficult to dominate. This page will give you a few hints to assist you with turning into a triumphant poker player, with general poker exhortation and procedure for players new to the game, just as some further developed ideas to consider once you have a decent handle on the essentials.
Choose whether you need to play poker to win or to play for no particular reason. To play at a reliably winning level requires both time and exertion. All in all, it takes work. There isn’t anything amiss with playing poker for the sake of entertainment, yet there is no motivation to plan to lose, in any event, when you are playing for no particular reason. In any case, choosing which sort of poker player you need to be before you start will settle on your choices and meetings simpler.
Indeed, even the best poker major parts on the planet have losing meetings. Try not to tragically expect to win each time you play. Your objective ought to be to play as well as could be expected in each meeting. On the off chance that you do, the cards and rewards will deal with themselves as you improve.
Numerous players wrongly judge their poker playing capacity dependent on the aftereffects of every meeting. Your objective ought to be to make the most ideal play without fail. The closer you result in these present circumstances, the better your outcomes will be.
Poker is a numerical game, and it’s a round of deficient data. That may sound muddled, yet it truly isn’t. On an exceptionally fundamental level, winning poker begins with the choice of which beginning hands to play. On the off chance that you enter the pot with the best hand more regularly than your adversaries do, you will win a larger number of times than your rivals.
Beginning hand determination is in a general sense significant, yet it’s just one bit of the poker technique puzzle. Whenever you have dominated strong beginning hand rules and see how they change by your situation at the table, the following region you should deal with is your play for the remainder of the hand. The zone that isolates proficient players from beginners is that proficient players will in general play far superior to their rivals during the rest of the hand, after the beginning hand choices are made.
This is particularly evident concerning the choices made at the finish of each hand. These aptitudes include ascertaining pot chances, perceiving wagering designs, feigning, and utilizing position. The long stretches of training important to dominate the center and end game play are certainly justified regardless of the exertion, in light of the fact that even little enhancements in a player’s capacities can tremendously affect that player’s lifetime rewards. An extraordinary method to learn is to utilize the free assets accessible at our SupremeKing Tutorial, where you’ll discover a lot of occasions to rehearse and improve your game.
Another meta-ability that ought to be essential for a triumphant player’s poker procedure is maintaining a strategic distance from tilt. Your rivals will utilize your feelings against you, however just in the event that you let them. Enthusiastic play brings about helpless choices and lost cash. Inclining and steaming can happen to anybody, and once in a while the lone fix is a break from the game. That is OK; the game will in any case be there a little ways from now. Truth be told, it will even now be there tomorrow.
Something that makes poker a particularly entrancing game is the sheer wide range of approaches, styles and approaches to play. Most styles can be separated into a blend of the accompanying:
Consider your own methodology when you play poker. Do any of the terms above depict you?
On the off chance that your answer is ‘every one of them and none of them’, you’re onto something. The capacity to ‘switch gears’ and switch up your style at the poker table is very valuable, as playing any style also unbendingly will make you unsurprising. Notwithstanding, we suggest that players beginning should attempt to zero in on a ‘tight-forceful’ mix.
Receiving this style should make you alright with wagering forcefully, which is fundamental for long haul achievement, while attempting to play generally great hands before the lemon can assist you with taking in train and keep you from getting into such a large number of troublesome circumstances with negligible hands. As you acquire insight and improve your game, you will have the option to release up and shift your style, however you ought to consistently attempt to remain forceful.
The vendor, or ‘catch’, is typically the last player to act in a wagering round, and acting last is a strategic preferred position as you definitely realize how your adversaries have acted. The seller position changes after each hand so this bit of leeway is divided among all players to help keep the game reasonable.
To utilize this strategic edge in support of yourself, it’s by and large astute to play more hands when in ‘late’ position (for example after most players have just acted) than ‘right on time’ position. Great players will regularly loosen up their beginning hand prerequisites in late situation, as the additional advantage of position bears the cost of them more prominent adaptability and more choices as the hand plays out.
In case you’re playing rivals who need to act before you, it is said that you ‘have position’ on them, while they are ‘out of position’. This bit of leeway can be critical.
Great hand choice is consistently significant, as is understanding that the more players you’re facing, the more noteworthy the likelihood that in any event one of them will have a solid hand. However, you will likewise discover circumstances where an all around planned feign could win you a pot you may somehow lose.
When a poker player feigns, what are they attempting to accomplish? They are endeavoring to get their adversary to overlap the best hand. It’s that basic. In most poker games most of your hands will be garbage that you need to crease before the lemon, or negligible hands you would prefer not to submit such a large number of chips with. At the point when that is the situation, feigning turns out to be significant on the grounds that it allows you another opportunity to win.
A fruitful feign will persuade your adversary that you hold cards that will beat them, so it’s essential to consider how your play looks to them. On the off chance that you truly held the cards you need them to think you hold, would you have played the hand the manner in which you did? Is the ‘story’ you are telling with your activities at the table steady and intelligent?
While feigning, ensure that you thoroughly consider the entire hand to check whether the story you are telling bodes well. In the event that you simply choose to put a wager out there as your last plan to win the pot then the odds are high that a shrewd rival will see through it.
Chances are a method of communicating the likelihood of something occurring. While flipping a coin, for instance, there is an equivalent likelihood of the coin arrival on ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ – we could communicate this likelihood as coordinated (1/1, or ‘levels’) – for each one time it arrives on ‘heads’, it’s probably going to arrive on ‘tails’ once too. Presently consider the chances of rolling a six on a six-sided kick the bucket: for each one time it lands on a six, it’s probably going to arrive on an alternate number multiple times, so we could communicate the chances of rolling a six as 5/1.
Presently we should take a gander at a typical circumstance in a poker game: you have four clubs and are trusting that that keep going club will fall on the stream, which will make your flush and win you the pot. There are 13 clubs in a 52-card deck, and two of them are in your grasp and another two are on the load up, leaving nine clubs remaining. Limiting the two cards in your grasp and the four on the board, there are 46 cards that could come on the waterway, nine of which will win you the pot – these nine cards are known as your ‘outs’.
So the chances of you making the flush are 37/9 (37 cards of the 46 cards won’t make your flush, while nine cards will). This proportion of 37 to 9, and hence your odds of making your flush, are roughly 4 to 1.
We’ll utilize the model above to investigate ‘pot chances’ – the proportion of chips you can win versus the chips you need to place in the pot.
Suppose you’re heads facing one rival, holding back to hit your keep going club on the stream. There’s 10 effectively in the pot, and your adversary wagers their last 10. You can call, wanting to hit the club, or crease. What is the right play? Sorting out the math is simpler than you might suspect.
In the present circumstance you’re being approached to pay 10 to attempt to win 20 – that is pot chances of precisely 2 to 1. In any case, as we probably are aware, the chances of you hitting your flush are more like 4 to 1. Taking a 4/1 danger for a payout of just 2/1 is an awful play, you should overlap your flush draw.
Yet, imagine a scenario where there was at that point 90 in the pot when your adversary put in their last 10. All things considered, you’d be approached to pay 10 to attempt to win 100 – pot chances of precisely 10 to 1. Being offered a payout of 10/1 when taking a 4/1 danger is a decent move, in this case you should call.
At SupremeKing, we deal many varieties of poker, some of which use different hand rankings. Hold’em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud and 5 Card Draw all use the traditional ‘high’ poker rankings. Omaha High/Low, Razz and 7 Stud High/Low use the ‘Ace to Five’ (‘California’) low hand rankings for low hands. 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw use the ‘Deuce to Seven’ (‘Kansas City’) lowball rankings for low hands.
Lastly, Badugi uses a special ranking of hands unique to that game.
Straight Flush: Five cards in numerical order, all of identical suits.
In the event of a tie: Highest rank at the top of the sequence wins. The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.
Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’.
In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same four of a kind, the highest fifth side card (‘kicker’) wins.
Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
In the event of a tie: Highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two matching cards wins.
Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split. The suit itself is never used to break a tie in poker.
Straight: Five cards in sequence.
In the event of a tie: Highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.
Note: The Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card which can act in this manner. A,K,Q,J,T is the highest (Ace high) straight; 5,4,3,2,A is the lowest (Five high) straight.
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind, the highest side card, and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.
Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card.
In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have two identical pairs, highest side card wins.
One pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.
In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.
High card: Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above.
In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.
This method of ranking low hands is used in traditional Hi/Lo games, like Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo, as well as in Razz, the ‘low only’ Stud game.
Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. A flush or straight does not ‘break’ an Ace to Five low poker hand. Aces are always a ‘low’ card when considering a low hand.
Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there.
Five Low, or Wheel: The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace.
In the event of a tie: All Five-high hands split the pot.
Six Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6,4,3,2,A defeats 6,5,4,2,A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Seven Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Eight Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
An Eight Low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo. However in Razz, there is no such ‘qualifier’ and the lowest hand will always win the pot, even if it is a nine low, queen low, or even a pair!
The Deuce to Seven Lowball hand rankings are the exact opposite of the traditional ‘high’ hand rankings. Therefore, the worst possible hand in traditional high poker – seven-five high, with different suits, becomes the best possible hand in deuce to seven lowball (a ‘perfect seven’ low or ‘wheel’).
In practice, an ace always plays as a high card in Deuce to Seven (so A,5,4,3,2 is an ace high, not a straight). Straights and flushes count against your hand in Deuce to Seven.
Seven Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a seven. The best possible hand is 7,5,4,3,2, also known as a ‘wheel’ or ‘number one’.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. Thus 7,5,4,3,2 beats 7,6,5,3,2 (a ‘Seven-Five low’ is better than a ‘Seven-Six low’). If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Eight Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being an eight.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Nine Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a nine.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Ten Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a ten.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Note: There is no ‘qualifier’ for low in Deuce to Seven lowball games. The above are just examples of hands that may come up in play – the lowest hand will always win the pot in Deuce to Seven, even if it is a pair or worse!
Badugi does not use traditional poker hand rankings and it takes some practice to learn how to correctly read the hands. Badugi hand rankings are somewhat related to the Ace to Five rankings; like in Ace to Five, an ace always plays as a low card. However, unlike Ace to Five, each card in your hand must be a different suit and a different rank, in order to count.
Badugi hands consist of four cards, instead of the usual five. Because of this it is impossible to make a five-card straight, and having four cards in sequence does not hurt your hand.
Remember, if you have cards of the same suit, only one of them counts, and if you have pairs, only one of them counts.
Badugi: A badugi is any hand which consists of four unpaired cards, each a different suit.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest and fourth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
Three-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of three unpaired cards of different suits, but a fourth paired or suited card. The lowest three unpaired cards of different suits play.
Because there is a pair, one of the fours does not count, so it is simply ignored, making a 4,2,A three-card hand. Because there are two hearts in this hand, one of them is ignored, making a 3,2,A three-card hand.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest card in the hand can be used to break the tie. The fourth (paired or suited) card does not count toward the hand and is not used to break ties.
Two-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of two unpaired cards of different suits, but two paired or suited cards. The lowest two unpaired cards of different suits play.
Because there are two pairs, one of each pair is discarded, making a 5,A two-card hand.
Because there are three hearts, two of them are discarded, making a 2,A two-card hand.
In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. The third and fourth (paired or suited) cards do not count toward the hand and are not used to break ties.
One-Card Hand: A hand consisting of only one playable card. The lowest card plays.
Since there are four Aces, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just an Ace.
Since there are four cards of the same suit, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just a Three.
In the event of a tie: The pot is split between two equal one-card hands.
(1) Opportunity to act. If a player appears not to realize it’s their turn, the dealer will say “Your action.” (2) Bets and raises. “If a third heart hits the board and there’s a lot of action, you have to assume that somebody has made the flush.”
A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most Hold’em games do not have an ante; they use “blinds” to get initial money into the pot.
To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes games, a player may not go into their pocket for more money during a hand. If they run out, a side pot is created in which they have no interest. However, they can still win the pot for which they had the chips. Example: “Poor Bob. He made quads against the big full house, but he was all-in on the second bet.”
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand. For instance, suppose you have A-7. The flop comes A-6-4. You bet and are called. The turn is the T, which everybody checks, and then the river is the J. You’ve made a “backdoor” nut flush. See also “runner.”
To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest of luck that they managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot. We won’t give any examples; you will hear plenty of them during your poker career.
The first chips placed in the pot on any street. Pre-flop, the small blind would be classified as the first bet.
The larger of the two blinds typically used in a Hold’em game. The big blind is normally a full first round bet. See also “blind” and “small blind.”
A board card that doesn’t seem to affect the standings in the hand. If the flop is A-J-T, then a turn card of 2 would be considered a blank.
A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the button. See also “live blind.”
To bet or raise holding a hand you believe to be weaker than that of your opponent, with the intention of getting them to fold their stronger hand.
All the community cards in a Hold’em game – the flop, turn, and river cards together. Example: “There wasn’t a single heart on the board.”
A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have A-6, and the flop comes K-T-6, you have flopped bottom pair.
To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.
A marker that indicates the (nominal) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: “Oh, the button raised.”
(1) As in “buy the pot.” To bluff, hoping to “buy” the pot without being called. (2) As in “buy the button.” To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to act last on subsequent betting rounds.
To put into the pot an amount of money equal to the most recent bet or raise. The term “see” (as in “I’ll see that bet”) is considered colloquial.
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn’t raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.
To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. This is typically the third or fourth raise. Dealers in California are fond of saying “Capitola” or “Cappuccino.”
The last card of a certain rank in the deck. Example: “The flop came J-8-3; I’ve got pocket jacks, he’s got pocket 8’s, and then the case eight falls on the river, and he beats my full house.”
The first pot created during a poker hand, as opposed to one or more “side” pots created if one or more players go all-in. Also “main pot.”
1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. Equivalent to betting zero dollars. (2) Another word for chip, as in poker chip.
To check and then raise when a player behind you bets. Occasionally you will hear people say this is not fair or ethical poker. Piffle. Almost all casinos permit check-raising, and it is an important poker tactic. It is particularly useful in low-limit Hold’em where you need extra strength to narrow the field if you have the best hand.
To call more than one bet in a single action. For instance, suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now any player acting after that must call two bets “cold.” This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise.
A drawing hand (probably from the craps term).
Cards that are presented face-up in the middle of the poker table and shared among players in games like Hold’em and Omaha. These are also referred to as board cards or “the board”.
A hand that is defined by all five cards – a straight, flush, full house or straight flush.
A Hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank. Examples: KQ, 76.
To make your hand less valuable because of board cards that duplicate it. Example: you have 87 and the flop comes 9-T-J, so you have a straight. Now an 8 comes on the turn. This has counterfeited your hand and made it almost worthless.
To beat a hand – typically a big hand. You hear this most often applied to pocket aces: “Third time tonight I’ve had pocket aces cracked.”
As in “to cripple the deck.” Meaning that you have most or all of the cards that somebody would want to have with the current board. If you have pocket kings, and the other two kings flop, you have crippled the deck.
The player in a poker game who actually (or theoretically) is dealing the cards. When a professional dealer (casino or cardroom) or automated dealer (online) is present – it is necessary to identify the player who would be dealing the cards because the blinds and the betting action are to the left of the dealer. This is done by utilizing a marker called a dealer button which travels around the table in a clockwise manner, moving to the next player after each hand is completed.
Shortened form of “underdog.”
A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play. For instance, K3 is “dominated” by KQ. With the exception of strange flops (e.g., 3-3-X, K-3-X), it will usually lose to KQ.
To play a hand that is not yet good, but could become so if the right cards come. Example: “I’m not there yet – I’m drawing.” Also used as a noun. Example: “I have to call because I have a good draw.”
Trying to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If you’re drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a full house, you are “drawing dead.” Of course, this is a bad condition to be in.
Your “rightful” share of a pot. If the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can “expect” to win.
(1) The amount you expect to gain on average if you make a certain play. For instance, suppose you put $10 into a $50 pot to draw at a hand that you will make 25% of the time, and it will win every time you make it. Three out of four times, you do not make your draw, and lose $10 each time for a total of $30. The fourth time, you will make your draw, winning $50. Your total gain over those four average hands is $50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. Thus, calling the $10 has a positive expectation of $5. (2) The amount you expect to make at the poker table in a specific time period. Suppose in 100 hours of play, you win $527. Then your expectation is $5.27/hr. Of course, you won’t make that exact amount each hour (and some hours you will lose), but it’s one measure of your anticipated earnings.
A blind put in by a player just entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his position at the table. See also “blind” and “post.”
A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop.
As in “play fast.” To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible. Example: “When you flop a set but there’s a flush draw possible, you have to play it fast.”
A poker hand which is the statistical favorite to win.
The first three community cards, put out face-up, altogether.
To forfeit any chance of winning the current pot in poker. To lay down your hand or throw your hand in instead of calling or raising a bet.
A hand that may not be played for one reason or another. A player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of the pot. Example: “He ended up with three cards after the flop, so the dealer declared his hand foul.”
A turn or river card on which you don’t have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand (or because of your reputation with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn, you can bet. If you don’t get it on the turn, you can check as well, seeing the river card for “free.”
One player has a shot at winning an entire pot when he is currently tied with another player. For instance, suppose you have A-Q of clubs and your opponent has A-Q of hearts. The flop is Q-5-T including two clubs. You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling, because you can win the whole pot and your opponent can’t. If no club comes, you split the pot with him; if it does come, you win the whole thing.
A straight filled “inside.” If you have 9-8, the flop comes 7-5-2, and the turn is the 6, you’ve made your gutshot straight.
A pot that is being contested by only two players. Example: “It was heads up by the turn.”
As in “the flop hit me,” meaning the flop contains cards that help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit you.
Cards dealt face-down to a player – most commonly used when describing the first two player cards in Hold’em and the first four player cards in Omaha.
The establishment running the game. Example: “The $2 you put on the button goes to the house.”
Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the turn even though the pot isn’t offering you quite 4:1 odds (your chance of making the flush) because you’re sure you can win a bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush.
Seeking one specific card value to make a straight. For instance, a player holding 9-5 with a board of 2-7-6 can make a straight with any eight. This is also known as a gutshot straight draw.
A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten. In Hold’em, the “loser” must typically get aces full or better beaten. In some of the large southern California card clubs, jackpots have gotten over $50,000. The jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake.
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in Hold’em.
A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The “live” means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them
A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous.
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer. Example: “His hand hit the muck so the dealer ruled it folded even though the guy wanted to get his cards back.” Also used as a verb. Example: “He didn’t have any outs so he mucked his hand.”
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of them) whenever it is their turn to act. It is a very different game from limit poker.
The best possible hand given the board. If the board is K-J-T-4-2 with three hearts, then A-X of hearts is the nuts (with X representing a card of any value). You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn’t the overall nuts. For the above example, somebody with A-Q might say they had the “nut straight.”
A Hold’em starting hand with two cards of different suits.
A Hold’em starting hand with two cards two apart in rank. Examples: J9s, 64.
Seeking one of two card values to make a straight. For instance, a player holding 9-8 with a board of 2-7-6 can make a straight with either a ten (6-7-8-9-T) or with a five (5-6-7-8-9). This is also known as an up-and-down straight draw.
A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural. Example: “Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs.”
To beat. Example: “Susie outran my set when her flush card hit on the river.”
To call a bet after one or more others players have already called.
A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you have AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you don’t have a pair, but you have two overcards.
A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair.
To call a bet when the bettor is representing a hand that you can’t beat, but the pot is sufficiently large to justify a call anyway. Example: “He played it exactly like he made the flush, but I had top set so I paid him off.”
To show down a hand in Hold’em when your cards don’t make a hand any better than is shown on the board. For instance, if you have 22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you must “play the board”: the best possible hand you can make doesn’t use any of your cards. Note that if you play the board, the best you can do is split the pot with all remaining players.
Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, “He had pocket sixes” (a pair of sixes), or “I had ace-king in the pocket.” See also “hole cards”.
A Hold’em starting hand with two cards of the same rank, making a pair. Example: “I had big pocket pairs seven times in the first hour. What else can you ask for?”
To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds. Example: a player leaves one seat at a table and takes another in such a way that he moves farther from the blinds. He is required to post an extra blind to receive a hand. See also “extra blind.”
A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot whenever it is his turn to act. Like No Limit, this is a very different game from limit poker.
The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing. For example, suppose there is $60 in the pot. Somebody bets $6, so the pot now contains $66. It costs you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 11:1. If your chance of having the best hand is at least 1 out of 12, you should call. Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance, suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your flush. If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make your call correct.
The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call. Example: “The pot was laying me a high enough price, so I stayed in with my gutshot straight draw.”
(1) To keep your hand or a chip on your cards. This prevents them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally mucked by the dealer. (2) To invest more money in a pot so blind money that you’ve already put in isn’t “wasted.” Example: “He’ll always protect his blinds, no matter how bad his cards are.”
Four of a kind.
A flop (or board) that doesn’t appear to help anybody very much. A flop that came down J-6-2 would look ragged.
A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.
To increase the amount of the current bet.
An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer. This is the cardroom’s income.
The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit). Example: “jack,” “seven.”
To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker.
A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament. Also referred to as a “live” game since actual money is in play instead of tournament chips.
The fifth and final community card, put out face-up, by itself. Also known as “fifth street.” Metaphors involving the river are some of poker’s most treasured clichés, e.g., “He drowned in the river.”
A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable: if he raises you on the river, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts.
Typically said “runner-runner” to describe a hand that was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river. Example: “He made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips.” See also “backdoor.”
A card that may well turn the best hand into trash. If you have T-8 and the flop comes Q-J-9, you almost assuredly have the best hand. However, a turn card of T would be very scary because it would almost guarantee that you are now beaten.
A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have A-T, and the flop comes K-T-6, you have flopped second pair. See “top pair.”
As in “sell a hand.” In a spread-limit game, this means betting less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping players will call whereas they would not have called a maximum bet.
A powerful concept first discussed by David Sklansky. It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may be a positive expectation play. Example: you have K-Q, and the flop is T-5 -J. If you bet now, it’s a semi-bluff. You probably don’t have the best hand, and you’d like to see your opponents fold immediately. Nevertheless, if you do get callers, you could still improve to the best hand.
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.
A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a short stack.
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand – i.e. after the fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown.
A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips. Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carl calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that either Al or Beth can win, but not Carl. Carl, however, can still win all the money in the original or “center” pot.
To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.
The smaller of two blind bets typically used in a Hold’em game. Normally, the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first round bet. See also “big blind” and “blind.”
To call. Smooth call often implies slow playing a strong hand. Example: “I flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the guy in front of me bet – I didn’t want to scare anybody out.”
A pot that is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.
A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards’ ranks appears on the board as well. Example: you have T-9, the flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair. This is in comparison to two pair where there is a pair on the board. Example: you have T-9, the flop is 9-5-5.
A betting structure in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round. A typical spread-limit structure is $2-$6, where a player may bet as little as $2 or as much as $6 on every betting round.
An optional extra blind bet, typically made by the player one to the left of the big blind, equal to twice the big blind. This is effectively a raise, and forces any player who wants to play to pay two bets. Furthermore, the straddler acts last before the flop, and may “re-raise.”
A bet (more typically a raise) in which a player doesn’t get all the chips required for the raise into the pot in one motion. Unless they verbally declared the raise, they can be forced to withdraw it and just call. This prevents the unethical play of putting out enough chips to call, seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising.
Used to apply to a certain betting structure in poker games. The typical definition of a structured Hold’em game is a fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river. Example: a $2-$4 structured Hold’em game: bets and raises of $2 before the flop and on the flop; $4 bets and raises on the turn and river.
A Hold’em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit. Example: “I had to play J-3 – it was suited.”
A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into his pocket for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount of money in front of him into the current pot. If he runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. All casino poker is played table stakes. The definition sometimes also includes the rule that a player may not remove chips from the table during a game. While this rule might not be referred to as “table stakes,” it is enforced almost universally in public poker games.
A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand, his next action, etc. May originally be from “telegraph” or the obvious use that he “tells” you what he’s going to do before he does it.
To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be “on tilt” if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.
(1) A request by a player to suspend play while he decides what he’s going to do. Simply, “Time, please!” If a player doesn’t request time and there is a substantial amount of action behind him, the dealer may rule that the player has folded. (2) An amount of money collected either on the button or every half hour by the cardroom. This is another way for the house to make its money (see “rake”).
A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the great majority of a dealer’s income.
A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have A-Q, and the flop comes Q-T-6, you have flopped top pair. See “second pair.”
The highest possible trips. Example: you have T-T, and the flop comes T-8-9. You have flopped top set.
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board.
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the highest and lowest cards on the board.
Three of a kind.
The fourth community card. Put out face-up, by itself. Also known as “fourth street.”
The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop.
A person or hand not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times). See also “dog.”
As in “bet for value.” This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally, it’s because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw that, given enough callers, has a positive expectation.
A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play. However, the higher your variance, the wider swings you’ll see in your bankroll.
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