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Glossary of poker terms


The game of poker has grown incredibly quickly over the last few years, and with it has come a type of “poker slang.” For beginners, that can make the game slightly difficult to follow.

With that in mind, we hope that our glossary of poker terms will help those learning the game to get a better understanding of what is going on around them.

Big Slick Ace-King
Chip Leader The player at the table currently holding the largest number of chips
Cowboys A pair of kings
Flop The first three ‘community’ cards dealt face up in the middle of the table after the first round of betting
Fourth Street See ‘Turn’
Gay Waiter Q-3 (A Queen with a Tray)
Gutshot Straight 1 card is needed in the “Gut” to make a straight (eg 5 X 7 8 9)
Kojack K-J
Limp in To simply call a bet before the flop rather than raising it
Nut Flush See ‘Nuts’
Nuts The best hand possible considering the community cards available
On the Button The ‘dealer’ button is in front of you. The small blind and the big blind are the two players immediately to your left.
Open ended A player holds four consecutive cards making a straight possible at either end
Overpair A pair held In a player’s hand that outranks any card on the board
Pocket Rockets Two aces
Probe bet Small bet, usually between a quarter and a third of the pot, designed to gather information
Rebuy Allows a player to pay additional fee to receive extra chips. Only allowed during a rebuy period and usually only when the player has lost all his chips or currently has fewer than he started with.
River The final card to be dealt face-up in the middle of the table
Rock A conservative player who will generally only play premium hands.
Short Stack The player at the table who currently has the smallest number of chips
Suited Connectors Two cards of the same suit that follow each other in rank (eg 6d 7d or 3c 4c)
Turn The fourth ‘community card’ to be dealt in the middle of the table
Under the gun The first person to act
Wired pair A pair dealt to a single player before the flop