Glosario Del Poker

Glosario del Poker
A B C D E F G H I8 J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
A-Game
1) The highest-stakes game in a given establishment. Opposite of Z-game. 2) One's best

game, in terms of the quality of one's play, as, "He's playing his A-game."
Able
An obsolete term for the player immediately to the left of the dealer in games that use an
automatic betting scheme. Also called edge, elder hand, or eldest hand. Sometimes the player in
that position is the last to bet before the draw, which is equivalent to the situation involving an
under-the-gun blind.
According to Hoyle
With respect to the rules of poker, proper; a vague phrase invoking authority.
Ace
The highest or lowest card in the deck. If the cards are arranged in order, the ace either
starts this sequence: A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K; or finishes this one: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K-
A. In high poker, the ace is the highest card in a hand, with one exception: when it is part of a 5-
high straight, that is, in this hand: A-2-3-4-5, of mixed suits.
Ace in the Hole
In a stud game, having an ace as one's down card or one of one's down cards. This being a
desirable condition, the phrase passed into general usage as an advantage or resource kept in
reserve until an opportunity presents itself.
Ace Out
1
To win (perhaps by bluffing) while holding an ace high hand (that is, a relatively
worthless hand, since it doesn't contain even a pair). This phrase passed into general usage with
the meaning of winning by deception or just barely beating someone. (If your opponent holds a
totally worthless hand, an ace-high hand would just barely beat him; that is, you would ace him
out.)
Ace to Five
In a game played for low, ace to five means straights and flushes don't count and the ace
can be used as a low card. The best possible hand in an ace to five game is therefore A2345
(often called a wheel).
Ace Up the Sleeve
Describing the situation in which a cheater has withdrawn an ace from the deck to be
introduced into the game later, or, more generally, has taken some unfair advantage. The phrase
passed into general usage to describe the situation in which someone is hiding some probably
unfair advantage.
Ace-High
A five-card hand containing an ace but no pair; beats a king-high, but loses to any pair or
above.
Ace-High Straight Flush
A royal flush.
Ace-to-Five Draw
Ace-to-Five Lowball
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Acepots
A form of high draw poker, in which a player cannot open the pot without holding at least
two aces as openers.
Aces and Spaces
A five-card hand consisting of two aces and three other worthless cards.
Aces Full
A full house with aces over any pair.
Aces Over
1) Pairs, one of which is aces. 2) A full house with aces over any pair.
Aces Up
Pairs, one of which is aces.
Acey-Deucey
1) Two pairs, aces and deuces. 2) In hold 'em, A-2 as one's first two cards. 3) A non-poker
game, usually played in home games, but also found rarely in casinos, in which players bet that a
third card in succession will fall in rank between the first two, which are dealt face up before the
bet. Sometimes called Red Dog.
Acey-Uppy
Pairs, one of which is aces.
Act
To do something when it's your turn, one of: check, call, fold, open bet, and raise.
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Action
1) The relative liveliness of a game, often measured by the frequency and quantity of bets
and raises. "This game has a lot of action." Often part of the phrase fast action. 2) Being required
to act. When it's your turn to do something, someone might say, "It's your action," or, "The action
is up to you." 3) That portion of the pot that a player short of the full bet can win a multiple of. In
a no-limit game, if John bets $100, Jim calls the whole $100, and you call, but you have only
$20, you are said to have $20 worth of action in the pot. A side pot of $160 will be created
between John and Jim; $20 of John's bet goes into the main pot, as does $20 of Jim's bet, and all
of your bet; you can win the $60 main pot if you win.
Action Button
A bet that must be posted, in a seven-card stud high-low game, by the winner of a scoop
pot above a certain size, signifying a full bet (a blind raise, in other words), rather than just a call
of the original forced bet. Any player who acts before the action button can only call the bring-in.
The holder of the action button essentially raises blind, and then, when it gets back to those who
have only so far called the opening bet, they can either call or raise. For example, if the low card
normally must bet $1 in a $5-$10 game, and there is an action button out, anyone who calls the
$1 is committing to bet $5 later. No one would call the $1 without intending at least to call the
blind raise by the action button. Whether the action button acts in turn, or after everyone else has
acted, depends on the card room.
Action Only
In many card rooms, with respect to an all-in bet, only a full bet is considered a legitimate
wager, in terms of whether this constitutes a raise that can be re-raised. Anything less than a full
bet is considered to be action only, that is, other players can call such a bet but not raise it. For
example, Chloe bets $10. Henry calls. John goes all in for $14. When the bet gets back to Chloe,
she is permitted only to call the extra $4; the same goes for John. See discussion at full bet.
Active
Still in contention for a pot. "Before the draw, there were five people in the pot; after the
draw, there were three active players."
Active Hand
A hand still in contention for a pot.
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Active Player
A player who is still in the pot.
Add-on
The opportunity to buy additional chips in some tournaments. Some tournaments allow
players the opportunity at a certain point to buy additional chips, called an add- on. This is
different from a re-buy, because usually anyone still in the tournament can add on, and the
opportunity to add-on usually marks the end of the re-buy period. I was in such bad chip
position, I decided it wasn't worth paying for the add-on.
Advantage
Same as edge (An advantage over an opponent, either specific or subjective.).
Advantage Player
A thief or cheater, that is, someone who wins by taking an advantage.
Advantage Tool
A cheating device, as a marked card or a mechanical device for hiding one or more cards,
as, for example, a holdout machine.
Advertise
To make a bluff with the deliberate intention of being exposed as a loose player.
Advertising usually means showing down a mediocre hand, to give the impression that you play
overly loose or that you play a generally weak game. The idea is that other players will then give
you more action when you make a legitimate hand. Since people are bad at revising first
impressions, this potentially beneficial effect can be long-lasting. Typical advertising plays in
hold'em might be to show down top pair with a weak kicker (e.g., K2), middle pair, or a gut shot
draw that missed. These hands have marginal intrinsic value, but playing them early in a session
might pay off later. Of course, it's best to advertise if you actually want to be called down more
often, e.g., at an especially tight table. At a table full of calling stations, it might be unnecessary
or even harmful. Advertising can also mean anything you do at the poker table to manipulate
how other players assess you.
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Advertisement
The act of advertising.
After-Hours Game
A private game, played after a card room closes for the night, often held in a motel or
hotel room, and sometimes crooked.
Age
An obsolete term for the player immediately to the left of the dealer in games that use an
automatic betting scheme. Also called edge, elder hand, or eldest hand. Sometimes the player in
that position is the last to bet before the draw, which is equivalent to the situation involving an
under-the-gun blind.
Agent
The partner of a thief in a cheating scheme.
Aggressive
A style of play characterized by frequent raising and re-raising. This is not the same thing
as loose play. Many good players are selective about the cards they will play, but aggressive once
they get involved in a hand. An aggressive table is one dominated by aggressive players.
Ahead
1) Winning. "Are you ahead or behind?" 2) With regard to a reference position at the
table, acting before (usually immediately before). If the deal is one position to your right, you are
ahead of the deal. If a player is sitting to your right, he acts ahead of you.
Ainsworth
In hold'em, 6-2 as one's first two cards.
Air
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1) In a lowball game, letting another player know whether you are going to draw cards or
not, sometimes letting the player know how many, usually with the intention of getting that
player into the pot. Usually part of the phrase give air. "Gimme some air. I'll draw two if you're
drawing one." 2) Inadvertently exposing cards; usually part of the phrase put air into [a hand].
"You'll like sitting next to Johnny; he puts a lot of air into his hand." That is, if you sit next to
Johnny, the way he holds his cards you can often see some of them, which, presumably, gives
you an edge (albeit an unethical one) on him.
Ajax
In hold'em, A-J as one's first two cards. Also called foamy cleanser.
Alabama Night Riders
Three kings.
Alcohol.
I'll call.
Alexander
The king of clubs. Probably comes from Alexander the Great.
All ( Blue, Green, Purple, Etc. )
Colorful terms to describe a flush.
All Black
Having a spade or club flush. Also, all blue, all purple.
All Blue
Having a spade or club flush. Also, all black.
All Green
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Having a flush. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in home games and
not much in card-rooms.
All Pink
Having a heart or diamond flush. Also, all red.
All Purple
Having a spade or club flush. Also, all black, all blue.
All Red
Having a heart or diamond flush. Also, all pink.
All the Way
Betting all one's chips, usually preceded by go. "If I make this hand, I'm going all the
way."
All the Way in One Play.
I'm betting all my chips.
All-in
To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes games, a player may not go
into his pocket for more money during a hand. If he runs out, a side pot is created in which he
has no interest. However, he can still win the pot for which he had the chips. Example: "Poor
Bob - he made quads against the big full house, but he was all-in on the second bet."
All-in Bet
A bet made by a player in which he puts all his chips in the pot because he is all in.
Alone Player
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A card thief working with no confederates.
Amc.
"All my chips." An announcement, usually in a no-limit game, on his turn that a player is
betting or raising all of his chips.
American Airlines
In Hold'em, a pair of Aces in the hole. Better known (at least in rec.gambling) as Pocket
Rockets.
Ammo
Chips. "Houseman, I need more ammo" is a request for more chips.
Ammunition
Chips. "Houseman, I need more ammunition" is a request for more chips.
An Ace Working
An ace in hand.
Anaconda
A form of seven stud in which cards are passed to left and right, sometimes multiple
times, and sometimes with five cards chosen at the end and rolled, that is, exposed one at a time.
Also called pass the trash, Screwy Louie
Angle
Any technically legal but ethically dubious way to increase your expectation at a game; a
trick.
Angle Shooter
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A poker player who uses various underhanded, unfair methods to take advantage of
inexperienced opponents. The difference between an angle shooter and a cheat is only a matter of
degree. What a cheat or thief does is patently against the rules; what an angle shooter does may
be marginally legal, but it's neither ethical nor gentlemanly. Nor is it in the spirit of the game.
Unfortunately, poker is not a gentleman's game. In addition to learning how to protect yourself
against cheating players, you must learn to watch out for the angle shooters.
Announce
In high/low games, declaring one's hand as high or low or both ways (usually done with
chips in hand). Usually played in home games.
Announced Bet
A verbal declaration by a player, in turn, in a no-limit or spread game, of the amount of

his bet, or, in other games, that he is betting. In games in which announced bets are permitted,
they are usually binding (when made in turn).
Ante
1) One or more chips put into each pot by each player before the cards are dealt. An ante
is not part of a player's next bet, as opposed to a blind, which usually is. 2) The player to the left
of the dealer, usually in an ante and straddle game.
Ante and Straddle
A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the ante) puts in (usually) one chip
before getting any cards, and the player to his left (the straddle) puts in two chips. (Sometimes
the dealer also puts in one chip.) The first player to have a choice on making a bet after having
seen his cards is the player two positions to the left of the dealer. This is an old name for what is
now called a two-blind traveling blind game. This is similar to a blind and straddle game. Also
see little blind, middle blind, big blind.
Ante Bean
An ante, or a chip used to ante.
Ante Up
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Put one's ante in the pot.
Ante Up.
A request, usually by the dealer, to one or more players to ante up.
Apologizer
Same as apology card.
Apology Card
In lowball, the appearance in the current hand of the card that would have made one's
hand the previous hand. For example, a player draws to A-2-3-4 and catches a four. Next hand,
he looks at the first card he receives from the dealer. It's a five, which he turns face up for the
whole table to admire (presumably because some of them may never have seen a five before),
while saying, "There it is, the apology card."
Apple
Big game, often the biggest game in a particular club. "I lost $1000 in the apple today."
Also, big apple.
Argine
The queen of clubs. May be an anagram of Regina (queen in Latin), or a corruption of

Argea.
Arkansas Flush
Four-card flush.
Around-the-Corner Straight
In high draw poker, a special straight, a nonstandard hand sometimes given value in a
private or home game, five cards in a series in which the sequence of cards is considered to
continue from king through ace, as, for example, J-Q-K-A-2. Sometimes the hand ranks between
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three of a kind and a "normal" straight; sometimes it ranks between a "normal" straight and a
flush.
Artist
A cheat who manipulates the deck.
As Nas
An ancient Persian game that some say is an ancestor of poker.
Asian Five-Card Stud
A California game, a form of five-card stud played with a stripped deck.
Asian Games
The former name for California games. The term is still sometimes used in casinos and
card-rooms.
Asian Stud
A California game, a form of five-card stud played with a stripped deck.
Assault Rifle
In Omaha, hole cards that are A-K-4-7 of any suit(s)
Assigned Bettor
The player who is first to bet in a particular round.
Auto Ante
This option determines if you have to manually ante on each new hand. Generally it is
easier to let the computer ante for you, but it is more realistic to ante up yourself)
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Automatic
Being in a must-bet situation.
Automatic Bet
A bet, often a bluff, made, regardless of one's cards, in a situation in which the bet usually
wins. For example, in a lowball game, if one player drew four cards and passes after the draw,
and the next player drew one, the latter almost always makes an automatic bet, because most of
the time that player has the best hand and the few times that he doesn't, the drawer of four cards
doesn't call anyway.
Automatic Bluff
A bet, often a bluff, made, regardless of one's cards, in a situation in which the bet usually
wins. For example, in a lowball game, if one player drew four cards and passes after the draw,
and the next player drew one, the latter almost always makes an automatic bet, because most of
the time that player has the best hand and the few times that he doesn't, the drawer of four cards
doesn't call anyway.
Ax
The percentage of a pot kept by the management to pay expenses; usually called drop.
B
B
The second position to the left of the dealer. Sometimes called just B.
B-Dealer
A Bottom Dealer. A cheat who deals cards from the bottom of the deck. Also sometimes
called b-dealer, subway dealer, or cellar dealer.
B-Game
The second-highest game in a particular club.
Ba-Poker Dictionary
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An Internet mailing list, based in the San Francisco Bay Area (hence the ba) devoted to
discussions of poker.
Baby
A small card, usually a deuce through five in games other than lowball, and ace through
five in lowball. "I caught a baby."
Back
1) Reverting to lowball, as in jacks back. 2) Finance another player.
Back Door Flush (Or Straight)
Catching two cards to a flush.
Back in
1) In a pass-and-back-in game, come into the pot after having passed. 2) Come into a pot
cheaply as a result of having a blind and there not having been a raise.
Back into
1) Win a pot unexpectedly or by default. For example, in a lowball game, John drew three
cards and caught K-Q-J. He passed after the draw, planning to fold if anyone bet. The three one-
card draws also passed, all having paired and all afraid to bet, and John backed into the pot. 2)
End up with a hand other than the one you were drawing to. For example, in seven-card stud,
start with two pair on the first four cards and end up with a flush.
Back Peek
A cheating maneuver that enables the dealer to see the face of the top card on the deck,
accomplished by squeezing the top of the deck between thumb and little finger in such a way as
to bow the top card in the middle so that its value can be surreptitiously viewed. This move is
made prior to dealing seconds. Also called heel peek.
Back Raise
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To make a small raise to prevent further or larger raises, when the number of raises in a
betting interval is limited. Usually permitted only in home games, in which the rule that a raise
must equal in size the previous bet or raise does not hold.
Back Seat
A position on a round of betting in which you act after most of the other players have
acted.
Back-to-Back
Serially, or in a row. "I drew two cards and caught back-to-back kings."
Backdoor
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand. For instance, suppose you
have As- 7s. The flop comes Ad-6c-4s. You bet and are called. The turn is the Ts, which
everybody checks, and then the river is the Js. You've made a "backdoor" nut flush.
Backdoor Straight
Catching two cards to a straight.
Backed Up
1) Paired. "I have kings backed up" means, in a draw poker game, "I have one pair,
kings." In hold 'em, wired. 2) In seven stud, having a pair in the hole.
Backer
Someone who finances another player. "How you gonna get into the tournament? I
thought you were broke." "I have a backer."
Backing
The cash supplied by a backer (Someone who finances another player.). "How you gonna
get into the tournament? I thought you were broke." "I have backing."
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Backline
1) Make an agreement between two or more players to accumulate chips in the following
manner. One of the players usually maintains the back line. Whenever he or the player with
whom he has made the arrangement wins a pot, a certain portion of the chips in that pot are put
on the back line, that is, in a pool for later distribution. That amount could be one chip for each
pot. It could be some specified larger amount, perhaps five or 10 chips. In a limit game, it could
also be one chip for each bet in the pot, or one for each bet won by the winner of the pot. For
example, in a $10-limit game, if two players are back lining one chip per bet, and one of them
wins a $100 pot (that is, the pot contains 10 bets), $10 goes on the back line. If they are back
lining one chip per bet won, and both of them (only) are in the pot, only $5 goes on the back line
(because the winner of the pot profited by $50, or five bets). At some prearranged time, the
players split the back line. That is the point of this arrangement, that when one of the players is
running bad, he makes some money off his "partner's" good fortune. If the player who maintains
the back line runs out of his own chips, there may be some argument about whether those chips
are playable, or if the other player runs out of chips, he may want to get his share of the back
line. For the reason that arguments sometimes arise from this sort of arrangement, many clubs do
not permit back lining. In such clubs, some obstinate players do it anyway, but surreptitiously.
It's best when back lining that all parties involved in the agreement maintain sufficient chips to
avoid running out in one pot or having to use the back line chips to bet with. A sharp tight player
tries to make a back lining arrangement with a loose player. The loose player may lose money
overall, but he wins more pots (because he plays more pots), and so the back line accumulates.
The loose player doesn't mind contributing when he's winning, and when he's losing, and his
"partner" is lucky, he gets something from it. He just doesn't realize that he's taking the worst of
it in yet another situation. 2) The chips accumulated by back lining. The name probably comes
from where the chips are kept. The back line is usually a stack of chips behind the player's own
playing capital. Sometimes the back line is kept on the wooden rim, if the table has one.
Backs
The reverse sides of the cards, as opposed to the sides that show their ranks and suits.
Bad
A hand of a particular type that will not beat many other hands of that type. Often used in
low games to indicate non-nut low hands with a particular high card. A rough 8 in ace to five
lowball could be any eight high hand other than 8432A, although 8532A isn't too rough. Rough
is the opposite of smooth.
Bad Beat
A very good hand, often a full house or higher, that is beat by an even better hand.
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Bad Game
Any game in which you figure to be the loser, because the other players are better than
you.
Bad-Beat Jackpot
In some card-rooms, a prize that is shared by the players in a game, when a very good
hand (usually Aces full, or better) is beaten by a higher hand. Jackpots are usually financed by
taking a drop ($1 is a common amount) from every pot. A typical division of the jackpot will
give the losing hand 50 %, the winning hand 25 %, and the other players at the table share the
remaining 25 % of the Jackpot
Bad-Beat Story
A story told by someone who lost a pot, often a big one, in a bad beat. Usually no one but
the teller is interested in hearing the story. The analog in the fishing world is the one that got
away.
Bait
A small bet made to encourage a raise.
Baker
The second position to the left of the dealer. Sometimes called just B.
Balanced Games
The philosophy in some public card room that keeps two games of the same type at the
same limit balanced with respect to the empty seats. Rather than one full game, and one short
game, two games at the same limit would have the same number of empty seats. The rules that
govern when and how players can move between such games vary from card room to card room.
For example, if a card room has two 20-40 hold 'em games, and 14 players, rather than seat nine
players at one game and five at the other, the floor personnel ensure that the games stay at seven
and seven. If one more player comes in, the games would become eight and seven. Whatever is
considered the main game--sometimes the more desirable game in terms of action; sometimes
the game that started first--gets the extra player when there are an odd number of players. The
reason to have balanced games is so the card room doesn't lose players who might not otherwise
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hang around to play in a short game. What often results is two short games full of disgruntled
players.
Banana
Dollar; dollar chip.
Bank
Act as cashier, that is, sell and buy chips, usually in a private game. (The term has a
different meaning in house-banked casino games.)
Banker
1) The player who sells and buys the chips, usually in a private game. This function is
often fulfilled by the host of the game. 2) The player against whom all other players play in
California games, analogous to the house in a casino.
Bankroll
1) Playing capital. Sometimes expressed as BR. 2) Put up the money for one or more
players; provide backing for.
Bar
Officially exclude someone from playing in a particular establishment. "I hear Sin City
barred Frankie for holding out."
Barbara Hutton
In hold 'em, 10-5 as one's first two cards.
Barn
A Full House, three of a kind and a pair.
Barnburner
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Very good hand; likely a wheel in lowball or a high straight flush in high poker.
Base Dealer
A Bottom Dealer. A cheat who deals cards from the bottom of the deck. Also sometimes
called b-dealer, subway dealer, or cellar dealer.
Baseball
Plays the same as Seven Card Stud except that in this game, threes and nines are wild,
and a four up allows you to buy an extra card. If a player gets a four up, he has the option to buy
an additional card for a predetermined amount, which is then dealt up.With eight wild and extra
cards, it is usually fair to say, if you ain't got 'em, get out. That is unless you are dealt a natural
royal flush. BEE No. 92 (TM) n. Trade name for the "diamond back" cards frequently used in
casino games.
Baseball Poker Dictionary
Baseball.
Basement
Bottom of the deck; usually preceded by from the. Usually refers to the move of a bottom
dealer. "I saw him coming from the basement" means I saw him deal a card from the bottom of
the deck.
Baskin-Robbins
In hold 'em, 3-A as one's first two cards; from the ice cream chain's "31 Flavors."
Bay and a Gray
A $6 bet, consisting of a red chip ($5) and a white chip ($1). Such a bet would be made in
a $3-$6 limit game. Bay comes from horseracing, where it is a reddish brown horse with black
markings; red casino chips often have black markings on their edges.
Bb
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Shorthand, particularly in e-mail and Internet postings, for big blind.
Bbrb
1) The term usually applies to a draw game, generally lowball, and is often shortened to
BBRB. 2) The situation in which one player offers to bet without looking at his cards if the
second will raise, similarly without looking at his cards.
Bean
Chip; dollar. "Dealer, would you sell me some ante beans?" "Cost ya a bean to get in this
pot."
Bear
A tight player.
Beat
1) Get ahead of. "I can't beat this game." 2) The situation of losing a pot, often to
someone defying the odds; usually preceded by bad. "I had four kings pat. The guy called a raise
to draw three to ace-joker and made a five-high straight flush. What a bad beat!"
Beat the Board
In a stud or hold'em game, have a hand better than any other player's board. The opposite
is can't beat the board, and means that a particular player's entire seven-card hand cannot beat the
four exposed cards of another player.
Bedsprings
A form of widow game found only in home games, in which each player is dealt five
down cards, as in draw, followed by a betting round, and then 10 cards are arranged in two
columns of five, with each turned face up one at a time, each followed by another betting round
(yes, 11 betting rounds). Each player makes the best hand possible by using any combination
from his five and two next to each other from the widow.
Bee Deck
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A standard paper deck for card room use, made by the American Playing Card Company;
so called because of a drawing of a large bee on the ace of spades. Since the cards often have a
diamond pattern on the back, they are sometimes called diamond-back cards.
Beer Hand
Beggar
In high games, a no-pair hand (and one that is not a straight or flush, either) with no card
higher than a 10.
Behind
1) Losing. "Are you behind or ahead?" 2) With regard to a reference position at the table,
acting after (usually immediately after). If the deal is one position to your left, you are behind the
deal. If a player is sitting to your left, he acts behind you.
Behind a Log
Describing a situation in which a player is far ahead of a game and thus playing only
premium hands. Sometimes playing behind a log.
Belly Buster
A draw to fill an insight straight; a gut shot.
Belly Card
A card that makes an inside straight.
Belly Hit
A card that makes an inside straight.
Belly-Buster Straight
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A straight made by catching a belly buster.
Belly-Up
1) Honestly; usually preceded by play. To play belly-up implies honest play from a
usually dishonest player. "Why do I deal myself seconds? Because I can't win when I play belly-
up." 2) Playing carefully, as opposed to recklessly. "I don't lose as much when I play belly-up,
but I don't have any fun, either." 3) Broke; busted. "I went belly-up after I had that flush beat."
Bend
Mark a card by creasing or folding slightly.
Bent
1) A card marked by creasing or folding slightly, so that a cutter can cut to that card. 2) A
card being innocently or accidentally folded. "Give us a new deck; we've got a bent card."
Berries
The nuts; usually preceded by the.
Berry Patch
An easy (to beat) game, particularly one full of live ones gambling it up.
Best Flush
A form of draw poker found only in home games, in which only flushes win. If there are
more than one flush, the best one wins, exactly as if two or more flushes were competing in an
ordinary game. If there is only one five-card flush, that hand wins. If there are no flushes, then
the best four-card flush wins. If there are no four-card flushes, then the best three-card flush
wins. Rarely, the best two-card flush wins.
Best of it
1) Advantage or edge. In lowball, it might be said of a conservative player, "When you're

both drawing, he's usually got the best of it." For this sense, the opposite of worst of it. 2) An
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edge gained by cheating; often preceded by taking or take. "He's never in a game unless he's
taking the best of it."
Best-Hand
A cheating technique, necessarily involving signals, in which only the best hand among
two or more partners is played in any one pot, thereby saving the others money when that hand is
beat, and reducing the difficulties of figuring out who gets how much at split time. For example,
Slim and Shorty are playing best-hand in a lowball game. Slim is under the gun with a pat 7-6-3-
2-A, and is about to open, when he sees Shorty signaling that he has a pat 6-5-4-3-2. Slim very
carefully discards his hand. (He does not throw the cards wildly into the discards; they might
bounce and accidentally turn over. Slim would have a difficult time explaining to the other
players why he wasn't even opening the pot with such a good hand.) Shorty plays the hand, and
likely wins it. If he loses, however, he doesn't cause Slim also to lose money to the holder of the
winning hand, thereby saving the cheating team half of what they would have lost. Best-hand is
one of the most difficult scams to detect, because the players are not raising for each other, nor
are they performing any physical manipulations upon the cards. Even with careful observation,
best-hand could easily be confused with the legitimate situation of players staying out of each
other's way.
Bet
To put money into the pot, pursuant to the rules of the game, thus maintaining a chance of
winning the pot.
Bet after the Declare
A variation found in home games in which there is an extra round of betting after players
have made their declaration. The showdown follows this round of betting. Also called bet-
declare-bet.
Bet Blind
Make a bet without looking at one's cards. This occurs most frequently in lowball, in
which a player draws one or more cards and, on the second round of betting, bets before
receiving the card or cards. This is done usually for the purpose of stimulating action, but
sometimes to discourage an opponent from raising. Sometimes players claim to bet blind but
have actually seen their draw card or cards; doing this is considered bad form, and gives the
claimant a bad reputation. The term is also heard in seven-card stud, with a player betting before
receiving the river card, or in hold 'em before the river card is dealt.
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Bet Blind-Raise Blind
1) The term usually applies to a draw game, generally lowball, and is often shortened to
BBRB. 2) The situation in which one player offers to bet without looking at his cards if the
second will raise, similarly without looking at his cards.
Bet for Value
Betting in order to raise the amount in the pot, not to make your opponents fold.
Bet into
To bet before a stronger hand, or a player who bet strongly on the previous round.
Bet on the Come
Playing a worthless hand in the hope of improving it is called "betting on the come."
Bet Out of Turn
Put money in the pot before it is one's turn to do so, that is, before other players who are
supposed to act first have had a chance to indicate what they are going to do. In most card rooms,
acting out of turn is not binding. A player who puts money in the pot out of turn is usually
permitted to withdraw that money, and is usually required to do so. Betting out of turn is often an
honest mistake, particularly from a beginner or someone who doesn't pay enough attention to
what is going on; sometimes, though, it is an angle intended to influence the action of others.
Bet the Limit
Bet the maximum permitted, usually in a spread-limit, no-limit, or pot-limit game.
Bet the Pot
To bet the total value of the pot.
Bet the Raise
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A betting limit in which a player can bet or raise a maximum equal to the total amount of
chips the previous player has put into the pot. For example, Joe opens for one chip. Henry can
call the one chip or raise one chip (thus betting two). If Henry bets two, Emilie can call the two
chips or raise two chips (thus betting four). If Emilie bets four, Chloe can call the four chips or
raise four chips (thus betting eight). And so on.
Bet Through
When a player bets first in a situation in which two or more active players remain, he is
said to be betting through the players between him and the last player. Sometimes come through.
Bet-Declare-Bet
A variation found in home games in which there is an extra round of betting after players
have made their declaration. The showdown follows this round of betting. Also called bet-after-
declare.
Bet-or-Drop
A form of draw poker in which, before the draw, if the pot has not yet been opened, a
player must, in turn, either open the pot, or fold. Also called pass-and-out or pass-out. Compare
with pass-and-back-in.
Bet-or-Fold
A form of draw poker in which, before the draw, if the pot has not yet been opened, a
player must, in turn, either open the pot, or fold. Also called pass-and-out or pass-out. Compare
with pass-and-back-in.
Betting Black
Betting $100 amounts (black is a common color for $100 chips).
Betting Green
Betting $25 amounts (green is a common color for $25 chips).
Betting Interval
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The period during which each active player has the right to check, bet or raise; the round
of betting. It ends when the last bet or raise has been called by all players still in the hand
Betting Level
The limit at which a tournament is currently being played at a particular time. For
example, a hold 'em tournament might start at a betting level of 20-40, and then after 20 minutes,
increase to a betting level of 40-80.
Betting Red
Betting $5 amounts (red is a common color for $5 chips).
Betting Round
The period of time in a given round during which each active player has the option, in
turn, of folding, betting, or raising, that is, from the first to the last bet in that round.
Betting White
Betting $1 amounts (white is a common color for $1 chips).
Betty Hutton
A poker game played only in private or home games, a form of seven-card stud in which
5s and 9s are wild.
Bicycle
The best possible low hand: A-2-3-4-5. More common term: Wheel.
Bicycle Cards
A paper card room deck manufactured by the American Playing Card Company with
cards that feature a bicycle rider on the back. Also called Rider back.
Bicycle Wheel
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1) A bicycle wheel (also called a wheel or a bicycle) is just the following hand: A2345.
Normally this is a straight to the five. In games played for low, this is sometimes the best
possible low hand (see ace to five). 2) A great hand in some high-low games where it's the nut
low and counts as a straight for the high pot. 3) Note that in Kansas City Lowball, a wheel is
23457, or the nut low.
Bid
In high/low games, declaring one's hand as high or low or both ways (usually done with
chips in hand). Usually played in home games.
Big
Pertaining to $1000. "I lost six big" means "I lost $6000."
Big Apple
Big game, often the biggest game in a particular club. "I lost $1000 in the big apple
today."
Big Bet
1) Describing a pot-limit or no-limit game. 2) In a double-limit game, a bet at the larger

bet size. For example, in 10-20, small bets are $10 and big bets are $20.
Big Bet Game
1) A pot-limit or no-limit game. 2) High-stakes game.
Big Bet Poker Dictionary
Pot-limit and no-limit poker are sometimes referred to as big bet poker (as contrasted
with limit games of any size). The "big" in a sense refers to the size of bets relative to the pot,
irrespective of the amount of money involved.
Big Bill
1) $100 bill. 2) $1000 bill.
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Big Blind
A blind bet, usually a raise of an earlier blind which would be called the Small Blind. In limit
poker, the BIG BLIND is usually the size of the minimum bet on the first round of betting.
Big Bobtail
An open-ended 4-card straight flush.
Big Casino
The 10 of diamonds; in lowball, a hand topped by this card.
Big Cat
A nonstandard hand sometimes given value in a private or home game, five cards 8 to king with
no pair, which ranks above a tiger and just below a flush). Also called big tiger.
Big Dime
$10,000; usually heard only among sports bettors.
Big Dog
A nonstandard hand sometimes given value in a private or home game, five cards 9 to ace with
no pair, which ranks below a little tiger and above a little dog.
Big Full
In hold 'em, the highest possible full house, that is, three aces and two kings.
Big Game
The biggest game in the house; usually preceded by the.
Big Hand
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A powerful hand, perhaps a full house or better in high poker, or a 6 or better in lowball. "His
hand shakes whenever he has a big hand."
Big Limit
One of the largest games played in a particular establishment or area. "He plays only big limit."
Big Nickel
$500.
Big One
$100 or $1000, or a bill of that size. "How'd you do today?" "Lost a big one." (You can usually tell
by the size of game the player habitually plays how much he means.)
Big Player
A big-limit player, or someone who plays in large no-limit games.
Big Slick
In Texas Hold'em, hole cards of A-K, suited or not.
Big Squeeze
High-low six-card stud, sometimes played with a twist.
Big Tiger
A nonstandard hand sometimes given value in a private or home game, five cards 8 to king with
no pair, which ranks above a tiger and just below a flush). Also called big cat.
Bike
A Bicycle. The best possible low hand: A-2-3-4-5. More common term: Wheel.
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Bill
A $100 bill. When you cash out just over $100, the cashier might ask, "Do you want a bill?" The
cashier wants to know if you would prefer five twenties, or a single bill.
Bird Dog
1) Someone who checks out the action at a club (usually implying that he was sent by a rival
club). 2) Someone who hustles players from one club into another. (Doing so is strictly against all card-
room etiquette, and is likely to get the perpetrator barred if he's caught.)
Bitch
A Queen.
Black
A $100 chip, in many card rooms and casinos.
Black Chip
A $100 chip, in many card rooms and casinos.
Black Chip Game
A high-stakes game, that is, one using $100 chips.
Black Leg
Archaic term for crooked card-sharp.
Black Maria
1) The queen of spades; sometimes called just Maria. 2) The ace of spades, particularly when
associated with the game of high spade in the hole. 3) A high spade in the hole. 4) Also in home games,
seven-card stud in which the pot is split between the holder of the high hand and the player who has the
queen of spades in the hole.
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Blank
A card that is of no value to a player's hand.
Blaze
1) A hand consisting of five face cards. It has no ranking in card room poker, though sometimes
does in private games. The term is often used by lowball players to embellish their hard-luck stories.
"That guy just got his second bicycle, and what'd I get? Another blaze." 2) A nonstandard hand
sometimes given value in a private or home game, consisting of five face cards, ranking between two
pair and three of a kind.
Bleed
Win a lot of money a little at a time, from either a game or a particular player.
Blind
1) A mandatory bet made by certain player(s) usually sitting left of the Button before each new
hand is dealt. Used in place of antes or in conjunction with antes. 2) Describing the Southern California
form of limit poker, in which one blind is put in by the player to the left of the deal position, and any
player winning two pots in a row must over blind the next hand (that is, double the stakes). Who wins a
hand is usually kept track of by a plastic disk labeled "blind" on one side. The winner of one pot receives
the disk face down with his chips; if he wins the next pot, the house dealer turns the disk so that the
"blind" side is face up.
Blind and Atraddle Game
A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the blind) puts in (usually) one chip before
getting any cards, and the player to his left (the straddle) puts in two chips. This represents a blind open
followed by a blind raise. The first player to have a choice on making a bet after having seen his cards is
the player two positions to the left of the dealer. This is an old name for what is now called a two-blind
traveling blind game. This is similar to ante and straddle.
Blind Bet (Or Blind)
A blind bet, or blind, is a forced bet that must be posted before you see any cards. Blinds are an
alternative to antes for getting money in the pot initially. Blinds are more often used in flop games like
hold'em and omaha than in stud and draw games. Typically in hold'em the two players to the left of the
dealer button are forced to place blind bets. In limit play, the small blind (to the dealer's left) is typically
half the size of a small bet, and the big blind (to the small blind's left) is a full small bet. Betting then
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starts with the player to the left of the big blind (who is considered under the gun), who must at least
call the big blind to stay in. When you sit down at a new table, it's good to wait until it's your turn to
blind before playing a hand. See also live blind, structure, and straddle. "Big blind" and "small blind" are
also used to refer to the players who posted these bets.
Blind Game
A game with blinds.
Blind Of
In a tournament, when a player doesn't show up at the start of a tournament but has paid for his
chips, or after a break or on a second or succeeding day of play, his chips are put into the pot to cover his
blind or blinds each time the blinds come to him, until he does show up. If the player never shows up, all
his chips might be blinded of.
Blind Open
1) A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the blind) puts in (usually) one chip
before getting any cards. After all the cards have been dealt, the player to the left of the blind must
either fold, call the opening bet, or raise. In some games, this player must come in for a raise (or fold). 2)
An opening bet made without looking at one's cards.
Blind Opening
A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the blind) puts in (usually) one chip before
getting any cards. After all the cards have been dealt, the player to the left of the blind must either fold,
call the opening bet, or raise. In some games, this player must come in for a raise (or fold).
Blind Raise
When a player raises without first looking at his or her cards.
Blind Robber
Someone who steals the blind (usually from the middle blind position to win the big blind, or the
dealer position to win both blinds), that is, opens a pot without having good cards, hoping the blind will
just throw his cards away and the opener can win the chips represented by the blind or blinds without
having to actually play the hand.
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Blind Stealer
Someone who steals the blind (usually from the middle blind position to win the big blind, or the
dealer position to win both blinds), that is, opens a pot without having good cards, hoping the blind will
just throw his cards away and the opener can win the chips represented by the blind or blinds without
having to actually play the hand.
Blind Stud
A home game, also called Mike or racehorse, played as five-, six-, or seven-card stud, with the
exception that all cards are dealt face down. For example, in the seven-card stud variant, each player
receives three cards face down, followed by a round of betting, another card face down, another round
of betting, a fifth card face down, another round of betting, a sixth card face down, another round of
betting, and a final card face down, with a final round of betting. The game generates a lot of action, but
is more of a gamble--and thus presents less opportunity to the skillful, analytical player--than the
"normal" stud versions with their several rounds of face-up cards.
Blind Tiger
Blind Open. A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the blind) puts in (usually) one
chip before getting any cards. After all the cards have been dealt, the player to the left of the blind must
either fold, call the opening bet, or raise. In some games, this player must come in for a raise (or fold).
Blister
To peg.
Blistering
The marks put on cards described under peg.
Blivit
A totally worthless hand. When caught bluffing, a player might announce, "I've got a blivit."
Block
A worthless watch. This has card room relevance, because you will often encounter a broker
trying to sell you a hoop or a block.
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Block System
1) A form of blind open (A game in which the player to the left of the dealer (the blind) puts in
(usually) one chip before getting any cards.) in which large compulsory blind bets start the action. 2)
Marking the backs of cards by covering part of the design with ink.
Blockout Work
Marking the backs of cards by covering part of the design with ink.
Blocky
Blood Game
A, usually, high-stakes poker game, in which the prime objective of the players is to win money.
Also called cutthroat game. The opposite of a social game.
Blood Poker Dictionary
Playing poker primarily for money, as opposed to social reasons.
Blook
The joker. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in home games and not much in
card rooms.
Blooker
The joker. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in home games and not much in
card rooms. Sometimes called blook.
Blow
Lose a pot. "I blew that pot."
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Blow Back
Lose one's profit, often due to having stuck around too long.
Blue
Having a spade or club flush. Also, all black.
Bluf
To make a bet or raise with a poor hand, in hope that the remaining active player(s) will fold.
Bluf Catcher
A hand with which a player feels he must call, even in a situation in which he is likely to lose. If a
player stands pat in draw, and you call with three aces, you can say, "I had a bluf catcher."
Board
1) The exposed cards in Hold'em and stud. Also Board Cards. 2) A list of players' names or initials,
those who want seating in or changes to particular games. In many clubs, there really is a blackboard or
other large writing surface at the front or side of the room with lists of names.
Board Man
The casino employee who writes names or initials on the board, and calls players as their seats
open up. Also, boardman, board person.
Board Person
Boardman
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Boat
Another name for full house. I've also heard "full boat," but I think it sounds idiotic so I'm not
giving it a separate entry.
Bobtail
Four cards to a straight or flush.
Bobtail Flush
Four cards to a flush.
Bobtail Straight
1) Four cards to a straight. 2) A nonstandard hand, four cards to a straight, that ranks higher than
one pair and lower than a four-card flush.
Bobtailed Straight
1) Four cards to a straight. 2) A nonstandard hand, four cards to a straight, that ranks higher than
one pair and lower than a four-card flush.
Bone
A $1 chip. Probably comes from home poker games, in which the white chips are usually the
lowest denomination.
Book
1) In draw poker (high), the drawing of three cards. "How many cards do you need?" "Gimme a
book." 2) "The book" is a mythical set of instructions supposedly containing the poker wisdom of the
ages. A player speaks of "playing by the book," by which he means he is playing a hand the way he thinks
it is supposed to be played; such players usually think "playing by the book" is equivalent to playing tight.
Actually, there is no book.
Boost
To raise.
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Border Work
Markings (or cosmetics) put on the borders of cards with paint, ink, or some other fluid, so that a
thief can read the ranks (and sometimes suits) of the cards from the back or side.
Boss Hand
[1] 1) The winner of a pot.
[2] 2) Any excellent hand.
Bottom
Card dealt from the bottom of the deck.
Bottom Dealer
A cheat who deals cards from the bottom of the deck. Also sometimes called b-dealer, subway
dealer, or cellar dealer.
Bottom Pair
A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have
flopped bottom pair.
Bottoms
Cards dealt from the bottom of the deck.
Bouble Bluf
A bluf made by betting, getting raised, and then re-raising.
Bounty
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A small amount of cash awarded to a player when he knocks out another player in some
tournaments. This is typically in low buy-in tournaments.
Bounty Tournament
A tournament in which bounties are ofered (Small amounts of cash awarded to a player when
he knocks out another player).
Box
1) A (usually empty) rack (of chips). "Time to cash out. Bring me three boxes." 2) The box man. 3)
By extension, the house dealer's location when dealing, usually heard as part of the phrase in the box,
which literally means engaged in dealing.
Box Man
House dealer.
Boxed
Facing the wrong way, usually said of a card in a deck. "Re-deal those, houseman. I see a boxed
card."
Boxed Card
A card facing the wrong way, usually said of a card in a deck. "Re-deal those, houseman. I see a
boxed card."
Boy
Jack. "I have three boys" means "I have three of a kind, jacks."
Br
Short for Bankroll.
Brag
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An ancient English card game that some say is an ancestor of poker. Its name comes from a
challenge, the word "brag," issued at some point in the game by one player to the rest to come up with
cards as good as his.
Bragg
An ancient English card game that some say is an ancestor of poker. Its name comes from a
challenge, the word "brag," issued at some point in the game by one player to the rest to come up with
cards as good as his.
Brass Brazilians
Break
1) Win all of somebody's chips. "Who broke Smiley?" 2) Miss. "I broke the hand when I caught a
10." That implies that the 10 was not the card the player wanted to draw. 3) Throw away part of a
lowball hand (presumably with the intention of making a better hand, because as it stands the hand is
probably not a winner). "I knew he had me beat, so I broke the 8, and came back on a 6, and beat a slick
7 for him." 4) Remove some chips from your stack, usually followed by [one's] stack or chips. In some
clubs, if you break your stack when it is your time to bet, that is considered a bet, and you must follow
through, that is, complete the bet. This is to prevent an angle shooter from putting chips into the pot to
gauge another's reaction and then withdrawing the chips without betting; in some clubs a bet is not
considered complete until the player has released the chips from his hand. 5) In lowball, to draw. (The
implication is that if circumstances were diferent the player could stand pat on the hand.) "You don't
need any cards? Okay, I'll break."
Break a Game
Perform the action of stopping a game from being played, when, for example, only a few players
remain--not enough for a full game--after other players have quit. Such action is generally performed by
a floor person. Sometimes break a game up.
Break Even
End up, after a playing session, neither winning nor losing, often implying after having been
losing.
Break for Action

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In lowball, throw away part of a good hand to get a play from someone who would otherwise
fold. "Come on, call the raise, and I'll break for action." The preceding might be heard in a no-limit
lowball game in the following situation. One player has raised. The opener does not want to call because
he needs two cards, which is not a good gamble against what might well be a pat hand. The raiser wants
a call from the other because he has the potential of winning a very large pot as opposed to just a small
pot if the other folds, so he tries to entice the opener, implying that if the opener draws two, he will
break his pat hand and draw one.
Break Of
Throw away part of a lowball hand (presumably with the intention of making a better hand,
because as it stands the hand is probably not a winner). "I knew he had me beat, so I broke the 8, and
came back on a 6, and beat a slick 7 for him."
Breaking Hand
In lowball, an 8, 9, or 10 (that is, a hand topped by one of those cards) that can be broken under
pressure. 9-4-3-2-A is a breaking hand, because you can throw the 9 and draw to a wheel; 9-8-7-3-A is
not, because there really is no place to break. Also called a two-way hand.
Brick
1) In Omaha, a useless card that hits the board. For example, you hold T-J-Q-K and the board has
7-8-9. You would now like a brick, or worthless card, to hit on the turn, to avoid sharing the pot with a
low draw. 2) To counterfeit. You might hear a player say, "The dealer bricked my lock." 3) Catch a bad
card (usually referring to seven-card stud).
Bridge
A bend, particularly one readily visible, in one or more cards in such a way as to force the deck to
be cut to the spot desired by a cheat.
Bridge Order
Suit order according to the game of bridge, that is, spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs. Bridge order
comes into play when breaking a tie for high card in determining which hand gets the odd chip, who has
the high-card forced bet in seven-card stud (as played in home games), or who starts the deal on the first
hand at a particular table.
Brief
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A tiny "ledge" shuffled into a deck by a cheater so that his accomplice can cut it at the
prearranged location; a card ofset by a barely perceptible fraction of an inch but able to be found by
touch when cut. A brief can be felt but not easily seen; a good cutter can feel a 1/32-inch brief.
Sometimes called jog, needle, or step.
Bring in
Open (a pot). "Who brought it in?" means "Who opened?" In a no-limit game, followed by for
and an amount means open for that amount, as, "I'll bring it in for $40" means "I'll open for $40," and
implies that the bet is more than the minimum.
Bring in a Deck
To substitute a prearranged deck for the one that is supposed to be dealt.
Bring it in
To start the betting on the first round.
Bring it.
1) If said at the showdown, means "I win." (That is, push the pot my way.) 2) If said when time to
draw cards, means "Give me one card."
Bring-in
1) The amount required to open a pot. "What's the bring-in" is asked by a player who wants to
know how much is the minimum he can bet, or how much is the required amount to open the pot. 2)
The player who opened the betting.
Broadway
An ace high straight. Usually heard only in stud and community-card games.
Broderick Crawford
1) In lowball, a 10-4 low. 2) In hold 'em, starting cards of a 10 and a 4. The term came from the
50s television show "Highway Patrol," starring Broderick Crawford, who always said "10-4" into his police
radio; 10-4 is part of the police "10-code," and signifies affirmation or confirmation.
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Broken Game
A game that just broke up, as, for example, when only a few players remain--not enough for a full
game--after other players have quit. Some card rooms allow a player entering another game after having
last played in a broken game to be dealt in without having to post, kill, wait for the blind, or otherwise
put up money to receive a hand.
Broker
Someone with no money of his own who hangs around a card room waiting for a sucker to put
him into a game--by staking him or lending money that likely will not be returned--or hoping for one of
his few friends to make a score and give him part of it; a deadbeat, or a card room bum.
Brush
A card room employee responsible for managing the seating list.
Brush Man
A male brush person.
Brush Of
Give a thief a secret sign to leave; usually brush someone of. This is usually done by a houseman
who privately (in such a way as not to embarrass the thief and not to alert the unknowing customers
that some of the patrons may not be strictly on the up-and-up) requests a player to leave. The request is
often in the form of a finger run unobtrusively up the ofender's spine. It can be a literal brushing motion
(hence the name) of one hand down the other arm, starting below the elbow, across the other hand,
which is palm down, to the fingertips. It can also be a brushing motion of one hand across the upper lip.
Brush Person
A casino employee who works in the card room, usually just outside it, whose job is somewhat
akin to that of a sideshow barker or a nightclub greeter, in that this person tries to attract prospective
players into the card room. The brush person talks to casino patrons who may be lingering on the edge
of the card room area.
Brush-Of
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The act of giving a thief a secret sign to leave. "I gave him the brush-of and he left right away."
Bubble
The position just out of the money in a tournament; often part of the phrase on the bubble. For
example, if a tournament pays 16 places, the player unfortunate enough to bust out in the 17th position
is said to have been on the bubble.
Buck
1) A marker used in games with a house dealer to indicate the deal position. Once upon a time,
an actual buck knife was used as the marker, hence the name. Usually found now as part of the phrase
pass the buck, that is, refuse to deal when it is one's turn to deal, passing the deck instead to the next
player to the left. The phrase has passed into general usage meaning shift responsibility to someone
else, and has found a place in most collections of famous quotations and sayings with Harry Truman's
well-known slogan, "The buck stops here." 2) Go up against, in the sense of an inferior hand trying to
beat an obviously better hand. For example, a player who has, in seven-card stud, only a pair of jacks,
playing against someone with an exposed pair of aces, is said to be in the process of bucking the aces.
The term is also found as part of the phrase buck the odds.
Buck the Odds
Go up against, in the sense of an inferior hand trying to beat an obviously better hand. For
example, a player who has, in seven-card stud, only a pair of jacks, playing against someone with an
exposed pair of aces, is said to be in the process of bucking the aces. The term is also found as part of
the phrase buck the odds.
Bug
1) The joker when used as a "partially wild card" in high draw poker and ace-to-five lowball. In
high, it is good for aces, straights, and flushes. It makes a third (or fourth) ace, but does not improve any
other pair. In a deck with the bug, a rank of hand exists higher than any straight flush: five aces. 2) A
cheating device to hold a card to the underside of a table.
Buick
In lowball, a straight 8. Buick used to build a straight 8 engine.
Build a Game Around
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Put a game together to accommodate a particular player, often a live one or producer. "When
Arco Al came in, they built a game around him."
Bull
Ace; also bullet.
Bull the Game
1) Bluf a lot. 2) Bet aggressively, regardless of one's cards.
Bullet(s)
Ace(s); also bull.
Bullets
Chips. Also called ammunition.
Bully Johnson
Bum
In lowball, when referring to the rank of a hand, not good; usually followed by a rank. "I have a
bum 8" means a rough 8, presumably 8-7-6.
Bump
To raise. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in home games and not much in
card rooms.
Bump Heads
Two players fight it out for a pot, and both get all their chips in the pot.
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Bundle
1) Large bet. "When I checked, he bet a bundle, and I couldn't call." 2) Large bankroll.
Bunny
An eight. So named because one can easily draw "rabbit ears" above the numeral 8, "paws" in
the middle and "feet" at the bottom.
Buried
Losing heavily. "How ya doin'?" "I'm buried."
Buried Pair
A buried pair is a pair in the hole in seven card stud.
Burn
1) To deal of the top card, face down, before dealing out the cards (to prevent cheating). 2) To
set aside a card which has been inadvertently revealed.
Burn and Turn
Function as a poker dealer, from the practice of burning a card before dealing either a round of
face-up cards (in stud) or the flop (in hold 'em).
Burn Card
set aside a card which has been inadvertently revealed.
Bury
set aside a card which has been inadvertently revealed. Sometimes a distinction is made between bury
and burn. If the distinction is made, in a bury the card is placed in the middle of the un-dealt portion of
the deck
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Bust
1) A hand drawn to and missed. 2) Any worthless hand. 3) Win all of someone's chips. Usually
you bust someone. 4) To be eliminated from a game or tournament by losing all your chips.
Bust a Player
To deprive a player of all his chips; in tournament play, to eliminate a player
Bust Hand
A hand drawn to and missed.
Bust Out
1) To be eliminated from a game or tournament by losing all your chips. 2) Miss the hand one is
drawing to, usually in lowball.
Bust-Out
Someone with no money of his own who hangs around a card room waiting for a sucker to put
him into a game--by staking him or lending money that likely will not be returned--or hoping for one of
his few friends to make a score and give him part of it; a deadbeat, or a card room bum.
Bust-Out Joint
A crooked gaming establishment.
Busted
Having no money or chips.
Busted Flush
A busted hand that missed a draw to a straight or a flush is a busted straight or a busted flush.
Busted Hand
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A hand drawn to and missed.
Busted Straight
A missed straight.
Button
1) In all flop games, a small disk used to signify the player in the last position if a house dealer is
used; a buck. 2) The actual dealer position (or, usually, the player in that position) in a game dealt by a
house dealer. "I opened the pot, and the button raised."
Button Charge
A periodic fee paid by whoever is the button, perhaps every 20 minutes or 30 minutes.
Constitutes part or all of the House Cut.
Buy
1) As in "buy the pot." To bluf, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called. 2) As in "buy the
button." To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to
act last on subsequent betting rounds. 3) In draw poker, receive one or more cards. "What did you buy
on the draw?" means "What card or cards did you receive?" 4) Purchase chips.
Buy Short
Buy less than the minimum required for the game.
Buy the Pot
To match the pot.
Buy-in
[1] 1) The minimum amount required to get into a game. "The buy-in for limit games is 10 times
the lower limit; for example, in a $2-$4 game, the buy-in is $20."
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[2] 2) The amount of chips with which one started a poker playing session. "He won $500 on a $10 buy-
in."
By me.
I check" or "I pass.
Clubs (the suit), in written text. Kc, for example, is the king of clubs (K ).
C-Game
Any low-stakes game, generally the third highest in a given establishment.
C-I-X
In lowball, a 6-high hand. When a player shows down a 6-high, he sometimes announces
his holding by spelling out, "c-i-x."
C-Note
A $100 bill.
C.H.O.R.S.E
A game or tournament format in which six forms of poker are played in rotation, usually
either half an hour of each or one round of each. The games are Chowaha, limit hold 'em,
Omaha/8, razz, seven-card stud (high), and seven-card stud high-low.
C.H.O.R.S.E.L
A game or tournament format in which seven forms of poker are played in rotation,
usually either half an hour of each or one round of each. The games are Chowaha, limit hold 'em,
Omaha/8, razz, seven-card stud (high), seven-card stud high-low, and lowball.
Caesar
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The king of diamonds.
Cage
A room or an area, often behind a glass or behind bars, from which the cage person buys
and sells chips. Also, window.
Cage Girl
A female cashier.
Cage Man
A cashier of the male persuasion.
Cage Person
Cashier, specifically, the person who dispenses chips to the floor personnel, cashes
players in when they leave, cashes checks for players, sometimes sells chips to players, keeps
track of players' banks, records the progress of stake players (if any), keeps track of time
collections, etc.
Calamity Jane
The queen of spades. Named for the markswoman of the Old West (Martha Jane Canary,
who is buried in Deadwood, SD, in 1903, next to Wild Bill Hickok), whose name some say was
associated with prophecies of doom.
California
A form of poker found only in home games, a widow game in which each player receives
five cards face down, as does a central area of the table, followed by a round of betting, and then
the dealer turns up each central card, one at a time, each followed by another round of betting. At
the showdown, each player uses the best five cards among his five and those of the widow. The
game is often played high-low split. Also called Utah, Lamebrains, or California. Southern Cross
is a variant of Cincinnati.
California Blind
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Bet-or-fold, double limit draw poker (high), open on anything, with three traveling
blinds.
California Draw
1) High draw poker as most often played in limit games: pass-and-back-in before the
draw, jacks or better to open, each player antes, and there are no blinds. 2) As played in no-limit
games, bet-or-fold (before the draw) draw poker, open on anything, usually played winner blind
or with one or more traveling blinds (see traveling blind), and sometimes also with antes from
each player. For both definitions, often called just draw or high.
California Game
Any of the games played in the California games section of a card room or casino.
California Games
A set of card room games, formerly called Asian games, some of which resemble poker,
but are not strictly poker, in which players place bets before receiving the hands on which they
wager. Others resemble blackjack. In these games, to get around the legal restriction against
banking games, the only interest the house has is to take a portion of every bet; one player acts as
banker, playing one hand against each player in turn. These games include pai gow (played with
tiles, and not a card game at all), pai gow poker, super nine (also called super pan nine),
California blackjack (also called X blackjack, where X is the name of the club), California Aces
(a variant of blackjack in which the object is to get closest to 22, with two aces being the best
hand; similarly often called X aces), 13-card (not played with a banker).
California Lowball
Five card ace-to-five low draw poker with the joker, bet-or-fold before the draw, sevens
rule after the draw.
Call
To call is to match the current bet. If there has been a bet of $10 and a raise of $10 then it
costs $20 to call. Calling is the cheapest (and the most passive) way to remain in a hand. See also
cold call, flat call, and it - To put in to the pot the minimum amount of money necessary to
continue playing. See also: SEE. (CALL is used mostly in the present tense with the bet as the
object, see with future tense and the original bettor as the object).
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Call Cold
To call a bet and raise at once.
Call Someone Down
Check each round, and call each bet made by an opponent (who presumably bets each
round).
Called Hand
A hand that someone bet and someone else called, as opposed to a hand that was bet and
no one called. The term often comes up when a bet is made, called, and lost, and the bettor who
lost the hand now wants to throw the cards away unshown (perhaps from embarrassment at being
caught bluffing).
Caller
One who calls. Sometimes used collectively, as in "3 callers".
Calling Hand
A hand with which a player feels he must call a (often any) bet. "I knew you made it, but
I had a calling hand."
Calling Station
A player who calls much too often is called a calling station. Such a player will pay you
off when you make hands, and will often fail to press their advantage when they have relatively
strong hands. On the other hand, calling stations will hit more backdoor and other unlikely draws
than other players, making it occasionally frustrating to play against them, especially in large
numbers.
Can't Beat the Board
1) In a stud game, have an entire seven-card hand that cannot beat the four exposed cards
of another player. 2) In hold 'em, have a hand that cannot beat the board (The exposed cards);
this implies that the player is playing the board.
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Canine
In hold 'em, K-9 as one's first two cards. Also, pedigree.
Cap
1) After dealing the first round, put a chip on top of the un-dealt cards for protection;
usually followed by the deck. 2) Put in the maximum number of raises in a round of betting;
usually followed by the bet, the bets, or the betting. Make the maximum raise permitted in the
current round. "I'll cap it" means that someone has put in the, say, third raise.
Capable
Having the ability to cheat. "Is he capable?" means "Is he a thief or mechanic?"
Capitola.
Saying, often said by California dealers, that means "The betting is capped."
Capped
Describing the situation in which the maximum number of raises in a round of betting
have been made.
Capper
The chip used to cap the deck.
Cappuccino.
Saying, often said by dealers, that means "The betting is capped."
Card
1) One of 52 (or 53) flat, rectangular objects, made usually of paper or plastic, with a
uniform design on one side (the backs) and a representation of value (rank and suit) on the other;
each card is either the joker, or one of the four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs) and 13
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ranks (A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, T, J, Q, K). A complete set of cards is called a deck. Paper cards
are sometimes called pasteboards. Collectively, cards are sometimes called the Devil's
playthings. 2) A player's bank. 3) Check cashing card.
Card Club
A card room.
Card Dauber
Someone who marks cards.
Card Down
The situation in which a card has been dealt off the table or otherwise dropped to the
floor, and a floor person must be called to pick up the card, because, in many casinos and card
rooms, the house dealer is not permitted to retrieve the card, nor is a player. If a card falls on the
floor, the dealer may announce, "Card down," and a floor person comes over to pick it up.
Whether the card or cards that fell to the floor are still live or dead is subject to individual card
room interpretation.
Card Mechanic
A cheat who manipulates the deck.
Card Mob
Two or more cheaters working together in a card game.
Card Money
Money allocated by a gambler for playing at cards; bankroll.
Card Play
Playing at cards. Also, carding
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Card Player
The premier magazine devoted to card playing.
Card Playing
Playing at cards. Also, carding, card play.
Card Rack
Someone who gets a lot of good hands; usually used facetiously or humorously.
Sometimes called human card rack.
Card Room
1) An establishment, usually open to the public, in which cards, usually poker, are played.
2) The section of a casino in which poker is played. 3) A room in a club devoted to card playing.
Card Sense
In a poker game, an acute awareness of the totality of what is going on, not narrowing
your focus to just what's happening in your own hand. Card sense implies the ability to act on
your observations, and to think on your feet. You must have imagination in playing your own
hand, almost x-ray vision in being able to reconstruct opponents' hands. It is card sense that
causes a player to play the same cards differently in different situations. A player without card
sense usually plays the same cards the same in all situations.
Card Shark
An expert card player, usually a professional gambler. The term is not necessarily
synonymous with cheater.
Card Smith
A card player, particular one who plays for a living.
Card Table
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1) Poker table. 2) Any table designed specially for playing cards. Different styles of tables
are used for bridge, blackjack, baccarat, and poker, which itself has several types, depending on
the specific game.
Card Wrench
A device to pry apart cards so that the card you caught will fit the hand; used humorously.
If, in high draw poker, a player draws to 4-5-6-7 and catches a 9, he might say, "I need a card
wrench to fix this hand."
Card-Holder
A player who seems to get more good hands than random chance would dictate.
Card-Hustler
Card thief.
Card-Room License
A specific gambling license issued by any combination of municipality, county, state, or

country, to a card room, usually specifying the types of games permitted, the stakes, hours of
operation, and other restrictions.
Carder
One who plays cards, particularly a professional.
Carding
1) Playing at cards. 2) Noting exposed cards (particularly at seven-card stud), and using
that information in the play of a hand.
Cards
1) The playing of a card game, often poker. "I'm going out to play some cards tonight." 2)
A deck. "Give me the cards; it's my deal." 3) Any portion of a deck. "You're not supposed to pick
up the cards for the next deal until the previous hand is completely over."
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Cards Break Even
The theory that states in the long run everyone gets the same cards implies that if the
cards are running bad for awhile for a particular player, they will eventually fall back into a
normal pattern. "I'll get even if the cards ever start breaking even."
Cards Speak
1) Cards speak is simply the rule that the value of your hand is determined solely by your
cards. You don't have to declare your hand properly in order to claim the part of the pot you
deserve. The alternative to this is mainly declare games, usually played in home games for low
stakes 2) A name for high-low split with no declaration.
Cardshark
An expert card player, usually a professional gambler. The term is not necessarily
synonymous with cheater.
Cardsharping
The Cheating at cards.
Caribbean Stud
A casino game, banked by the house, that resembles poker only in the ranking of the
hands. The game is sort of a cross between poker and a slot machine. Players bet before
receiving their cards that their hands will be better than the dealer's; they can increase the bet
after seeing their hands. Certain combinations, usually three of a kind or better, pay premiums,
and a royal flush wins a progressive jackpot.
Carpet Joint
A well-appointed casino or card room, as opposed to a sawdust joint. Also called rug
joint.
Carry a Slug
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Shuffle a slug into prearranged position. For example, in draw, a cheat might carry a slug
full of spades in it so that it ends up in a position one beyond the cards required to deal the hand.
When he or his partner draws, he can draw two or three cards and make a spade flush.
Carry Over
Credit a stake or a cow with his chips from one shift to the next. A stake player is usually
liable for the amount of his last press. For example, if he was staked $20, lost it, given a $10
press, and then carried over, only $10 would go on the sheet of the next shift. In such case, a
stake could lose for the house and still make money for himself. If the stake were given $20, and
then a $10 press, and went broke while still in the same shift, he would have no carry-over and
could not make money on that shift. That is why some stakes try to get staked near the end of a
shift, and then, if they are short near the end of the shift, contrive to lose the last chips so they
can get pressed just before the next shift starts. That way they can start the next shift with just
$10 on the sheet, and, if they lose that, get still another press.
Carry-Over
Chips or cash being carried over.
Case
1) Descriptive of the only remaining card of a rank or suit. "I caught the case ace" means
there was only one left to draw (in a draw game) or hit (in a stud game) and the player got it. 2)
All; said of money. "He bought in for his case money" means that all he had in his pocket went
to buy chips; if he loses these, he can't buy anymore.3) The last card of a denomination or suit,
when the rest have already been seen.4) Look over; usually said of a card room, referring to
checking out the action. "He only comes in to case the joint, and never lights."
Case Bet
A gambler's last bet, when he has lost his bankroll or stake.
Case Card
The last card of a denomination or suit, when the rest have already been seen.
Case Chips
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A player's last chips.
Case Money
The last of a gambler's bankroll or stake.
Cash in
To leave the game and convert one's chips to cash, either with the dealer or at the cage.
Cash Out
To leave a game and cash in one's chips at the cage.
Casino
1) A building or establishment devoted to gambling games of all kinds. 2) A large, usually

opulent, card room.
Casino Cage
A room or an area, often behind a glass or behind bars, from which the cage person buys
and sells chips. Also, window.
Casino Chowaha
A hold 'em variant invented in a private game by RGPer Mike Chow, and popularized at
BARGE, in which each player gets two down cards, the dealer flops nine cards, arranged in three
rows of three, then turns two cards vertically at the ends of the "corridors" between the preceding
rows, and rivers one card in the middle and to the right of the two, the whole arrangement
forming a large arrow-like structure. Players form their best five-card hand using their two plus
any three cards from the four possible five-card board combinations: top row of three plus top
card of two plus river card, bottom row of three plus bottom card of two plus river card, middle
row of three plus either one of the two turn cards plus river card.
Cat
Any one of big tiger, little tiger, big cat, little cat.
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Cat Flush
A nonstandard hand sometimes given value in a private or home game, a big tiger or little
tiger, all in the same suit, ranking above a straight flush (since a tiger beats a straight).
Cat Hop
In draw poker, a draw of two (or more cards) to a straight or flush, or, sometimes, to a
pair with (usually) an ace kicker. The term has two implications. One is just the attempt to make
such a draw. "He draws to every cat hop that comes along" implies the player draws two cards
every time he starts with three cards to a straight or flush. The other is actually making it.
"Wouldn't you know I'd get beat by a cat hop when I finally made a straight?"
Catbird Seat
The position immediately to the right of the dealer. This is a restricted usage of the more
general term, which means advantageous situation or position.
Catch
1) Receive a card. 2) Receive a card that makes a hand (that is, in draw poker, draw a
card that fills the hand or makes specifically what one was trying to make, or, in a stud game, be
dealt the card one needs). "As soon as he started to bet, I knew he caught."
Catch Inside
1) In lowball or razz, make the particular hand you're drawing to. If you have 7-4-3-2,
and catch a 6, 5, or ace, you catch inside. 2) In any high game, make an inside straight.
Catch Outside
1) In lowball, catch a card above the particular hand you're drawing to. If you have 7-4-3-
2, and catch an 8 or higher, you catch outside. 2) In any high game, miss a straight.
Catch Perfect
Make precisely the hand you're drawing to. In lowball, if you're drawing to 8-4-3-2, and
catch a 7, 6, 5, or ace you make your hand; if you catch precisely the ace, you catch perfect. In
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high draw, if you start with 4-5-6-7, all in diamonds, and catch any diamond, you make a flush;
if you catch any 3 or 8, you make a straight. If you catch either the 3 or 8 or diamonds, you make
a straight flush, and you can say you have caught perfect. The term is also heard in hold 'em, in a
situation in which only one or two cards remain that will turn a losing hand into a winner.
Catch Rough
In lowball, draw a card that makes the hand rough (A hand of a particular type that will
not beat many other hands of that type.) For example, if you draw to 7-3-2-A and catch a 6, you
catch rough.
Catch Smooth
In lowball, draw a card that makes the hand smooth (best possible low hand). For
example, if you draw to 7-3-2-A and catch a 4 or 5, you catch smooth.
Cats and Dogs
Draw poker in which certain nonstandard hands (the big and little cat or tiger and big and
little dog) have value.
Caught in the Middle
Being whipsawed. To whipsaw is to raise before, and after, a caller who gets caught in the
middle. "I had a joker-wheel to draw to. They both had pat sixes, and kept raising, and I was
caught in the middle."
Caught Speeding
Slang for caught bluffing.
Cellar
Bottom of the deck; usually preceded by from the. Usually refers to the move of a bottom
dealer. "I saw him coming from the basement" means I saw him deal a card from the bottom of
the deck.
Cellar Dealer
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A cheat who deals cards from the bottom of the deck. Also sometimes called b-dealer,
subway dealer, or cellar dealer.
Center Dealer
The House dealer.
Center Pot
The first pot created during a poker hand. This is as opposed to one or more "side" pots
that are created if one or more players goes all-in. Also "main pot."
Century
A $100 bill.
Century Note
A $100 bill.
Chance
The likelihood of a particular event, usually expressed in the form of some kind of
fraction (as chances of one third, or, more often a decimal, as chances of 0.33, or percentage, as
chances of 33%) or in the form of one number out of or in another (as chances of 1 out of 3, or 1
in 3).
Chances
The likelihood of a particular event, usually expressed in the form of some kind of
fraction (as chances of one third, or, more often a decimal, as chances of 0.33, or percentage, as
chances of 33%) or in the form of one number out of or in another (as chances of 1 out of 3, or 1
in 3).
Change Color
Replacing chips of one color with those of another. Usually implies getting rid of many
smaller denomination chips for fewer of a higher denomination.
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Change Gears
Alter the pace of one's playing, usually as a deceptive move against the other players, as,
for example, change from fast, aggressive play to a more conservative style.
Change List
A list, usually maintained by a floor man or the house dealer, of those who want to
change seats within a particular game or move to another game of the same size.
Change of Color
Change-in
The minimum amount required to get into a game. "The buy-in for limit games is 10
times the lower limit; for example, in a $2-$4 game, the buy-in is $20."
Charlemagne
The king of hearts.
Charles
The king of hearts. May come from Charlemagne, or King Charles VII of France.
Charlie
The third position to the left of the dealer. Sometimes called just C.
Chase
1) To make the blind good. That is, if you have the blind, the pot is opened, and you elect
to put in the extra chip to try a longshot, you might say, "I'll chase." 2) When losing, bet
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recklessly, often desperately, in the hope of getting of even. "How's he doing?" "Stuck, and
chasing." 3) Try to catch a better hand with a worse holding, usually in a stud game.
Cheat
1) Use of any of a number of crooked devices, card manipulation, deceptive tactics, and
so on, to gain an unfair advantage over opponents or otherwise win dishonestly. 2) One who
employs cheating techniques; A thief.
Cheater
One who employs cheating techniques; A thief.
Cheaters
Marked decks.
Cheating Device
A mechanical device for cheating, such as a holdout machine. Also called tool.
Check
1) Make no bet, but still hold your cards. You can check, and then call a later bet, fold
when the action gets back to you, or raise. Technically, to check is to make a bet of nothing. 2) A
card room chip; often plural. When a player cries out "Checks!", he is signaling to a floorperson
his intention to buy more chips. The term check is generally limited to card rooms and casinos,
while chip is more heard in home games, though common in both.
Check and Raise
Permitting players to pass and still retain their cards. "This is a check-and-raise game
before the draw."
Check Blind
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1) Without looking at the cards you have been dealt. 2) The card or cards you have
drawn, make no bet; usually accompanied by a verbal announcement of this fact. Also check
dark.
Check Cashing Card
A sheet on which the cashier keeps track of a player's transactions against a blank, signed
check.
Check Cop
1) A thief whose specialty is stealing chips from pots or other players, usually by palming
them. 2) A sticky substance a thief rubs on his palm to permit chips to stick to the palm without
having to close his fingers around the chips. Also, glue.
Check Copper
A thief whose specialty is stealing chips from pots or other players, usually by palming
them.
Check Dark
The card or cards you have drawn, make no bet; usually accompanied by a verbal
announcement of this fact.
Check in the Dark
1) To check before looking at the card or cards just dealt. 2) Intention of folding on the
turn and the river, but no one ever bet.
Check Rack
A box, or tray, that has indentations to neatly hold chips in (often five) stacks.
Check Raise
To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round. Frequently a
sign of strength, but may be a bluff.
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Check-Rack
Request a player to leave. Comes from what a player usually does before cashing in: fill a
chip rack with his chips, and head for the cage. "When the floor man saw Danny come from the
cellar, he chip-racked him" means "When the floor man saw Danny deal a card from the bottom
of the deck, he asked Danny to cash in (and leave the premises)."
Checker
A card room chip; often plural. When a player cries out "Checks!", he is signaling to a
floorperson his intention to buy more chips. The term check is generally limited to card rooms
and casinos, while chip is more heard in home games, though common in both.
Checks
Chips. Poker chips are small round discs used instead of money at the poker table. The
ones used at casinos are typically made of clay, while home poker games often substitute cheaper
plastic chips. Using chips instead of cash has a number of advantages, mostly just that they're
easier to count and manipulate. Color designations for chips are arbitrary, but many casinos use
white for $1 chips, red for $5 chips, green for $25 chips, and black for $100 chips.
Cheese
"Throw that cheese in the muck" is sometimes said by someone who has made a bet,
usually large, to the person contemplating calling that bet, implying that the caller cannot win
with his (supposedly) inferior hand.
Chicago
1) A form of poker found only in home games, usually played with seven cards, and
ending up as a mixture of draw and stud. 2) high spade in the hole.
Chicago Bankroll
A bankroll consisting of a large number of singles rolled over with one 20, which one
might chuck in one direction when about to be mugged, while simultaneously running in the
other direction.
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Chinese Poker Dictionary
13-card-stud.
Chingaderos
Chip
1) Poker chips are small round discs used instead of money at the poker table. The ones
used at casinos are typically made of clay, while home poker games often substitute cheaper
white for $1 chips, red for $5 chips, green for $25 chips, and black for $100 chips. 2) To Bet.
Chip Along
Call, but never raise, all bets; in a no-limit, pot-limit, or spread-limit game, make the
smallest bet allowed.
Chip Copper
A thief whose specialty is stealing chips from pots or other players, usually by palming
them.
Chip Declaration
In a high-low split game, using chips to indicate whether you're going for high, low, or
both. This is done in two ways, either the color of the chips indicates the players' intentions (as
red for high, white for low, blue for both ways), or the number of chips (as none for low, one for
high, two for both ways).
Chip Girl
A female wearing an apron with pockets full of chips, whose job it is to sell chips to the
players, and sometimes to perform other duties, such as collect time, sell drinks, etc. The term
chip boy does not exist.
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Chip in
Ante, or call a small bet. The term has passed into general usage meaning contribute to a
collection, usually of cash.
Chip Person
A person wearing an apron with pockets full of chips, whose job it is to sell chips to the
players, and sometimes to perform other duties, such as collect time, sell drinks, etc.
Chip Race
As the limits increase in tournaments, lower denomination chips are taken out of
circulation. Rather than rounding odd chips up or down for each player, the players are dealt a
card for each odd chip. The player with the highest card is given all the odd chips, which are then
colored up.
Chip Rack
Chip Runner
A person wearing an apron with pockets full of chips, whose job it is to sell chips to the
players, and sometimes to perform other duties, such as collect time, sell drinks, etc.
Chip the Pot
Take a portion of the pot to cover expenses.
Chip Tray
Chip Up
To exchange one's chips for ones of higher value.
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Chip-Rack
Request a player to leave. Comes from what a player usually does before cashing in: fill a
chip rack with his chips, and head for the cage. "When the floorman saw Danny come from the
cellar, he chip-racked him" means "When the floorman saw Danny deal a card from the bottom
of the deck, he asked Danny to cash in (and leave the premises)."
Chippers
Chippies
Chips Declare
In a high-low split game, using chips to indicate whether you're going for high, low, or
both. This is done in two ways, either the color of the chips indicates the players' intentions (as
red for high, white for low, blue for both ways), or the number of chips (as none for low, one for
high, two for both ways).
Choice Pots
An announcement, in a home game, by the dealer that the next hand will be dealer's
choice.
Chop
To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next hand, if
nobody calls the blind.
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Chop a Game
Play for a short time in a game, win a lot of chips, and cash out.
Chop it Up.
An announcement by a player or dealer that the result of the current showdown is a split
pot.
Chop the Blinds
In a traveling blind game, when everyone has folded except the two blinds, make an
arrangement between those two players not to play out the hand, but instead take back their
posted blinds.
Chop-Chop
1) Split a pot in a high-low game. 2) Make an agreement among two (sometimes, rarely,
more) to split a pot without having a showdown. 3) Put a chip up for the dealer (as a toke), and
instruct the dealer to take half. For example, a player wins a pot, throws the dealer a dollar chip,
and says, "Chop-chop"; he wants the dealer to take 50 cents and give him back 50 cents.
Chopper
One who chops. (To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the
next hand, if nobody calls the blind.)
Chopping
Playing briefly in each of several games, usually successfully in each.
Chowaha
A hold 'em variant invented in a private game by RGPer Mike Chow, and popularized at
BARGE, in which each player gets two downcards, the dealer flops nine cards, arranged in three
rows of three, then turns two cards vertically at the ends of the "corridors" between the preceding
rows, and rivers one card in the middle and to the right of the two, the whole arrangement
forming a large arrow-like structure. Players form their best five-card hand using their two plus
any three cards from the four possible five-card board combinations: top row of three plus top
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card of two plus river card, bottom row of three plus bottom card of two plus river card, middle
row of three plus either one of the two turn cards plus river card.
Chump
Inexperienced poker player, sucker.
Chute
The slot on a poker table above the drop box where the dealer places bills that have been
exchanged for chips.
Chute Number 1
First position to the left of the dealer, usually describing someone opening the betting
from that position. "Here comes an opener from chute number 1."
Cigarette Pot
An arrangement between two or more players to pay for their cigarettes in the same
manner as a drink pot.
Cinch
The lock.
Cinch Hand
To lock. Often just cinch.
Cinch Player
One who plays only the nuts (usually used in a derisive sense).
Cincinnati
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A form of poker found only in home games, a widow game in which each player receives
five cards face down, as does a central area of the table, followed by a round of betting, and then
the dealer turns up each central card, one at a time, each followed by another round of betting. At
the showdown, each player uses the best five cards among his five and those of the widow. The
game is often played high-low split. Also called Utah, Lamebrains, or California. Southern Cross
is a variant of Cincinnati.
Circle
Pot boundary. A mythical demarcation within which bets are "legal" and outside of which
they are not. In some clubs, an actual circle is drawn on the table. In some clubs, a bet, or a
motion to make a bet, is not considered binding unless the chips physically enter the circle; in
others, the concept of the circle does not exist.
Class
Rank of hands.
Clean
1) Honest. "He runs a clean joint." 2) To run out of chips. 3) Win all the money from one
or more opponents, or from a game. Also, clean out.
Clean Dealer
Smooth and efficient dealer, usually said of a professional dealer.
Clean Move
A hard-to-detect cheating manipulation, whether by slSeven-of-hand or with a cheating

device; cleverly concealed misdeal.
Clean Out
Win all the money from one or more opponents, or from a game.
Clean Up
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Get rid of the evidence after making a cheating maneuver. A thief may deal himself six
cards, and play the best five. When he conceals the extra card among the discards, he is cleaning
up. Also called skin the hand.
Clerk
Smooth and efficient dealer, usually said of a professional dealer.
Clip
A cheating device to hold a card up a sleeve or under a table.
Clip Joint
An illegal card room or casino whose denizens include thieves, usually with the consent
of the house.
Close
Conservative(ly).
Close to the Chest
Tight. "He plays them close to the vest." Comes from the way players held their cards to
avoid their being seen by others.
Close to the Vest
Tight. "He plays them close to the vest." Comes from the way players held their cards to
avoid their being seen by others.
Closed Card
Downcard.
Closed Game
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A game in which no other participants than those currently seated are permitted. In poker,
the term usually applies only to private games. In casinos, the term is used for a game, usually
blackjack, in which one player is making very large bets, does not want other players interfering
with his play, requests to play alone, and the house, wanting his action, accedes.
Closed Hand
A hand consisting of all cards face down. Usually the term refers to a draw poker hand,
rarely to no peeky.
Closed Poker Dictionary
Games in which all of the cards are dealt face down.
Club
1) Any card in the clubs suit.2) Public card room.
Club Poker Dictionary
Poker played in a public card room (as opposed to a private game), usually with posted
rules and sometimes limited to certain games, such as lowball and draw, according to licensing
restrictions.
Club Stakes
Posted rules regarding wagering, usually found in licensed card rooms.
Clubs
1) One of the four suits in a deck of cards, whose symbol is shaped like a shamrock.
Originally, clubs may have represented the warrior class, the club being an early weapon. In the
traditional deck, clubs are black. In the four-color deck, they are green. 2) A club flush, that is,
five cards of the same suit, all clubs. "I've got a straight; whadda you got?" "Clubs."
Coat Card
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An old term for face card. Comes from coated, from the garments worn by the figures.
The term was in use until the late seventeenth century, at which point the pronunciation was
probably corrupted into court card.
Coaxer
A small raise of an opponent's raise, the object of which is to coax a re-raise from the
original raiser, so that the maker of the coaxer can now make his move in the form of a very
large raise.
Coffee Housing
An attempt to mislead opponents about one's hand by means of devious speech or

behavior.
Coffee Pot
An arrangement between two or more players to pay for their coffee in the same manner
as a drink pot.
Coffeehouse
To talk about a hand one is involved in, usually with the intent of misleading or
manipulating other players, is coffeehousing. It's usually considered just barely on one side of
ethical, although which side depend who you ask.
Cojones
The nuts, usually preceded by loss. (Pronounced co-HO-nayss.)
Cold
1) Serial, or in a row. "I caught three cold aces" means the player, in a draw game, drew
three cards and (likely) ended up with aces full. 2) Not doing well. 3) Having no action. "No
hands coming out: the game's cold."
Cold Bluff
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A large bluff made on a weak hand.
Cold Call
To call a raise without having already put the initial bet into the pot.
Cold Deck
A deck, presumably with preset hands in it (usually with several good hands, the best of
which will go to the dealer or his confederate), surreptitiously substituted by a cheat for the deck
he is supposed to be dealing. So called because, after cards are dealt for awhile, they warm a bit
to the touch, while a cold deck actually feels cool.
Cold Game
Dishonest card game.
Cold-Deck
To deal a cold deck; usually to someone. "Those bastards cold-decked me."
Cold-Decker
Thief, generally one who prepares or introduces into a game a cold deck.
Collection
Time.
Collection Drop
Drop.
Collusion
A form of cheating in which two or more players signal their holdings or otherwise form
a cheating partnership to the detriment of the other players. Best-hand is a form of collusion.
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Color Change
Color Up
To exchange one's chips for ones of higher value, usually in order to reduce the number
of chips one has on the table. In tournaments, players are forced to color up periodically as the
tourney money becomes divided among fewer and fewer players and the sizes of the forced bets
go up (it makes no sense to play with $25 chips when the blinds are $10000).
Colors
In a draw game, a side bet arrangement between two players. If one is dealt before the
draw five cards of the same color (that is, all red, or all black), the other pays him a certain
amount. Usually played in conjunction with points, and is more common in lowball than high.
This sort of bet arrangement is particularly frowned on by the house, because it involves
exposing too many cards, and also slows the game down while comparisons and verifications are
made.
Columbia River
In hold' em, K-7 as one's first two cards.
Come
Playing a worthless hand in the hope of improving it is called "playing on the come."
Come Back at
Re-raise; always followed by the name of the player. "He bet $10, I raise him $40, and he
came back at me."
Come Back on
Break one hand, and make a better hand; with reference to the hand made. "I broke the 8
and came back on a slick 7." "I started with a pat straight, and four to a straight flush. When
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Mary stood pat ahead of me, I knew she had the straight beat, so I drew one and came back on a
flush; sure enough, she had an ace-high straight, and I won."
Come Bet
A bet made on the come.
Come Down
1) Happen. "This is how it came down." 2) Show down. "I had a full house, and he came
down with four of a kind."
Come Hand
A hand which must improve in order to have a realistic shot is a come hand.
Come in
Call, usually referring to any betting round but the last.
Come in Cold
Call a bet and one or more raises without yet having any money in the pot.
Come in for a Raise
Open for more than the minimum. In a limit game, this means open for two bets.
Come in Light
Get into a pot with a poor hand.
Come in on the Blind
Sit down at the precise moment it is your turn to put in the big blind. Some clubs do not
let a new player (new to the particular game) be dealt in until it is his turn to put in the blind,
supposedly to prevent his getting any "free" hands. Also, if a seated player has missed the blind
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in a particular round, he can receive his next hand only in the blind position.) In such a case, a
player must come in on the blind, or, if not in the big blind position, over blind to receive a hand.
Also see blind.
Come Off
Break the top one or more cards of an otherwise pat lowball hand. "When he stood pat, I
knew my hand was no good, so I came off both the 9 and the 8" means that a player has
something like 9-8-4-2-A, threw the 9 and the 8, and drew cards to the 4-2-A.
Come Over the Top
To raise or re-raise an opponent's bet.
Commit Fully
To put in as many chips as necessary to play your hand to the river, even if they're your
case chips.
Common Card
One card dealt to the center of the table and considered part of each active player's hand.
Community Cards
Face-up cards that are shared by all the players in a hand. Flop games have five
community cards.
Community Pot
Family pot.
Comoque
In lowball, to pair. This comes from pan, in which you can draw a card of the same rank
as one in your hand and not be able to use the drawn card. Sometimes spelled komoke.
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Comoquer
In lowball, a card that pairs one in your hand. "I drew to a bicycle and caught a
comoquer."
Complete Bluff
A bluff made with a hand that has no potential in succeeding rounds, and cannot possibly
win if called.
Complete Hand
A hand that is defined by all five cards: a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or
straight flush etc.
Complete the Bet
When an all-in player initiates the betting with a bet that is less than the current limit, the
next player can complete the bet by bringing it up to the limit. For example, in a $20/$40 hold
'em game, on the last round a player has only $35 remaining, which he bets. If the next player
puts in $40, he has completed the bet. Clubs have various rulings on whether a player with less
than a full bet may even initiate the betting (or call, for that matter) and also on whether
succeeding players may just call that amount, must complete the bet, or are permitted to raise.
Complimentary Play
Giving someone action where it is not necessarily warranted. For example, in a Southern
California double blind lowball game, you have beaten someone in several large pots. Now you
have the blind. He opens for a raise. You have absolutely nothing, something like four face cards
and one small card. Normally you would not call the bet, but would just throw the hand away.
Instead you take decidedly the worst of it, perhaps drawing four cards, in order to appear to
"give" him back of the few of the many dollars you won from him. This is a courtesy play.
Computer Hand
1) Any hand that computer analysis/simulation determines is positive but turns out to be
difficult to play in practice. 2) In hold 'em, Q-7 as one's first two cards. Comes from an
apocryphal story that "someone" did an extensive computer simulation of hold 'em hands in
which those two cards appeared most frequently in the flop, or, in some stories, among the down
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cards. The simulation was atypical, however, because the chances are the same for any two cards
of different ranks.
Concave
A card trimmed such that its middles are narrower than its ends.
Concave Card
Concealed
Pertaining to cards in the hole that complete a hidden, winning hand. In seven-card stud,
concealed trips would be three hole cards of the same rank, a hand that other players might not
suspect.
Concealed Hand
A hand played in such a way that you would not suspect it of being very good, but that
turns out to be so. For example, if, in lowball, two players kept raising each other back and forth,
and a third just kept calling all the bets, you might suspect that he was drawing one to a good
hand. If he turned out to have a pat wheel, that would be a concealed hand. In any poker game, if
one player lets the others do all the betting for him, usually because the situation allows him to
just keep calling without ever having to make a raise or leading bet of his own, and that player
actually holds a hand that cannot lose, he is said to have a concealed hand. Also called hidden
hand.
Concealed Pair
In stud, a pair, both cards of which are among a player's first two down cards.
Confederate
An accomplice or partner of a thief.
Connector
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Cards of consecutive ranks, especially pocket cards, are connectors. If they're also of the
same suit, they're suited connectors - A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one
apart in rank. Examples: KQs, 76 - Consecutive cards which might make a straight.
Consecutive Declaration
In a high-low split game, a method of indicating, prior to the showdown, whether you're
going for high, low, or both. In home and private games, such declaration is usually done
simultaneously, by everyone, for example, opening his hand at once to reveal none, one, or two
chips, representing, respectively, low, high, or both ways (sometimes called scoop or hog).
Conservative
Describing a player, or the play of one, who does not bet unless it is very likely that he
has the best hand.
Convex
Convex Card
Cooler
Cold deck.
Cop Checks
Steal chips out of pots, usually done by a check cop.
Corner Bend
A crimp on the corner of a card, for identification by a cheat.
Corner Seat
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In a game dealt by a house dealer, either one of the two seats next to the dealer.
Cosmetics
Markings put on the backs of cards with wax, paint, ink, or some other fluid, even
smudges, so that a thief can read the ranks (and sometimes suits) of the cards from the back;
alterations made to the natural design on the backs of the cards.
Count Down
Count someone's chips (usually in a no-limit game), often when all have been bet, to
determine how much is required to make a call.
Count Down the Stub
In a draw poker or lowball game, after dealing all the cards, including those drawn by
participants, count the remainder of the deck to ensure that the deck contains the correct number
of cards. This is done as a protection against someone possibly holding out.
Count Someone Down
Determine the total value of a player's chips. When, in a no-limit or pot-limit game,
someone bets an amount equal to another player's stack, that player may say, "Did you count me
down?"
Countdown Hand
In lowball, a hand tied in its top three or four cards. For example, Chloe has 9-7-6-4-3
and Emilie has 9-7-6-4-2. The winning hand is determined at the fifth card, since their hands are
otherwise the same.
Counter
An old term for a chip.
Counterfeit
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In Omaha Hi/Lo, when the board pairs your key low card, demoting the value of your
hand - In flop games, when your great hand is subsequently made less powerful because of cards
that hit the table (especially cards that duplicate the strength of your hand), your hand is said to
be counterfeited.
Counterfeited
In a high-low split community card game, having one of one's low cards duplicated on
the board, thus considerably weakening one's hand, because it is now much easier for another
player to tie or beat the hand.
Country Straight
In high draw poker with the joker, an open-ended straight draw, that is, one that can be
improved by only nine cards, as 4-5-6-7 of mixed suits, which becomes a straight with any 3, 8,
or the joker, or a straight draw that can be improved by only eight cards, as 4-5-joker-8, which is
helped by any 6 or 7. In high draw poker without the joker or seven-card stud, an open-ended
straight draw, that is, one that can be improved by only eight cards, as 4-5-6-7 of mixed suits,
which becomes a straight with any 3 or 8 .
Courchevel
A form of Omaha popular in Europe, particularly France, and private games, in which
players start with either four or five down cards and the first flop card is exposed before the first
round of betting. The name of the game comes from that of a posh ski resort in the French Alps.
Court Card
A jack, queen or king.
Courtesy Bet
A bet made in a situation in which a bet is not mandated, and sometimes implying a bet
that should not be sensibly made. In a no-limit lowball game, Jim opens and Curly raises. Jim
calls and draws two cards, and Curly draws one. Jim makes a smooth 8, and says, "I'll give you a
courtesy bet." The bet is small, and the implication is that Curly will now raise. A courtesy bet
often occurs in the same situation in which a protection bet is made.
Courtesy Play
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Giving someone action where it is not necessarily warranted. For example, in a Southern
California double blind lowball game, you have beaten someone in several large pots. Now you
have the blind. He opens for a raise. You have absolutely nothing, something like four face cards
and one small card. Normally you would not call the bet, but would just throw the hand away.
Instead you take decidedly the worst of it, perhaps drawing four cards, in order to appear to
"give" him back of the few of the many dollars you won from him. This is a courtesy play.
Cow
Go half and half with a player on his buy-in to a game; usually preceded by go;
sometimes followed by up. When the player quits, he splits with the person with whom he went
cow. Sometimes the house goes cow with a player to enable him to get into a larger game than he
could otherwise afford, generally with the no altruistic purpose of filling what would otherwise
be a shaky game. At some point when the player (the house hopes) gets far enough ahead of the
game, the house may split him out, that is, remove half of his chips and put him on his own.
Cow Up
Go half and half with a player on his buy-in to a game; usually preceded by go;
sometimes followed by up. When the player quits, he splits with the person with whom he went
cow. Sometimes the house goes cow with a player to enable him to get into a larger game than he
could otherwise afford, generally with the no altruistic purpose of filling what would otherwise
be a shaky game. At some point when the player (the house hopes) gets far enough ahead of the
game, the house may split him out, that is, remove half of his chips and put him on his own.
Cowboy
A king.
Crab
Three (the card); so called because a 3 looks like it has pincers.
Crabs
Crack
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To beat a powerful hand.
Cracked
Beat, referring to a particular hand.
Crank
Start a game; usually followed by up.
Crank it Up
Play fast, that is, lively or loosely.
Crank One Up
Start a new game.
Crazy Pineapple
A variant of pineapple in which players do not discard one of their down cards until after
the flop, at which point the game proceeds as in ordinary hold 'em.
Crier
One who complains a lot while playing, usually about his bad luck.
Crimp
Bend one or more cards in such a way as to force the deck to be cut to the spot desired by
a cheat.
Crimp Artist
A cheat who crimps cards.
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Crimper
A cheat who crimps cards.
Cripple
In hold 'em, have most of the cards that would make someone else a hand based on the
current board, such that you are not likely to get action; usually followed by the deck. For
example, you start with pocket aces, and two aces come in the flop. You have crippled the deck,
because everyone else is worried about someone having an ace.
Criss-Cross
X marks the spot.
Crossfire
Perform the action of two players who keep raising and re-raising each other, while one
player between them keeps having to call further bets to remain in the pot. This can happen in a
high-low game in which one player has an excellent high, another thinks he has a lock on low,
and a third is trying to make a hand that he thinks will beat one or both of them. While a
whipsaw situation may be quite honest, it sometimes also involves collusion between the raisers
for the purpose of extracting the maximum from the sandwiched player. To prevent this sort of
situation, most card rooms limit the number of raises in any one round in limit games. Comes
from the action of two men wielding a whipsaw (a large, two-handled crosscut saw) to cut down
a tree.
Crossroader
1) Thief, particularly one who moves from club to club looking for ways to cheat. 2)
Rounder (A professional player who "makes the rounds" of the big poker games in the country.).
Cry
Complain a lot while playing.
Crying Call
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A call made with little chance of ultimately winning, but marginally better than an
immediate fold.
Crying Winner
One who complains a lot while playing, even, and particularly, while winning, probably
to convince others that he's losing when he is in fact doing the opposite. Someone with a
reputation as a crying winner usually fools no one, and usually alienates most players, who
wouldn't particularly mind his winning if he would only shut up.
Cull
Perform the cheating move of arranging cards prior to shuffling, in such a way that their
order can be set, so that by various methods of slSeven-of-hand the cheat can give himself or his
partner winning cards, and, perhaps, slightly worse cards to a mark.
Curse of Mexico
The two of spades.
Cut
Separate the deck into two packets, after the cards have been shuffled, usually by the
player to the right of the dealer, in player-dealt games, or by the house dealer in games dealt by a
house dealer, after which the former bottom half is placed atop the former top half, and then the
cards are dealt.
Cut Cards
Participate in a quick method of determining the player to first deal when a game starts,
or apportion odd chips at the end of a private game. Each player takes a portion of the deck,
similar to the way a cutter cuts the deck, and then turns up his section so that its bottom card is
exposed; the player who cuts either the highest or, by agreement, the lowest, card wins.
Cut Checks
Divide stacks of chips into equal amounts, often smaller stacks of five. This is the method
pit dealers and cage persons count chips for the purpose of paying off a winning bet or changing
87
the chips to cash, or poker dealers use to count a bet or change chips from a small to a larger
denomination.
Cut for High Card
Cut for the Deal
Cut cards to see which player will be dealt the first hand.
Cut it Up
To split the pot after a tie.
Cut Out
1) Split out. 2) Terminate a partnership.
Cut Someone Out
Split out.
Cut Someone Up
1) Participate, by two partners, in a whipsaw situation. 2) Cheat a player, usually by two

or more thieves.
Cut the Cards
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Cut the Deck
Cut the Game
Cut the Game Down
Reduce the stakes, usually at the request of the players. For example, the players of a
short-handed 60-120 hold 'em game may be told by the management that the game would fill up
if they played 40-80, so the players may agree to cut the game down.
Cut the Pot
Cut Up
Split out.
Cutoff Seat
The position to the right of the button, particularly when the button plays in a given hand.
Cutout
A card marked by scraping its back or otherwise removing some of the ink.
Cutout Work
Markings placed on cards by scraping off part of the design on their backs.
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Cutter
The person who cuts the deck.
Cutthroat Game
A, usually, high-stakes poker game, in which the prime objective of the players is to win
money. Also called cutthroat game. The opposite of a social game.
Cutthroat Poker Dictionary
1) A, usually, high-stakes poker game, in which the prime objective of the players is to
win money. Also called cutthroat game. The opposite of a social game. 2) Playing poker
primarily for money, as opposed to social reasons.
Cutting
Performing a cut (of the deck, prior to dealing).
Cutting Cards
Cutting the Cards
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Glosario del Poker

1) The highest-stakes game in a given establishment. Opposite of Z-game. 2) One's best

Ace in the Hole

Ace Up the Sleeve

Ace-High Straight Flush

Aces and Spaces

A full house with aces over any pair.

Pairs, one of which is aces.

Pairs, one of which is aces.

A hand still in contention for a pot.

A player who is still in the pot.

Same as edge (An advantage over an opponent, either specific or subjective.).

A thief or cheater, that is, someone who wins by taking an advantage.

The act of advertising.

The partner of a thief in a cheating scheme.

In hold'em, 6-2 as one's first two cards.

Alabama Night Riders

The king of clubs. Probably comes from Alexander the Great.

All ( Blue, Green, Purple, Etc. )

Colorful terms to describe a flush.

Having a spade or club flush. Also, all blue, all purple.

Having a spade or club flush. Also, all black.

Having a heart or diamond flush. Also, all red.

Having a spade or club flush. Also, all black, all blue.

Having a heart or diamond flush. Also, all pink.

All the Way

All the Way in One Play.

I'm betting all my chips.

Chips. "Houseman, I need more ammo" is a request for more chips.

Chips. "Houseman, I need more ammunition" is a request for more chips.

A verbal declaration by a player, in turn, in a no-limit or spread game, of the amount of

Ante and Straddle

An ante, or a chip used to ante.

A request, usually by the dealer, to one or more players to ante up.

Same as apology card.

The queen of clubs. May be an anagram of Regina (queen in Latin), or a corruption of

A cheat who manipulates the deck.

An ancient Persian game that some say is an ancestor of poker.

Asian Five-Card Stud

A California game, a form of five-card stud played with a stripped deck.

A California game, a form of five-card stud played with a stripped deck.

In Omaha, hole cards that are A-K-4-7 of any suit(s)

The player who is first to bet in a particular round.

Being in a must-bet situation.

The second-highest game in a particular club.

1) Reverting to lowball, as in jacks back. 2) Finance another player.

Back Door Flush (Or Straight)

Catching two cards to a flush.

Catching two cards to a straight.

A small bet made to encourage a raise.

Dollar; dollar chip.

In hold 'em, 10-5 as one's first two cards.

A Full House, three of a kind and a pair.

Baseball Poker Dictionary

Bay and a Gray

Beat the Board

In hold 'em, 7-2 as one's first two cards.

A draw to fill an insight straight; a gut shot.

A card that makes an inside straight.

A card that makes an inside straight.

Mark a card by creasing or folding slightly.

The nuts; usually preceded by the.

1) Advantage or edge. In lowball, it might be said of a conservative player, "When you're

Bet after the Declare