When playing Octro Poker, every player is dealt two cards - these are called your 'hand cards'. Then there is a round of betting where you can Check, Bet or Fold. There are also small blind, big blind and dealer chips on the table. The small blind amount of the table is present before the game begins and is easily accessible anytime by clicking on the pause menu on the top left of the screen. For the big blind it is compulsory to pay the big blind amount even if the player doesn't want to stay in the game, the small blind must pay the difference amount (Small blind is always half of the big blind) to stay in the game, or the player can choose to fold and forfeit the small blind amount which they have already paid. Other players can now either choose to fold or pay the big blind amount if they want to stay in the game.
Once everyone has played their turn the 'flop' is dealt. Flop is the first three cards that the dealer will open on the table. Post dealing of these three cards another round of betting takes place, in this round, players have the possibility of the following actions.
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Game Rules
Check
The first player in the betting round can choose to check. While checking the player doesn't need to bet any amount. But there is a possibility that another player might do a raise and the initial player who checked will need to call that raise. Both these actions are explained below.
Raise
This action is when a player raises the betting amount (if there is already a bet amount on the table) or is the first one to bet in the specific round. Other players can alternatively 'call' or take the stakes even higher by raising it even more.
Call
It signifies that the player chooses to match the bet or raise amount which was initiated by another player or minimum pot blind.
All in
Here a player chooses to bet the entire amount they are sitting with on the table as a bet. For other players they might need to call this (if they have more money than the player who went all in) or go All In themselves with a split pot for this round of betting.
Fold
This action signifies that the player has returned his cards to the dealer and relinquished any amount they have already bet.
Post the flop the dealer opens another card on the table. This is known as the turn; this follows another round of betting by all players. After the 'turn' card the same process is repeated and the final card is opened on the table and all the cards combined are called the 'river' which follows a final round of betting by everyone.
Post the flop the dealer opens another card on the table. This is known as the turn; this follows another round of betting by all players. After the 'turn' card the same process is repeated and the final card is opened on the table and all the cards combined are called the 'river' which follows a final round of betting by everyone.
Octro Poker is played in the Texas Hold’em style and also has the following rules in place:
Split Pot
In poker sometimes it’s necessary to split the pot between two or more players. This due to many conditions, but usually it’s because one player has gone all in and the remaining players have continued betting and so on.
Card Hands
You can always refer to the card hands list by tapping the icon on the top right of the screen during gameplay. This will display a list of Poker Hands according to their strength (decreasing).
Poker Hand Rankings (Highest to Lowest)
The table to help you excel at Poker
Our poker table tells you the correct ranking of hands from the highest to the lowest. Download it and take a print or save it on your device to use it as a ready reckoner.
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Poker Hands Ranked from Best to Worst
Know all about poker hand ranking order and the probability of each hand coming up so that you have an advantage over other players.
Poker Hand Rankings Table
| Rank | Hand Name | Hand Description | Example | Total Combinations | Probility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | This is the rarest and best hand possible, a royal flush consists of A, K, Q, J and 10, all of the same suit. |  |
4 | 0.000154% |
| 2 | Straight Flush | It’s the sequence of consecutive cards of the same suit. This is the strongest hand after the royal flush. |  |
36 | 0.00139% |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | This hand has four cards of the same value andone card of another rank. |  |
624 | 0.02401% |
| 4 | Full House | A pair plus three of a kind in the same hand. |  |
3744 | 0.1441% |
| 5 | Flush | Five cards, all in one suit, but not in numerical order. |  |
5108 | 0.1965% |
| 6 | Straight | A straight has five cards of consecutive value that are not all of the same suit. |  |
10,200 | 0.3925% |
| 7 | Three of a kind | Also called 'trips', this hand has three cards of the same value and two side cards of different values. |  |
54,912 | 2.1128% |
| 8 | Two Pair | This consists of two cards of equal value, another two cards of equal value, and one extra card. |  |
123,552 | 4.7539% |
| 9 | Pair | One pair consists of two cards of the same value, and three extra cards |  |
1098,240 | 42.2569% |
| 10 | High Card | Five cards that do not interact with each other to make any of the above hands. |  |
1302,540 | 50.1177% |
Play fewer hands but be aggressive
There is a limit on how many starting hands you can play before the flop in No Limit Texas Hold’em, even for the world’s best players. If you try to play too many hands, you’ll bleed away your chip stack unless everything goes absolutely according to the plan.
Building up a solid preflop poker strategy is by a long shot the most effortless and quickest approach to improve your primary concern. Nonetheless, while creating strong preflop ranges is moderately simple to do, having the control to adhere to them is troublesome. Try not to permit yourself to get restless and play a hand not worth playing.
The best methodology is to play a tight scope of solid or potentially playable hands, and you need to play with an aggressive approach. Playing the entirety of your hands aggressively, including the more theoretical ones like 7♠ 6♠ or 5♥ 5♣, permits you to camouflage the strength of your actual hand.
At the point when you raise, your adversaries won't know whether you have A-A, A-K, or 7-6, which makes you too difficult to play against. Tight and aggressive dominates the game!
Building up a solid preflop poker strategy is by a long shot the most effortless and quickest approach to improve your primary concern. Nonetheless, while creating strong preflop ranges is moderately simple to do, having the control to adhere to them is troublesome. Try not to permit yourself to get restless and play a hand not worth playing.
The best methodology is to play a tight scope of solid or potentially playable hands, and you need to play with an aggressive approach. Playing the entirety of your hands aggressively, including the more theoretical ones like 7♠ 6♠ or 5♥ 5♣, permits you to camouflage the strength of your actual hand.
At the point when you raise, your adversaries won't know whether you have A-A, A-K, or 7-6, which makes you too difficult to play against. Tight and aggressive dominates the game!
Don't be first to limp
Limping (simply calling the big blind preflop) is a flat-out no-no as the first player to enter a pot. There are two fundamental reasons why this play ought to be stayed away from:
You can't win the pot before the flop like you could in the event that you raised.
You give the players behind extremely captivating pot chances, making it more probable you face different players and hence more uncertain you win the pot.
The lone satisfactory circumstance in which to limp is when in any event one other player has limped. It’s called over-limping, and it very well may be a decent play since you are getting extraordinary pot odds to join the action so you can hopefully hit something great on the flop.
You can't win the pot before the flop like you could in the event that you raised.
You give the players behind extremely captivating pot chances, making it more probable you face different players and hence more uncertain you win the pot.
The lone satisfactory circumstance in which to limp is when in any event one other player has limped. It’s called over-limping, and it very well may be a decent play since you are getting extraordinary pot odds to join the action so you can hopefully hit something great on the flop.
Semi-bluff aggressively with your draws
If you want to be successful at poker you need to bluff well. Not bluffing properly is probably the quickest approach to lose at the table. Anyway, how would you monitor your bluffing recurrence?
The best method to bluff is to let the cards you have dictate if you will bluff or not. This implies bluffing with hands that have outs to improve to the best hand on a later street, for example, straight draws, flush draws, or even only an overcard or two to the board.
Consider these draws your reinforcement plan in the event that bluff feign gets called.
Poker players call these hands "semi-bluff" as a result of their potential beyond the bluff itself.
At the point when you're beginning, bluffing with absolutely nothing hands before the river isn't fitting.
The best method to bluff is to let the cards you have dictate if you will bluff or not. This implies bluffing with hands that have outs to improve to the best hand on a later street, for example, straight draws, flush draws, or even only an overcard or two to the board.
Consider these draws your reinforcement plan in the event that bluff feign gets called.
Poker players call these hands "semi-bluff" as a result of their potential beyond the bluff itself.
At the point when you're beginning, bluffing with absolutely nothing hands before the river isn't fitting.
Fast-play your strong hands to build the pot & make more money
It's a pitiful sight when a player checks their flopped nut flush multiple times, and afterward needs to clumsily table their beast of a poker hand when their rival checks back the river. Slow-playing over and over again is a mix-up regular among players who fear chasing their rivals out of the pot when they have solid poker hands.
By and large, it's ideal to wager your solid hands to build the pot and ensure your equity. This isn't to imply that you should consistently wager/raise your solid hands post-flop. You can check your solid hands if:
(a) It's unlikely that you will be outdrawn.
(b) There aren't many scare cards to keep you from getting paid on later streets.
(c) Your adversary's range is vigorously weighted toward hands with no showdown value.
Be that as it may, when you feel unsure, just wager (or check-raise if you weren’t the preflop aggressor). Truly, it's frustrating when your rival folds, yet that is not close to as disillusioning as getting outdrawn or passing up likely worth.
By and large, it's ideal to wager your solid hands to build the pot and ensure your equity. This isn't to imply that you should consistently wager/raise your solid hands post-flop. You can check your solid hands if:
(a) It's unlikely that you will be outdrawn.
(b) There aren't many scare cards to keep you from getting paid on later streets.
(c) Your adversary's range is vigorously weighted toward hands with no showdown value.
Be that as it may, when you feel unsure, just wager (or check-raise if you weren’t the preflop aggressor). Truly, it's frustrating when your rival folds, yet that is not close to as disillusioning as getting outdrawn or passing up likely worth.
Defend your big blind (with the right hands)
The big blind is an exceptional position since you as of now have 1 big blind invested in the pot. Consequently, at whatever point you are confronted with a raise while sitting in the big blind, you will have better pot odds to call than the other positions – consider it a rebate.
On account of your rebate and the way that you are the last individual to act preflop, you can productively call with more hands than if you were sitting in another position. Saying this doesn't imply that you should call raises with rubbish hands like 9♠ 5♦, however the more marginal hands like K♣ 9♦ and Q♥ 6♥ become playable by and large.
Precisely how wide you ought to shield relies upon a huge number of components – here are the four essential ones:
On account of your rebate and the way that you are the last individual to act preflop, you can productively call with more hands than if you were sitting in another position. Saying this doesn't imply that you should call raises with rubbish hands like 9♠ 5♦, however the more marginal hands like K♣ 9♦ and Q♥ 6♥ become playable by and large.
Precisely how wide you ought to shield relies upon a huge number of components – here are the four essential ones:
- Position of the raiser (play tighter against the early positions and looser against the late positions).
- Number of players in the hand (when at least 1 player has called the raise, play tighter and just call with hands that do well in multiway pots).
- The size of the raise (the bigger the wager estimating, the tighter you should play and the other way around).
- Stack sizes (when short stacked, play less speculative hands and prioritise high card strength).
Fold when you’re uncertain
Need to know the greatest contrast between an awful player and an expert? It's an expert’s capacity to set out a decent hand like a top pair when they think they are beaten.
This sounds basic, yet it is difficult to do practically speaking somewhat as a result of the way our brain is built. We are normally inquisitive and need to win. At the point when we fold, we give up our opportunity to win the pot and don't will fulfil our curiosity by discovering what our rival has.
Calling again and again and in some unacceptable circumstances is the second quickest approach to lose at poker (after incapable bluffs). At whatever point you're uncertain whether to call or fold versus a wager or raise, do yourself a favour and fold.
Pro Tip: When you fold in one of these circumstances, ensure you note down the subtleties of the hand so you can attempt to sort out in the event that you made the correct fold after your session. Examining as well as talking about such hands is an incredible method to reliably improve your abilities and fill in the gaps of your poker knowledge.
This sounds basic, yet it is difficult to do practically speaking somewhat as a result of the way our brain is built. We are normally inquisitive and need to win. At the point when we fold, we give up our opportunity to win the pot and don't will fulfil our curiosity by discovering what our rival has.
Calling again and again and in some unacceptable circumstances is the second quickest approach to lose at poker (after incapable bluffs). At whatever point you're uncertain whether to call or fold versus a wager or raise, do yourself a favour and fold.
Pro Tip: When you fold in one of these circumstances, ensure you note down the subtleties of the hand so you can attempt to sort out in the event that you made the correct fold after your session. Examining as well as talking about such hands is an incredible method to reliably improve your abilities and fill in the gaps of your poker knowledge.
Be ruthless when your rival is weak
Players don't check with hands that can call multiple wagers as regularly as they ought to. This implies that, when they do check, they usually have a moderately weak hand that will regularly fold whenever confronted with multiple wagers. This is the "bluffing " circumstance I suggested prior.
At the point when your adversary shows lots of weakness in a heads-up pot (like in the event that checks on the flop and the turn), you can exploit them with an aggressive bluffing strategy. In addition to the fact that you should wager with your typical semi-feigns, you should likewise wager as a pure bluff with some nothing hands, preferably ones with great blocker effects.
At the point when your adversary shows lots of weakness in a heads-up pot (like in the event that checks on the flop and the turn), you can exploit them with an aggressive bluffing strategy. In addition to the fact that you should wager with your typical semi-feigns, you should likewise wager as a pure bluff with some nothing hands, preferably ones with great blocker effects.
Play solid poker early in tournaments and don’t worry about survival
There's a period and a spot for stack safeguarding, and the start of poker tournaments isn't it. This is perhaps the most misjudged aspect of tournament poker strategy.
Consider that in order to finish in the money, you’re going to have to at least double or triple your starting stack (usually more). Rather than playing defensively, you ought to play strong and aggressive poker from the beginning to develop a stack for a deep run.
On the off chance that you end up short-stacked and near the money bubble or pay jump, really at that time should you begin utilising a more survival-oriented playing style
Consider that in order to finish in the money, you’re going to have to at least double or triple your starting stack (usually more). Rather than playing defensively, you ought to play strong and aggressive poker from the beginning to develop a stack for a deep run.
On the off chance that you end up short-stacked and near the money bubble or pay jump, really at that time should you begin utilising a more survival-oriented playing style
Only play if you feel like it
Playing poker should be fun, whether it's a hobby or you are playing as a professional player. You will play well when you are happy. If you are tired or angry you shouldn’t play.
Only play in good games
If you want to win at poker and play against players weaker than you.
Put yourself in positions where your chance to win is highest. So, let go of your ego before you start playing poker.
Here is a checklist for a good poker game:
* At least one player is limping regularly.
* There are many multiway pots.
* Re-raises are either very rare or very frequent.
If you’re in a game with at least two these boxes checked, you’re in a great position to win. If not find a more profitable table unless you want to test your poker strategy.
If you play online poker, ensure you exploit the table statistics provided by most poker platforms. Pick an online poker table with a high average pot size and a high percentage of players seeing a flop. This is an online poker strategy newbies usually miss.
Put yourself in positions where your chance to win is highest. So, let go of your ego before you start playing poker.
Here is a checklist for a good poker game:
* At least one player is limping regularly.
* There are many multiway pots.
* Re-raises are either very rare or very frequent.
If you’re in a game with at least two these boxes checked, you’re in a great position to win. If not find a more profitable table unless you want to test your poker strategy.
If you play online poker, ensure you exploit the table statistics provided by most poker platforms. Pick an online poker table with a high average pot size and a high percentage of players seeing a flop. This is an online poker strategy newbies usually miss.
All In
Betting all the chips the player has in front of him.
Ante
A forced bet, usually of all players at the table, that must be contributed to the pot prior to the deal or posting of blinds. Once a staple of draw poker games, antes are now most often used in the later stages of tournament play, e.g. a 500 chip small blind, a 1,000 chip big blind, and a 100 chip ante.
Backdoor
A term used to denote a draw that requires two (in flop games) or more rounds (in draw games) to complete. For example, a player holding Ah6h seeing the flop with just one heart could backdoor into the nut flush if two more hearts came on the turn and the river.
Bad Beat
A situation when a superior hand loses to an inferior one is termed bad beat. One such example is when both players have pocket pairs (say 5s and 10s) and get all the chips in the middle before the flop, and pocket 5s come out on top by hitting a set or straight.
Balancing
Playing different types of hands from different positions so that your play doesn’t become too uniform. The goal of balancing is to surprise your rivals and make it hard for them to put you on a hand. It also means to play the same types of hands in a different way to achieve the same goal.
Bankroll Management
Handling your poker funds in a manner that gives you the best chance to win in the long run. The primary goal of bankroll management is to battle the variance and survive through inevitable periods of bad luck.
Big Blind
A forced bet in flop games, used to create pot and drive action. In Texas Hold’em, big blind is posted by the player sitting two places to the left of the dealer. If it weren’t for the blinds, players would have no incentive to play anything but premium hands.
Blank
A card that is highly unlikely to change anything about the hand in progress. For example, if the flop was 10s Js 7d, we would call 3h on the turn a blank, especially if there was any action on the flop, because it is extremely unlikely to improve any of the hands still involved in the pot.
Blocker
When a player holds one of his opponent’s perceived outs, he is said to hold a blocker. If you suspected your rival was drawing to a flush on a two-diamond flop, you are reducing his chances to hit if you have a diamond in your hand.
Bluff
A bet made with a hope of winning the pot without having to show your cards. A pure bluff means that a player holds cards that have no realistic chance of winning at the showdown so the only way to take the pot is by forcing your opponent to give up his hand (fold).
Boat
Also known as a full house: three cards of the same value combined with two cards of the same value (three of a kind and a pair)
Bounty
A special reward placed on a player which is awarded to anyone who busts the said player. Certain tournaments feature bounty format, where a portion of the prize pool is set aside for bounties and you get instantly credited with a bounty every time you bust a player.
Brick & Mortar
A term used to describe real, old-fashioned casinos and poker rooms, as opposed to their online counterparts.
Bring In
A forced bet in stud games. Depending on the type of the game, either highest or the lowest upcard has to post the bring in.
Broadway Cards
All face cards and all 10s, i.e. the cards involved in making the Broadway straight (10JQKA)
Bubble
The last player to be eliminated from a poker tournament before reaching the money payouts is deemed the bubble. In big tournaments, like the World Series Of Poker Main Event, bubble player(s) will sometimes receive a consolation prize.
Burn Card
In flop games, a card that is removed from top of the deck before dealing the next street. During early days of poker it was used to prevent cheating by pre-arranging the deck and it stuck as a part of the rules.
Call
Verbally declare your intention to just match the bet made by a player acting before you.
Calling The Clock
Sometimes in poker tournaments (and less often in cash games), if a player takes an inordinate amount of time to act, other players may call the clock on him. Once the clock is called, the player is given 60 seconds to act and if he fails to make his decision, his hand is declared dead.
Cards Speak
Poker terms are also sometimes used in common conversation. To let the cards speak means to show the hands to determine who wins. Shown cards supersede any verbal declarations or claims.
Check
Declare verbally or by physical gesture that you want to pass the action to the next player in line without betting yourself.
Chip Dumping
A strategy that is against the rules and spirit of poker, where one player deliberately loses his or her chips to another player at the table to boost their stack. Since chip dumping doesn’t make much sense in cash games, it is mostly used in tournaments and sit and go’s.
Chip Race
A procedure in a poker tournament by which smaller denomination chips are removed from the play after they are no longer needed at the tables.
Click Raise
This term coming from online poker means to make the absolutely minimum raise after another player has bet.
Cold Deck
Earlier, the term cold deck was used to describe a rigged deck of playing cards arranged in such a way to make it impossible for a player who is not in on the ruse to win. In modern poker, it stands to describe a run of bad cards and bad luck.
Collusion
A cheating strategy whereby two or more players playing at the same table share the information about their hole cards and use other deceptive tactics to take chips or money from other unaware players.
Coin Flip
A situation where two hands have approximately the same odds of winning, for example AK against pocket 10s.
Community Cards
Cards used by all players involved in a hand, like flop, turn, and river in Texas Hold’em.
Connectors
Cards of consecutive rank or close in ranking, like 67 or 68.
Continuation Bet
A bet made on the flop by the original pre-flop raiser in an attempt to win the pot without any further resistance. Sometimes a continuation bet is a bluff while sometimes it is made with a hand that has good odds of being the best at the moment, in which case it serves to protect the hand and further build the pot.
Cooler
A type of situation where both players hold hands so strong that neither of them can realistically get away. One typical example of a cooler is pocket Aces against pocket Kings, a situation where a player holding Kings is highly likely to lose the maximum unless he gets very lucky.
Crying Call
Calling a bet with a hand that has very slim chances of being the best. Sometimes players do this hoping to catch an unlikely bluff or because the odds they are getting are too tempting to pass.
Cut-off
A position at the table to the immediate right of the dealer.
Dead Hand
A hand that can no longer participate in the pot. A hand can be declared dead for various reasons: exposing your cards in a tournament, touching the muck, or not acting within the allotted time after the clock has been called are some of the most common.
Dead Money
Money or chips invested in a pot by players who are no longer actively participating in the hand. It can also refer to chips invested by players who have not yet folded but clearly have a weak hand. For example, if six players try to limp in preflop, you could make a big raise from the big blind in order to make everyone fold and pick up the dead money.
Dealing Twice
This practice is only encountered in cash games, where two or more players, after moving all in, agree to run a whole board, turn and river, or just river twice. It is often done by professional players to reduce the variance.
Dealer’s Choice
Although more present in-home games, there are some official tournaments and casino cash games that feature this variation. As the dealer button moves around the table, the player sitting in the dealer’s position gets to choose the game for that particular hand.
Donk Bet
A bet made by the player who is to act first and who just called the opponent’s bet on the previous street. The term comes from the fact that this type of bet is usually made by inexperienced players who are not sure how to proceed in the hand, as more experienced players usually check to the player who seized initiative. However, it does have strategic value in certain situations.
Door Card
In flop games, like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, the first visible card on the flop (also sometimes called a window card). In stud-type games, this is the first visible player’s card.
Downcards
Cards dealt face down, known only to the players they’ve been dealt to.
Drawing Dead
Having no possible outs to win the hand. An example of this situation where a player is drawing dead is when he has a bottom end of a straight against the player holding top end of the same straight. If the board came 4 5 6, the player with 2 3 could only hope for a chop. After turn comes any card other than 7 or 8, the player with the bottom end of the straight is drawing absolutely dead as he has no possible outs that can help him win or chop the pot.
Drawing Thin
As opposed to drawing dead, a player drawing thin has a few out that can save him, like in a set over set situation. The player with the lower set could still find that one card in the deck to make quads, but his odds are very bad.
Dry Board
A term used to describe board texture in flop games. Dry board is the type of board where there are not many possible draws that players could be chasing, like 2c 6s Jh. With no straight or draw options out there, this would be an extremely dry board.
Expected Value (EV)
Used to describe expected long-term profit in certain games, tournaments, etc. It is a complex variable entailing many factors, but when poker players talk about EV, they usually try to explain their earning potential. If a game is termed +EV, it means that it has a positive earning expectation.
Exposed Card
A card from the deck or player’s hand that’s been accidentally turned face up. When it comes to exposed cards, the rule is that if one player saw it, all other players must be shown as well, so that no one can profit from the extra information that others are unaware of.
Family Pot
A pot in which the majority of players at the table gets involved and reaches the flop (or the next street for other types of games).
Fifth Street
In community card games, this is the last card dealt, also known as the river. In stud games, the fifth card dealt to players.
Fish
A bad poker player, also sometimes termed a donkey. A fish is someone who is either inexperienced or simply doesn’t care to play the game the way it is supposed to be played, making him an easy prey for more experienced players at the table.
Floating
Calling a bet with a weak hand with sole intention of bluffing at a later point during the hand.
Flop
The first three community cards dealt in games like Texas Hold’em or Omaha.
Flush
A hand containing five cards of the same suite. In the event two (or more) players have the flush, the one containing the single highest card wins.
Fold Equity
A part of calculation that one needs to consider when betting or raising. It considers how often the other player is expected to fold in the given situation and is then added to other numbers (how often do you expect to win at showdown, implied odds, etc.)
Four Of A Kind
Four cards of the same rank (like KKKK). Also known as quads.
Fourth Street
In community card games, the card dealt after the flop, better known as turn. In stud games, the fourth card dealt to players.
Full House
A hand containing three cards of the same value combined with two cards of the same value (three of a kind and a pair). Also known as a boat.
Full Ring (game)
A game with nine or ten players at the table, as opposed to short-handed games (usually six and sometimes less players).
Grinder
A person who makes living playing poker full time, often participating in small buy-in games where he makes small but consistent profit. Also, the nickname for one of the most famous modern players Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi.
Gutshot
Also known as the inside straight draw, it is a draw that can only be filled by four as opposed to eight cards. For example, if you are holding 67 on 3 4 K board, you have a gutshot draw, as only four 5s will complete your straight.
Hand For Hand
Used to describe a stage of the tournament just before the bubble, when all tables must first finish one hand before proceeding to the next one. This is done so that players with short stacks could not deliberately stall the game until someone busts at another table.
Hero Call
Making a call with a relatively weak hand which doesn’t stand a chance to win against any legitimate hands, trying to pick the opponent’s bluff.
Hijack
The position at a table immediately right to the cut-off or two to the right of the dealer.
Hole Cards
Player’s hidden cards are only known to himself and not shared with anyone else until the showdown.
H.O.R.S.E.
An abbreviation for poker game consisting of five different rotating games: Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud High-Low.
Implied Odds
Perceived potential chips or money the player expects to extract from his opponent if he completes his draw. You can find more information about implied odds in this article.
Isolation Raise
A raise made in an attempt to isolate a weak or out of position opponent and push everyone else out of the pot.
Juice
Another term for rake – the money collected by the house (casino or other establishment) in exchange for organizing the games. In tournaments, the juice is paid together with the participation fee while in cash games it is paid for every individual pot based on the amount of money in the pot.
Kicker
A side card in the player’s hand that doesn’t make the hand itself but can serve as a tie-breaker. For example, if two players have two pair, Aces and Sevens, a kicker is consulted to determine who wins. Player with the higher value of the kicker card will win the pot. The standard poker hand rankings are used (Aces are highest, deuces are lowest).
LAG
An abbreviation standing for loose-aggressive, used to describe a playing style that involves playing a big number of hands, with a lot of betting, raising and re-raising.
Limp (in)
Get involved in the pot by just calling for the amount of big blind in flop games or another minimum bet.
Live One
The term is very similar to the terms fish or donkey. A player who is an underdog in the current game and who is expected to lose unless he gets very lucky.
Maniac
A very loose and aggressive player who plays even more hands than an average LAG. A maniac usually gets involved in nearly every pot and tries to always stay in control in a hand by making big bets and raises to establish his dominance.
Misdeal
A poker deal that is not valid for one reason or another and must be repeated. One typical example of the misdeal is when one of players at a table doesn’t receive both of his hole cards and it goes unnoticed. Once the error is observed, it cannot be rectified by giving this player another card because order of the cards has changed, so the entire hand must be dealt again.
Multi-table Tournament (MTT)
A tournament consisting of more than nine players seated across a number of tables. As players are eliminated, tables are merged until there is just one remaining, usually dubbed the final table.
Muck
“Muck” can have several meanings. One is simply “to fold,” meaning the player is no longer interested in participating in the hand. Also, this term is used to describe the pile containing all folded (discarded) cards. Finally, “to muck” can also mean to throw your hand without showing it, either after winning or losing the pot.
Nit
A somewhat derogatory term used to describe a player who is playing way too tight, waiting only for the absolutely best starting hands to get involved, and even then, playing them timidly.
(The) Nuts
The absolutely best possible hand one can have given the current board structure. The term is also sometimes used to describe a virtual nut – the hand that is not absolutely the best there is, but no one is likely to have it beat. For example, Aces full on the A 2 2 K 7 board is pretty much the nuts.
Nut Low
The best possible low hand in low poker games. Also, sometimes jokingly used to describe the worst possible one can have in high games, for example being dealt 2 3 off in Texas Hold’em.
One Chip Rule
In most casinos, throwing one big denomination chip in the pot is considered to be just a call even if you wanted to raise. In order to make a legal raise with just one big chip, you must verbally declare your intention.
Open (the pot)
To be the first one to make the raise.
Open Limp
When the first player enters a pot without raising, i.e. just calling the minimum bet.
Open-ended
Refers to a straight draw that can be completed from both sides, e.g. a player with 78 on the board reading 5 6 K can complete his straight with either a 4 or a 9.
Outs
Outs are cards that will improve a player’s hand. For example, a player waiting for an open-ended straight draw to come in will have eight “outs” to fill his hand.
Overbet
An unusually large bet. A bet that is bigger than the current pot is always considered an overbet.
Overcard
A card on the board bigger than a player’s pocket pair. For example, if the player holds pocket 9s, any card higher than a 9 is an overcard.
Overpair
A pocket pair higher in rank than any of the community cards on the board.
Paint
A term used to describe picture cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings).
Pair
Two cards having the same rank, like two 9s or two Kings.
Passive Style / Player
A type of play characterised by a lot of calling and letting opponents do betting for you. Passive players rarely raise for value or protection and are satisfied to reach the showdown by calling down and hoping their hands hold.
Playing The Board
When a player's hole cards can’t make any better combination than what’s already on the board, he is said to be playing the board.
Pocket Cards
Same as the hole cards – cards dealt to every individual player and not revealed to anyone else.
Pocket Pair
When a player receives two cards of the same ranking as his hole cards, he has a pocket pair.
Poker Face
Used to describe the face and the overall player’s demeanour that reveals no information about the strength of his hand.
Pot
The total amount of bets and calls at any given moment in the hand.
Pot-committed
When a player invests a lot of chips in the pot, he might be correct to make a call drawing thin because he is pot-committed. This is usually the case when there is a lot of money in the pot and a player doesn’t have many chips left in his stack.
Pot Odds
The odds on your play that the pot is offering you. For example, if you need to pay $20 to win $100, you are getting 5:1 pot odds.
Push
To move all your chips in the middle, i.e. to move all in.
Quads
Four of the kind: four cards of the same ranking.
Rabbit Hunting
Once a hand is over, checking the deck to see what cards were going to be dealt on the turn or river. Usually done to see if a player would complete his draw if he stayed in the hand.
Rags
Cards of low value are unlikely to connect well and make the winning hand.
Rail
A space around the poker table reserved for the spectators. Sometimes the rail is physically marked while in most cases it is formed naturally by interested parties.
Rainbow (board)
The board contains no same suits, i.e., with all different suits, like 4s 9h Jc.
Rake
The amount of money taken by the house for organizing the games.
Ratholing
Secretly removing chips from one’s stack during a poker cash game. It is frowned upon because no chips should leave the table until a player decides to quit and cash out.
Ring Game
A game of poker played for real money, not chips. The term is used to distinguish cash games from tournaments. Ring game = cash game.
River
The final community card in the flop games like Hold’em and Omaha. Also sometimes known as the fifth street.
Rounder
An experienced poker player who moves around looking for juicy poker games. The term was used as the name for possibly the most popular poker movie ever made, The Rounders.
Royal Flush
The best possible straight flush, containing all cards between a 10 and an Ace of the same suite.
Satellite
A type of tournament which pays the winners with a ticket for participation in another (usually higher buy-in) tournament.
Semi-bluff
As opposed to bluff, semi-bluff is also made in an attempt to pick the pot by pure aggression, but in the event, this doesn’t work, the semi-bluffing player still has outs he can hit to make him what should be the best hand.
Shark
An experienced, knowledgeable player who is a favourite to win money or end up placing high in a tournament.
Shootout
A type of poker tournament where players play until they beat their entire table before moving on to the next one. Top one or two players are seated with winners from other tables and the pattern continues until only one table remains.
Showdown
The final phase of a hand where hands are shown and the winner is determined based on the hand strength.
Slow Roll
Deliberately delaying showing down a very strong hand in an attempt to tilt your opponent. Although not explicitly against the rules, this practice is frowned upon by regular players and considered a poor form.
Soft Playing
Another unfair strategy in which one player deliberately plays his strong hands slow against another player to make sure he doesn’t lose too many chips.
Staking
Paying for a player’s buy-in into a tournament or cash game in exchange for a percentage of his winnings. This practice is very popular online, even with the best players.
Straddle
A blind bet posted by the player immediately to the left of the big blind, in the amount of twice the big blind, allowing the player to act last before the flop. It is only allowed in cash games and while some rooms only allow one straddle per round, other rooms may allow every player up to the dealer to post the straddle, always doubling the previous amount.
Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards of the same suite, for example 4s 5s 6s 7s 8s.
Suited connectors
Cards of the same suite, of consecutive ranking or close in ranking. Check out this article for more information on suited connectors.
Tilt
A psychological state in which the player is no longer capable of making rational decisions and acts based on emotions instead. It can be caused by a bad beat, other players’ behaviour, or even reasons unrelated to poker altogether.
Under The Gun
The position at the table that acts first before the turn, i.e. the first player to the left of the big blind.
Value bet
A bet made by a player holding what he believes to be the best hand in an attempt to extract some more value from his rivals.
Walk
When the player seated in the big blind faces no aggression as everyone folds to him and he picks up blinds and antes, he is said to have received a “walk.”
Wired
When your pocket cards are of the same rank.
Wild Card
A card that can be played as any value.