The 2024 OnlinePoker.co.uk Glossary

One of the best ways to learn to play poker effectively is to read through guides about poker at an online casino. Unfortunately many of the top-rated guides rely on terminology that many new players simply don’t know. This glossary for online poker terms should help you learn that terminology so that you can learn how to become a top-rated player over time.

Action – The amount of real money betting in one hand.

All-in – To put all your chips into the middle of the table where bets are collected.

Ante – The minor bet that players in the hand must make to be able to see the flop.

Bet – To put money on the table and risk it if your hand doesn’t work out. Players are required to match this to stay in for the hand.

Bankroll – The total amount of money that you have to spend playing poker online.

Back Door – When a player gets lucky and ends up with a hand he wasn’t trying for late in the game.

Banker – The player that manages the chips and the money that everyone bought in with. This is often the casino when playing online.

Big Blind – Big blind, this is placed down by the player two steps left of the dealer and is usually double the small blind.

Board – The cards that are laid out on the table exposed to all the players. There are 5 board cards in Texas Hold’em

Blind – A forced bet that two players must make each hand. This keeps money on the table even when players aren’t interested in playing their hands.

Bluff – To bet or raise when you have a hand you don’t believe will win. This is done to intimidate players into folding.

Burn – Discarding the top card of a deck before dealing out all the cards. This discard is known as the burn card.

Bump – Another word for raise that some real cash players use.

Bust – Losing all your money at the table.

Buy-in – Paying to play at a table or tournament.

Call – Matching the bet of another player to stay in the hand.

Caller – The player that calls a bet another player lays down.

Change Gears – Adjusting your play style to confuse the other players at the table.

Chase – Chasing is staying in a hand when you have poor odds of winning just to see what cards will turn over.

Check – To stay in the game without placing a bet of any type. This is only an option if no player has bet yet for the turn.

Check Raise – Checking initially and then raising the bet of another player that decides to bet after your check.

Community Cards- Means the same thing as the board, the cards that are exposed to all the players and usable by them.

Deuce – A two

Draw – To discard some of your cards and pull the same amount of fresh cards out of a deck.

Early Position – The first three spots after the dealer.

Face Card – A Jack through King

Flop – The first three cards all laid down in the middle of the table in Texas Hold’em

Flush – Five cards of the same suit, a strong poker hand.

Fish – A player who plays poorly and regularly loses money.

Freeroll – A tournament that’s either partially or fully paid for by the casino.

Full House – A pair and a three of a kind together.

Full Ring – A game table with the maximum number of players.

Gut Shot – Draw on an inside straight, a Gut Shot Draw would be the 6 when you have 3,4,5,7 already.

Hole Cards – The two cards each Texas Hold’em player has in their hands.

Inside Straight – A straight made from a card in the middle of the sequence later on.

Late Position – The dealer and the two spots just before him on the table.

Limit Poker – Poker that limits the total raise allowed when playing.

Loose – A player that throws around a lot of money and plays more hands than a tight player does.

Main Pot – Most of the money put in the centre of the table that every player still in the hand has a chance of getting.

Middle Position – The fourth through sixth spots at a nine-person table, usually sitting opposite of the dealer.

No Limit Poker – Poker that allows players to raise and bet as much as they like while playing the game.

Nut – The top hand that you can have for the cards out on the table.

Out – A card that will dramatically improve the quality of your hand, most players have many outs.

Pass – To check if there is no bet and to fold if there is a bet. This is used in online poker a lot.

Pay Station – A player that pays to stay in hands even when there isn’t much of a chance of winning.

Pocket Pair – Getting two of a kind as your hole cards in Texas Hold’em

Quads – Four of a kind

Raise – A bet higher than the existing bet on the table.

River – The last card to be laid out on the table of Texas Hold’em

Side Pot – A minor prize pot off to the side of the main pot. This only exists when two or more players bet more than all the players can afford to pay for.

Small Bet – The bet that you’re allowed to make during the first round of Texas Hold’em and many other poker variations.

Small Blind - This is placed down by the person one left of the dealer, it’s normally half the bet you’re allowed to make in the opening rounds of the game.

Slow Play – To play in an unaggressive style when you have an excellent hand, usually to keep players in the game longer and earn more off the hand.

Stack – Total chips at the table.

Tight – Playing hands more carefully and folding more often than a loose player does.

Trips – Three of a kind

Turn – The card laid down right after the flop in Texas Hold’em

Pot – The middle of the table where bets are collected.

This online poker glossary should help you understand poker guides a bit better. Referencing it can help you become a top player and hopefully the glossary for online poker will leave you with less of a learning curve as you try to improve your skill.