Poker Terms

In order to become a pro-poker player you need to understand the poker terms. We have listed some of the most populat poker terms in the game:

action
1 player's turn to act. The action is on you.
2 willingness to gamble. I'll give you action or There's plenty of action in this game.
3 bet, along with all the calls of that bet. For example, if one player makes a $5 bet and three other players call, he is said to have $5 "in action", and to have received $15 worth of action on his bet. Usually this term comes into play when figuring side pots when one or more players is all in.

active player
A player still involved in the pot. If there are side pots, an all-in player may be active in some pots, but not in others.

all in
Having bet all of your chips in the current hand.

bank
Also called the house, the person responsible for distributing chips, keeping track of the buy-ins, and paying winners at the end of the game.

bounty
An aspect of some poker tournaments that rewards players for eliminating other players with a cash prize for each player they eliminate, separate from the tournament payout structure.

buy the pot
Making a bet when no one else is betting so as to force the other players to fold, thus winning the pot uncontested. A specialized version of this is "buying the blinds" by making a large raise in the first round forcing all other players out of the game.

color change, color up
To exchange small-denomination chips for larger ones

hanger
When the bottom card of the deck sticks out beyond the others, an unwanted tell that the dealer is dealing from the bottom of the deck.

heads up
Playing against a single opponent. After Lori folded, Frank and I were heads up for the rest of the hand.

offsuit
Cards that are not of the same suit. The ace of clubs and the king of spades are called ace-king offsuit

royal cards
Royal card are also known as face cards or picture cards. These cards consist of the Jack, Queen, and King of any suit.

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.

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.

weak ace
An ace with a low kicker (e.g. four). Also "small ace," "soft ace," "ace-rag."