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Poker glossary

The terms you'll actually hear at an amusement table, defined briefly. Keep this tab open while you read the other articles.

Open: To be the first to raise pre-flop. Contrasted with limping, which means calling the big blind to enter.
Raise: An action that increases the current bet. Declared by total: "raise to 60", not "raise by 40".
Three-bet (3-bet): A pre-flop reraise against the first open-raise. The BB and the initial raise count as the first two bets, so this is the third.
Four-bet (4-bet): A reraise over a 3-bet. Usually a very strong hand, or a read-based bluff.
Ante: A small forced bet posted before cards are dealt, either by every player or by a single designated seat. Seeds the pot.
Straddle: An optional extra forced bet larger than the blinds, which shifts the action order and the effective stakes. House rules vary.
Float: Calling a flop c-bet without a made hand, intending to take the pot away on a later street.
C-bet (continuation bet): A bet made on the flop by the same player who raised pre-flop, continuing the aggression.
Check-raise: Checking on your turn, then raising after another player bets. Used for value or as a planned trap.
Donk bet: A bet led out on the next street by the player who was not the previous street's aggressor. Named for "donkey", but not inherently bad.
Value bet: A bet made with a hand you believe is best, aiming to get called by worse.
Bluff: A bet or raise with a weak hand, designed to make better hands fold.
Semi-bluff: A bluff with a hand that has room to improve (a draw). If called, you still have outs; if folded to, you take it now.
Equity: Your hand's probability of winning at showdown, given all currently known information. Expressed as a percentage.
Pot odds: The ratio of the chips you must call to the total pot you would play for. You need equity above that ratio for the call to break even.
Implied odds: Pot odds adjusted for chips you expect to win on later streets if your draw comes in.
SPR (Stack-to-Pot Ratio): Effective stack divided by pot size at the start of the flop. Low SPR pushes toward commitment; high SPR leaves room to maneuver.
Nut: Used as a prefix: nut flush, nut straight — meaning the best possible hand of that kind on this board.
The nuts: The strongest possible hand on the current board.
Draw: An unfinished hand that could complete into something strong with upcoming cards — e.g. flush draw, straight draw.
Out: A specific remaining card that completes your hand. A flush draw has nine outs; an OESD has eight.
Runner-runner: A hand that needs both the turn and the river to improve. Low probability; similar idea to backdoor.
Backdoor: A latent draw that requires two more favorable cards to complete. Worth something when the "backdoor" is to the nuts.
Gutshot: An inside straight draw — you need a specific rank in the middle of a range. Four outs.
OESD (open-ended straight draw): A straight draw that completes on either end. Eight outs.
Overpair: A pocket pair higher than every card on the board.
Set: Three of a kind made with a pocket pair plus a matching card on the board. Hidden and strong.
Trips: Three of a kind made with one hole card and a pair on the board. More visible to opponents than a set.
Kicker: The highest unused card in a hand. Breaks ties between same-category hands.
Board texture: Whether the board is dry (few draws possible) or wet (many draws), plus its suit and connectivity. Shapes strategy choices.
Position: Your place in the action order. Later seats act with more information and are structurally stronger.
UTG: Under the gun. The seat to the BB's left — first to act pre-flop.
BTN: The button. Marks the dealer position; acts last post-flop, the strongest seat at the table.
SB: Small blind. The seat to the BTN's left, posting half the big blind's forced bet.
BB: Big blind. The seat to the SB's left, posting the base forced bet.

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