The most common poker terminology

Poker is a very interesting game. Considered to be a community game, poker can be played by two or more people at a single table, sometimes up to ten. Many people play poker either in competition or for entertainment. Whether you play for money or for pleasure, there is a lot of terminology used in poker that can provide a great boost to your antics when playing at a table.

There are many places to learn all the poker terminology in play today. One of the most popular places is on the internet. Here you will be able to find most of them, more than you even knew existed. Also learn the terms from the other seasoned players, and as you continue playing, you will find that you continue to pick up other terms along the way. There are also many accredited books written by renowned poker maestros, and they all contain detailed information.

The terminology is a “must-learn” if you want to be a good poker player. You will always find yourself at a disadvantage by not understanding the goings-on at the table. The glossary of poker terminology given below is not arranged in any particular order, but it will be a good starting point for all poker players in the making.

Action: a term used to denote a player’s turn to take action in the play and, in a second instance; it could also mean an exciting session in the game where many chips are all in play at the same time.

Add on: all the players at the poker table are given an opportunity, (maybe by the house) to purchase additional chips while the game is still in progress.

Aces High and Aces Up: are two situations in the card game where the former means that the outcome of the game had an ace as the best card. In the second case, the showdown cards are a pair and one of them is an ace.

Bankroll: refers to the amount of money that you carried to the table intending to play all of it away. It also refers to the highest wager a player might be willing to place at any one game.  The bankroll determines how the game is won; if a player holds a big one, he can give the others a hectic time by raising constantly. If someone’s bankroll is less than has been bet, then they will not call the bet, and so on.

An all-in: putting all of your remaining chips in the pot. From all actions at the poker table, this is the most powerful as it is a signal to other players that you are in a position to win the game.

Ante: the contribution made by each player at the table before your cards are shown. The purpose of this is to create or build the pot further. This kind of action forces the players to engage in play rather than wait for the best hand before beginning. It is more of a forced bet usually seen at the latter stages of the poker game. It is rarely used in Texas Hold’em.

Blinds: are usually the two starting bets, made by players at the beginning of the game. There are 2, the big blind and the small blind. The small blind is the bet placed by the player seated to the immediate left of the dealer and the big blind is then placed by the player seated next to the small blind on the left. The dealer’s position on the table is rotational as are the two blinds. They rotate with the dealer always to his left. The purpose of the blinds is to stimulate play into action as betting can only start once the blinds are in the pot.

Pot: a term used to refer to the amount of money at the center of the table, to be won by the player holding the best hand. It’s not limited to one pot only there can be many with the biggest being referred to as the main pot.

Pot limit: is the middle ground between limit poker and no limit poker. In this situation you are only allowed to raise to the limit of the existing pot and no further.

Burn a card: refers to the act of disposing other cards in order to protect the identity of the card beneath.

To check: to choose not to place a bet and let the next player in line act. A player can only enjoy the option of checking when there has been no bet placed prior to their turn to play.

The community cards: the cards dealt face up in the poker games of Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker. Players must use them to come up with the best hand possible, to win the game.

The dealer button: a flat disc positioned in front of the dealer indicating who the dealing hand is. The button rotates with the dealer until all players have had a chance to deal, and then it starts all over again.

The flop: refers to the first three community cards, dealt face up allowing betting to commence.

To fold: the player throws in their entire hand on the table, chooses not to bet and loses their chance of winning the pot entirely. This means that the player is virtually out of the game.

To muck: to choose not to show one’s hand at the showdown putting the hand out of play even if it was the winning hand.

Kicker: when in a five-card hand two players hold the same hand and therefore, the player with the strongest hand is going to win the pot.

The river card is the last community card in Texas Hold’em and after this is dealt, a round of betting follows