Glossary

The lingo, decoded. Game pages in “I know the lingo” mode link here.

Ace-to-five low (A-5, California lowball ranking)

Low hand ranking where aces are the lowest card and straights and flushes don't count against you. The best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel). Pairs are bad: any unpaired hand beats any pair. Hands are compared from the highest card down, so 8-6-4-2-A beats 8-7-3-2-A.

Used in: A-5 Drawmaha, A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, Action Razz, Archie, Ari, Badacey, Big O, California Lowball, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Razz, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Super Stud 8

Ace-to-six low (A-6 low)

Lowball where the ace is low but straights and flushes count against you. The nuts is 6-4-3-2-A, unsuited; 5-4-3-2-A is a straight and therefore bad.

Used in: London Lowball

Ante

A small forced bet every player posts before the hand, in addition to or instead of blinds. In bomb pots everyone antes the same amount and there are no blinds.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, 5 Card Double Board Bomb Pot PLO, Bomb Pot, Derailment, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Short Deck (6+) Hold'em

Badugi (hand)

A four-card hand with four different suits and four different ranks. Aces are low (except in Badeucy, where they are high). A four-card badugi beats any three-card hand; among equals, compare highest card down (lowest wins). If you have duplicate suits or ranks you play the biggest clean subset, e.g. a "three-card" hand.

Used in: Badacey, Badeucy, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi Hi-Lo, Badugi High Drawmaha, Hi-dugi, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi

Best/best (ultimate)

Double-board hi-lo scoring where the pot is just cut in two, high half and low half, and the winner of each is the best hand on either board. The alternative is a four-way split, one hi-lo per board.

Used in: Ultimate Big O

Big bet

In limit poker, the higher of the two bet sizes, double the small bet (an $8 bet in $4-$8). Used on the late streets.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, Limit Hold'em, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier

Blinds

Forced bets posted before the deal by the two players left of the button. Board and draw games use blinds; stud games use antes and a bring-in.

Used in: 2-7 Single Draw, Archie, Archie 49/0, Badugi, Badugi Hi-Lo, Five-Card Draw, No-Limit Hold'em, Short Deck (6+) Hold'em, Squid Game

Blocker (blockers)

A card in your hand that makes it impossible, or less likely, for an opponent to hold a particular hand. In Drawmaha 49, holding 10-10-10-9-8 means nobody else can total more than 45.

Used in: Drawmaha 49

Bomb pot (bomb pots)

A hand where everyone antes the same amount, hole cards are dealt, and the flop comes out with no pre-flop betting. See Bomb Pot.

Used in: 5 Card Double Board Bomb Pot PLO, Bomb Pot, Derailment, Double Board Omaha

Bring-in

The small forced bet that starts the action on third street in stud, posted by whoever shows the worst door card (or the best, in razz-type games). The bring-in player may usually complete it to a full small bet instead.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, Action Razz, Five-Card Stud, London Lowball, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Super Stud, Super Stud 8

Bug

A joker that only works as an ace, or to complete a straight or flush. In Mexican stud the joker is fully wild face down and a bug face up.

Used in: Five-Card Draw, Mexican Stud

Burn card (burn)

A card the dealer discards face down before each street so nobody can know what's coming off the top of the deck. It never plays for anyone.

Used in: 5 Card Double Board Bomb Pot PLO, Bomb Pot, Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em

Bust (busted)

Going over the target in a points game. In Drawmaha 21, rooms disagree on what a bust costs you: some just ignore the cards that push you over 21, others knock your draw hand out entirely.

Used in: Drawmaha 21

Button (dealer button)

Marks the nominal dealer. Acts last after the first betting round in board and draw games, which is the best seat at the table.

Used in: 2-7 Single Draw, Five-Card Draw, No-Limit Hold'em, Short Deck (6+) Hold'em

Check-raise

Checking, then raising when someone behind you bets. Legal in nearly all poker, and a regular trap in limit games.

Used in: 2-7 Single Draw, A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, California Lowball, Five-Card Draw

Community card (board card, board)

A face-up card in the middle of the table that every player can use as part of their hand.

Used in: Archie, Ari, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better)

Complete (completing the bring-in) (completion)

Raising the bring-in up to a full small bet. It counts as the opening bet, not a raise, so the pot can still be raised after it.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier

Counterfeit (counterfeited)

When the board pairs one of your key cards and ruins your hand. Classic case: you hold A-2 for low, an ace or deuce lands on the board, and your low gets a lot worse because you can't use the paired card twice.

Used in: Big Easy, Big O, Omaha Hi-Lo, Ultimate Big O

Courchevel door card (exposed flop card, spit card)

The first flop card in Courchevel, dealt face up before any betting. It is a real board card, not a burn, and it stays on the board all hand.

Used in: Courchevel, Courchevel Hi-Lo

Dead card (dead cards)

A card you can see in an opponent's up cards or in a folded hand. In stud it's information: those cards are gone from the deck, which changes your odds of hitting what you need.

Used in: Razz, Seven-Card Stud

Dead hand

A hand that is out of the pot and cannot win, for example because the player failed to make a required discard in Super Stud.

Used in: Super Stud, Super Stud 8

Deuce-to-seven low (2-7, Kansas City lowball)

Low hand ranking that's basically "the worst high hand wins." Aces are always high, straights and flushes count against you, so the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 with mixed suits (the "number one"). A-2-3-4-5 is just ace-high: terrible.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 2-7 Razz, 2-7 Single Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badeucy, Razzdeucey, Sick-O

Door card

Your first face-up card in a stud game. It decides who has to bring it in and what everyone reads about you.

Double board (two boards, double-board)

A game dealt with two separate sets of community cards. Each board plays on its own, so you pick three cards from one board, never mixing cards across the two.

Used in: Bomb Pot, Double Board Omaha, Ultimate Big O

Draw (drawing round)

In draw games, each player may discard any number of cards and get replacements from the deck. Triple-draw games have three of these, each followed by a betting round.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 2-7 Single Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Drawmaha, A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, Archie, Archie 49/0, Ari, Badacey, Badeucy, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi Hi-Lo, Badugi High Drawmaha, California Lowball, Drawmaha, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Five-Card Draw, Hi-dugi, Sviten Special

Dugi (hi-dugi hand)

In Hi-dugi, a four-card hand with four different suits. Unlike a badugi, ranks may repeat and pairs are good: A-A-A-A is the best possible dugi.

Used in: Badugi High Drawmaha, Hi-dugi

Eight-or-better (qualifier, 8-or-better)

In hi-lo split games, a low hand only counts if it's five unpaired cards all 8 or lower (aces low). No qualifying low? The high hand takes the whole pot.

Used in: 2-7 Triple Draw, 3-2-1, Archie, Ari, Big Easy, Big O, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Super Stud 8, Ultimate Big O

Freeroll

You're guaranteed at least half the pot and have a shot at the other half. Your opponent can't win; they can only stop you from scooping.

Used in: Badacey, Badeucy

Guts to open (California draw, guts)

Five-card draw with no opening requirement: anyone may open the betting on any hand. The name came after the jacks-or-better version, which was the standard in California for decades.

Used in: Five-Card Draw

Heads-up (HU)

Two players left, or a game with only two players. Heads-up the button posts the small blind and acts first pre-flop and last after the flop.

Used in: No-Limit Hold'em

Hi-lo split (split pot, eight-or-better games)

Half the pot goes to the best high hand, half to the best low hand (if any low qualifies).

Used in: Archie, Badugi Hi-Lo

High badugi (highest low card)

In Badugi Hi-Lo, a valid badugi (four suits, four ranks) judged from the bottom up: the hand whose lowest card is highest wins. K-Q-J-10 is the best; the ace counts as the top card here.

Used in: Badugi Hi-Lo, Hi-dugi

HORSE

A mixed game rotating Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud and Stud Hi-Lo (eight-or-better), usually every orbit or every half hour.

Used in: No-Limit Hold'em

Jacks or better (jackpots, jacks to open)

A five-card draw rule where you may open the pre-draw betting only with a pair of jacks or better. If you split your openers by discarding the cards that made the opening hand, you have to prove them at showdown. If nobody can open, everyone antes again and the cards are redealt. The Gardena version is where the word 'jackpot' comes from.

Used in: Five-Card Draw

Joker (lowball) (fitter, bug)

The traditional extra card in California lowball. It plays as the lowest card not already in your hand, so 8-6-4-A-joker is 8-6-4-2-A. It is not wild and can never pair you. Rooms disagree on whether it's in the deck by default, so check what's posted.

Used in: A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, California Lowball

Kicker

The side card that breaks ties between two hands with the same pair or trips. A pair of kings with an ace kicker beats a pair of kings with a queen kicker.

Used in: Limit Hold'em

Kill pot (kill)

Posting double the big blind to get dealt in immediately instead of waiting for the big blind. In limit games a kill doubles the limits for that hand.

Used in: 2-7 Triple Draw, California Lowball, Limit Hold'em

Limit (fixed limit, FL)

Bets and raises come in fixed sizes: the small bet on early streets, the big bet (double) on later streets. Usually a cap of one bet and three or four raises per round.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Drawmaha, A-5 Triple Draw, Archie, Archie 49/0, Ari, Badacey, Badeucy, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi Hi-Lo, Badugi High Drawmaha, Big O, California Lowball, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Drawmaha, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Five-Card Draw, Five-Card Stud, Hi-dugi, Limit Hold'em, Mexican Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Simultaneous Hold'em-Omaha, Squid Game, Super Stud, Super Stud 8, Sviten Special

Min-raise (minimum raise)

In no-limit, a raise has to be at least as big as the previous bet or raise in that round. The size of the raise counts, not the total: if someone bets $20 and you raise to $40, the next raise has to be to at least $60.

Used in: No-Limit Hold'em

No qualifier (no low qualifier, regular)

A low half that has no eight-or-better requirement, so some low hand always wins it, even a K-high or a pair.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, Badacey, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier

No-limit (NL)

You can bet everything in front of you at any time. Common for Hold'em and 2-7 Single Draw.

Used in: 2-7 Single Draw, A-5 Single Draw, Badugi, California Lowball, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Five-Card Draw, Five-Card Stud, Irish Poker, No-Limit Hold'em, Short Deck (6+) Hold'em

Nut low

The best possible low hand given the cards showing. On a 3-5-8 board in Omaha hi-lo, A-2 in your hand is the nut low.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, Big O

Odd chip

When a pot will not split evenly, the leftover chip. Which half or player gets it depends on the room: the high hand in some rules, the player in the worst position in others.

Used in: 3-2-1, 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, Archie, Ari, Badugi, Badugi Hi-Lo, Big Easy, Big O, Courchevel, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Drawmaha Zero, Hi-dugi, Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Pineapple, Pot-Limit Omaha, Sick-O, Ultimate Big O

One-card-open rule (Sviten rule)

In Sviten Special, if you draw exactly one card it is dealt face up. You may keep it or reject it, in which case you must take the next card, face down. Draw two or more and the usual face-down deal applies.

Used in: Sviten Special

One-way hand (one-way)

A hand that can win only one half of a split pot. In Drawmaha, A-K-Q-J-x is strong for the Omaha half but weak for the draw half.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, A-5 Drawmaha, Badacey, Badugi Drawmaha, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Sviten Special

Open pair (paired board, pair showing)

A pair among your face-up cards in stud. In some rooms it lets players make the big bet on fourth street in Stud high; in Stud 8 and Razz it never does.

Used in: Razz, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier

Paint (face card)

Jacks, queens and kings. Action Razz makes you hold at least one among your seven cards to qualify for the pot.

Used in: Action Razz

Pip count (points)

Scoring a hand by adding up card values instead of reading poker rankings. In the 49/0 games, ace is 1, two through ten are face value, and J, Q and K are zero.

Used in: Archie 49/0, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero

Playing the board (play the board)

Using all five community cards as your hand and none of your own. Legal in Hold'em-style games, where any five of your seven cards count. Illegal in Omaha, where you must use exactly two from your hand.

Used in: Crazy Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, No-Limit Hold'em

Pot-limit (PL)

The biggest bet or raise allowed is the size of the pot (counting the call you'd make first). Standard for Omaha-style games and Drawmaha.

Used in: 5 Card Double Board Bomb Pot PLO, 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, A-5 Drawmaha, A-5 Single Draw, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Big O, California Lowball, Courchevel, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Derailment, Double Board Omaha, Drawmaha, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Five-Card Draw, Five-Card Stud, Irish Poker, London Lowball, Pot-Limit Omaha, Short Deck (6+) Hold'em, Squid Game, Sviten Special, Ultimate Big O, Watermelon

Qualifier (qualify)

The minimum a half of the pot needs before it can be won. In Archie the high half needs a pair of nines or better and the low half needs an eight-high low (see eight-or-better). If nobody meets a half's qualifier, the rules say what happens to it.

Used in: Archie, Ari, Badugi Drawmaha, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Sick-O, Sviten Special

Quartered (getting quartered)

Tying for one half of a split pot, so you win a quarter of it. In multiway pots this can mean you lose money on a hand you "won."

Used in: 3-2-1, Archie, Badacey, Badeucy, Big O, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Double Board Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Sick-O, Super Stud 8

Rainbow

A hand whose cards are all different suits. In Badugi-style games a rainbow is the whole point of the hand.

Used in: Badacey, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi Hi-Lo, Badugi High Drawmaha, Hi-dugi, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi

Raise cap (cap, capped)

The maximum number of raises in one betting round of a limit game. The WSOP uses one bet plus four raises with three or more players, and unlimited raises when a round starts heads-up, but the number is really a house rule. Once it's capped you can only call or fold.

Used in: Limit Hold'em

Razz (A-5 razz)

Seven-card stud played for the lowest hand: ace-to-five, no qualifier, so the wheel is the nuts.

Used in: Seven-Card Stud

Roll your own

A stud format where you choose which of your cards are exposed instead of having the dealer decide. Mexican stud and some home "Super" games do this.

Used in: Mexican Stud

Rolled up

Dealt three of a kind in stud, all of it before any betting could tell you apart. In seven-card stud, "rolled up trips" is the dream start.

Used in: Super Stud, Super Stud 8

Scoop

Winning the entire pot in a split-pot game, both halves. The thing everyone is actually trying to do.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 3-2-1, A-5 Drawmaha, Archie, Badacey, Badeucy, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi High Drawmaha, Big Easy, Big O, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier, Sick-O, Simultaneous Hold'em-Omaha, Super Stud 8, Sviten Special, Ultimate Big O

Set (top set)

Three of a kind made with a pocket pair and one matching card on the board. Distinct from "trips", where the pair is on the board and you hold one. In Omaha a set uses exactly two hole cards.

Used in: Pot-Limit Omaha

Sevens rule (betting sevens)

A limit-lowball rule: after the draw, if you check a hand that is seven-high or better and it turns out to be the best, you win only the pot as it stood before the draw. Post-draw bets go to a separate pot you can't win. It is not used in no-limit or pot-limit lowball.

Used in: 2-7 Single Draw, A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, California Lowball

Seventh street (river, down-the-river, 7th street)

The last card and last betting round in stud, dealt face down. The only street where you get a hidden card that nobody has seen on the table.

Short all-in

An all-in for less than a full bet or raise. In limit games under WSOP rules, an all-in of less than half a bet does not re-open the betting for players who already acted, and half a bet or more counts as a full one.

Used in: Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em

Small bet

In limit poker, the lower of the two bet sizes (a $4 bet in $4-$8). Used on the early streets.

Used in: 2-7 Razz, Limit Hold'em, Razz, Razzdeucey, Razzdugi, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo No Qualifier

Snow (pat, standing pat)

Standing pat is drawing zero cards. Snowing is standing pat on garbage to represent a made hand.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 2-7 Single Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Drawmaha, Badeucy, Badugi, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi High Drawmaha, Drawmaha 49, Five-Card Draw, Sviten Special

Straddle (live straddle)

An optional extra blind posted before the deal, usually double the big blind, by the player under the gun (or on the button in some rooms). The straddler gets the last action pre-flop. The WSOP rules don't allow a button straddle in limit games.

Used in: No-Limit Hold'em

Street (third street, fourth street, seventh street)

Stud's word for a deal round, counted by how many cards you hold: third street is your third card, seventh (or "the river") your last. Not to be confused with a straight.

Used in: Five-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Super Stud

Table stakes

You can only bet the chips you have on the table when the hand starts. No digging into your pocket mid-hand, and if you run short you simply go all-in for what you have.

Used in: No-Limit Hold'em

The nuts (nut hand, nut flush, nut straight)

The best possible hand given the board. The "nut flush" is the highest flush that could exist with the suit on board, and in Omaha it matters a lot because the second-best flush loses nearly all the money.

Used in: 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, Crazy Pineapple, Pot-Limit Omaha

Third street (3rd street)

The first betting round in stud: two cards face down, one face up, then the bring-in and betting.

Touching rule (contiguous boards)

A 3-2-1 / Chowaha house rule that you can only combine a flop, turn and river that physically touch. The middle flop works with either turn, but the top flop can't use the bottom turn and vice versa.

Used in: 3-2-1

Two-and-three rule (Omaha rule, exactly two)

In Omaha-style games you must use exactly two cards from your hand and exactly three from the board. Not one, not four. Four hearts on board plus one in your hand is not a flush.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 3-2-1, 5 Card Double Board Bomb Pot PLO, 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, 6-Card Pot-Limit Omaha, A-5 Drawmaha, Badugi Drawmaha, Badugi High Drawmaha, Big Easy, Big O, Courchevel, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Derailment, Double Board Omaha, Drawmaha, Drawmaha 21, Drawmaha 49, Drawmaha Zero, Irish Poker, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Pot-Limit Omaha, Sick-O, Simultaneous Hold'em-Omaha, Squid Game, Sviten Special, Ultimate Big O, Watermelon

Wheel (bicycle)

A-2-3-4-5. The best hand in ace-to-five low, a five-high straight in high games, and a lousy ace-high nothing in deuce-to-seven.

Used in: 2-7 Drawmaha, 2-7 Razz, 3-2-1, A-5 Drawmaha, A-5 Single Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, Archie, Badacey, Big Easy, Big O, California Lowball, Courchevel Hi-Lo, Crazy Pineapple Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi-Lo Regular, Razz, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo (Eight-or-Better), Ultimate Big O

Wrap (wraparound, wrap draw)

An Omaha straight draw that uses two or more of your hole cards to cover several ranks at once, so many cards complete it. A strong wrap can have up to 20 outs.

Used in: Pot-Limit Omaha