Action Another term for "betting," that is, to start the action is to start the betting.
All-In When a player has insufficient chips to "call" the bet, he bets all of his chips and covers the current pot, any subsequent bets will be in a side pot and he will not be involved in this side pot. If his hand is the highest then he will win the main pot, but not the side pot.
Ante A small sum of money, placed in the pot by each player. Antes are used in Stud and Draw, but not in Hold'em or Omaha.
Bad Beat This is a common term for when you have a really good hand and are beaten by a much better hand. Some poker rooms offer jackpot prizes for the best BAD BEAT hand, i.e. the best losing hand.
Big Blind The player to the dealers left posts a small blind, (a compulsory bet) equal to half the small bet, the player to his left places the Big Blind, equal to the small bet.
Blind Forced bets placed in the pot by the first two players in front of the dealer button, in Hold'em and Omaha. See "small blind" and "big blind."
Bluff To bet when you hold a weak hand, hoping that the intimidation factor of your bet can win the hand.
Board The community cards in flop games.
Bring-in In Stud, a bet that must be made on the very first betting round. Usually the player showing the lowest card is forced to make a bet; in some games, the player showing the highest card is forced. The bring-in applies only on the very first betting round, though. On all further rounds, the player showing the highest hand on board has the OPTION to bet first, but need not.
Button A disc that signifies who is the nominated dealer for this hand. The button moves clockwise (to the left), each hand.
Call This is a bet that matches the current bet.
Check If no other bets have been made, you can check (pass), and wait to see if anyone else will bet. If everyone checks, then play moves to the next round.
Check-raise To check, indicating weakness, with the intention of raising after someone else bets.
Check-raises are allowed in all casino poker games; in some home games, they are frowned upon.
Dealer The player nominated to be the dealer for each hand, he doesn't actually deal, but is the last one to bet, so it can be advantageous.
Fish The weakest player on the table, the one who loses the most money.The famous saying is: " If you look around the table for the "Fish" and you can't find him, it's you and it's time to get out of this game".
Flop The first three community cards in Hold'Em or Omaha.
Fold To throw your cards in, i.e. to decide your hand is not worth playing anymore.
Hole cards The first two cards dealt face down to you, also known as "pocket cards" in Hold'Em.
Initial deal The first set of cards dealt to players before they have to make a decision.
Kicker The high card that goes with a pair or two pair.
Mucked cards To throw your cards in without showing them to anyone.
Narrowing the Field To bet or raise in the hopes that you will drive out some players whose hands are currently worse than yours, but who might improve if allowed to stay in.
Nuts The best possible hand in any one game. A hand that can not be beat, and should be bet aggressively.
Pocket cards Same as Hole Cards.
Post Usually a forced bet, like a blind, upon entering the poker game.
Pot The total of all the chips in the centre of the table, this is what we are all playing for.
Rake The money removed from each pot by the house, as a commission.
Raise, Re-Raise A bet that will increase the level of the current bet.
River The last community card in a flop game, also refers to the last card in 7 card stud.
Rounds of betting A round of betting is complete when all players have had the opportunity to either fold, call or raise.
Rock A player known to be very conservative, who usually bets or raises only when he has a very powerful hand.
Show all When betting is finished and the cards are required to be shown, to establish the highest hand.
Small Blind Refer to Big Blind.
Turn The fourth community card in flop games.
So, now that you know the basics - take a seat at the table!
Good luck!
