Are you a beginner in the world of online Poker who is struggling to understand jargon like bluff, all-in, and blind? Having other connotations in the English language as well, these terms are bound to create confusion in any layman’s mind. However, in Poker, these words will help you understand the conversations going on between Poker players at the table. It will give you crucial table information that you would otherwise miss out on.
For your convenience and better understanding, we have identified and listed the top online Poker game terms below in alphabetical order. So, let’s dive in!

A

  • Aces Up – This refers to a hand made of two pairs of cards; one of the card pairs is Aces.
  • A-Game – This is a popular Poker terminology referring to playing to the highest standards, to the best of your abilities that you are capable of playing.
  • Alias – It is the screen name of the player by which he/she is popularly known when playing online Poker.
  • Ante – It refers to a mandatory payment that all players on the online Poker table are forced to make before the cards are dealt. Ante is generally used in the later stages of online Poker tournaments.

B

  • Bankroll – This is the total amount of funds that a player has dedicated to playing online Poker.
  • Blind – A very popular online Poker lingo, playing blind means to do an act in online Poker games without looking at the cards.
  • Bluff – Yet another famous online Poker jargon, bluff refers to a bet that is placed with a weak hand. This is often done to make the opponent fold a better or stronger hand and/or deny them the opportunity to improve their hand to a better one.
  • Board – These are the community cards used in online Poker variant games such as Texas Hold’em or Omaha.
  • Bot – A player on the online Poker table who is not human. It is generally illegal on most online Poker websites; however, may be present on some game tables.
  • Bounty – Refers to the prize money collected after defeating a specific player in a tournament.

C

  • Card Dead – Among the popular online Poker words, it refers to a stage where the player is only dealt bad hands and ends up spending most of their time folding.
  • C-Game – Opposite of A-Game, C-Game implies playing online Poker with a poor state of mind.
  • Chance – The probability or odds of something likely to occur in online Poker. It is often expressed in the form of a percentage.

D

  • Dealer – Refers to the player dealing the cards in online Poker games.
  • Door Card – A card in Stud, a popular variant of online Poker, which is the first upcard dealt to a player. Though the card belongs to the player exclusively, it is generally visible to the entire table (all players present thereon).

E

  • Expected Value – EV refers to how profitable a certain play is likely to be in the long run. It will either be negative (losing), 0 (breakeven), or Positive (profit-making).

F

  • Fish – A common online Poker slang, it refers to the weak player at the table.
  • Flop – Refers to the second betting round in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha. It also refers to 3 community cards dealt face-up on the table during the betting round.
  • Flush – Refers to a hand created with 5 cards of the same suit.
  • Full Boat – A popular nickname for a full house, where a hand is made of 3 cards of 1 rank and 2 cards of another rank.

G

  • Grinding – Refers to playing a large schedule of cash games and/or tournaments regularly like professionals.
  • Gap – Refers to a gap between cards ranked consecutively.
  • Gutshot – Also called an “inside straight draw” where you need just 1 card to complete a straight. For instance, you hold a hand made of 5,6,8, and 9 but need a 7 to complete a straight.

H

  • Hero Fold – True to its name, it is a heroic move by an online Poker player who folds a very strong hand since he’s convinced that his opponent has a better one.
  • Hold’em – The most popular of online Poker variations, Texas Hold’em Poker, is also sometimes known as the “Cadillac of Poker”.
  • House – An online Poker room where the game is being played is called a House.
  • Hole Cards – Those cards that are dealt face down to the players and kept secretly. Hold’em Poker players are dealt 2 hole cards, while Omaha players are dealt 4.

I

  • Improve – A common online Poker term for beginners, it refers to drawing cards that are likely to improve the hand.
  • In the Dark – Betting in the dark implies wagering without looking at your hole cards.

J

  • Joker – The extra card in a cards deck, which is sometimes used as a wild card in Poker.

K

  • Kicker – Refers to cards that aren’t directly used to form a hand but are used as side cards and still contribute to the overall strength of a hand.

L

  • Laydown – Means to make a fold.

M

  • Mark – Refers to the weak player at the table in online Poker. He becomes the target for other strong players trying to increase their profits. It is another term for fish in Poker.
  • Monster – A super strong hand that is unlikely to be beaten even if your opponents improve. For example, you have AA and the board is AA9. You have a monster.

N

  • Nit – Used to refer to a player who is extremely averse to the idea of taking risks and avoids playing any of his starting hands. He simply waits hoping to receive a huge payout from premium holdings.
  • No-Limit – Refers to a betting structure that allows players to raise any amount or place a bet at any point in time.
  • Nuts – Used to describe the best possible hand among Poker hands.

O

  • Omaha – A popular Poker variant that commonly uses community cards. Every player is dealt 4 hole cards on the pre-flop betting round.
  • Open-raise – This refers to making the first raise on the first round of betting.
  • Overbet – As the name suggests, it implies making a bet-sized bigger than the current pot.

P

  • Pair – Two cards of identical rank make a pair.
  • Pocket Pair – Implies a starting hand where there is a pair in the hole.
  • Pot – One of the most popular terms in online Poker vocabulary, pot refers to a place at the center of the poker table where all the wagers or bets are placed.

Q

  • Quads – A common unofficial name or nickname for one of the popular Poker strategies or hand, called “four of a kind”.

R

  • Rabbit Hunt – When a player sees the remaining community cards after he has folded. This generally does not impact the game in any way but allows the player to know whether or not they would have hit their hand.
  • Rank – The number or value of a card in the game of online Poker. Examples – Four, Jack, Ace.
  • Regular – Just like the term, this player is a regular in a certain game of online Poker. The term is generally used to describe an opponent with a higher-than-average skill level.
  • Royal Flush – Used to refer to the best hand in online Poker.

S

  • Satellite – Refers to a tournament event where the winners are awarded a ticket to a bigger tournament.
  • Semi-bluff – Refers to a bluff made with a drawing hand.
  • Sequence – Order of the cards in online Poker, for instance, 5 cards in sequential rank can make a straight in the game.

T

  • Three-Bet – Used to refer to the third bet in a sequence of bets.
  • Tie – Used when two hands are of equal strength and therefore split the pot.
  • Tournament – A popular online Poker event that has a fixed buy-in and awards huge prizes to the winners.

U

  • Underbet – A bet size that is less than 50% of the pot.
  • Upswing – A longer winning period when the stars align to make you win hands. It also refers to the time when you have no business winning for an extended time.

V

  • Variant – Refers to a type or variation of online Poker games, such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, and the like.

W

  • Whale – A whale is a bad player with much money to splurge.
  • WWSF – It is one of the most popular poker HUD stats. It is also used as a benchmark to determine the frequency of a player winning the entire hand at online Poker after seeing a flop.

Wrapping Up

The list above is a partial guide to all the varied terminologies used in the games of online Poker. However, we have made an effort to familiarize you with the basic essential online Poker terminologies to help you get started, especially if you are a beginner to the game.

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