Poker Terms

Like every game the domain of Poker is full of many technical terms and unless a prior knowledge is present, no outsider or aspirant can understand what is being said. Some of the Poker terms are explained below.

Assault rifle : Found in the game of Omaha, hole cards that are Ace-King-47 of any suit(s).

Bad Beat : A hand being beaten by another hand that had a very low percentage of turning a winning hand.

Color change: A simple request to change the chips from one denomination to another.

Dominated Hands -Hands that are okay to play, but tend to lose against similar non-straight/flush hands. Example: A2 is dominated because against other hands with an Ace, it loses or draws without improvement.

Fourth Street: The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in Hold’em (also called the turn card).

House, The -The establishment where a game is being held. It may be a casino in Las Vegas, a kitchen table, or an online casino's server in Antigua.

Kill button: A button used in a lowball game to specify a player who has won two pots in a row and is required to kill the pot.

Long Shot - When making a hand despite having few outs and/or poor probabilities.

Miscall: A wrong verbal declaration of the ranking of a hand.

Open Pair - Two cards of the same costs that are dealt face-up.

Potting out: Agreeing with another player to take money out of a pot, often to buy cigarettes, food, or drinks, or to make side bets.

Reading - Analysis of a player based on how they play, mannerisms, and tells.

Short-Handed -An adjective used to describe a game with few players.

Turn -The fourth community card dealt face up in a Hold 'Em game.

Underdog- Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that does not figure to be the winner.

Wheel- A-2-3-4-5. Usually discussed in the context of lowball where it is the best possible hand. Can also refer to a 5-high straight in high games.

Under the gun- The position that has to act first in a round of betting.