Poker Glossary

Action
Any betting or the opportunity to bet. So in a poker context you might say ‘the action at the final table was intense’.

Bad Beat
To be a big favourite and then to lose to an opponent who was statistically an underdog.

Board
The community cards in poker are collectively known as the board.

Button
A marker that looks like a hockey puck indicating which player is the virtual dealer and therefore the action and deal starts, as well as who puts in the blinds. This moves round one player each hand.

Buy In
The amount of chips you sit down with in a game or the cost of entering a tournament.

Continuation Bet
A bet made on the flop by a player who rose before the flop. The raiser is continuing to show aggression.

Check
If there’s no bet on the table and you don’t want to place a bet, that action is termed a check. You may only check when there are no prior bets made on that round.

Community Cards
The face-up cards in the middle of the table that are shared by all players are termed community cards.

Flop
The first three community cards. After the ‘flop’ is dealt there is a round of betting.

Fold
When you throw your cards in and take no further part in the current hand.

Heads-up
When only two players are in contention for the pot they are said to be ‘heads up’.

Hole Cards
The face down cards a player is dealt at the start of a hand.

Kicker
The term for the card used to break ties between similar hands. So if two players get to the showdown each with a pair of Aces, the player with the highest ‘kicker’ card wins.

Pocket Pair
A pair held by a player in their hole cards.

Raise
The act of betting more than was wagered by a prior bettor.

River
The fifth and final community card. The river is followed by the final round of betting.

Showdown
This takes place after the final betting round, when any player who hasn’t folded shows their cards and the best hand takes the pot.

Turn
The fourth community card.