Glossary
Poker Terms
Poker has its own language, and players often pick it up by guessing from context. These definitions cut through that. Each one explains the term with a real hand and shows how it affects your decisions. Everything is listed A to Z.
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A
- Aggression FactorAggression factor divides bets and raises by calls, measuring postflop aggression. A 1.0 player and a 4.0 player create very different problems.
- AirAir has no pair, draw or showdown value. It is a natural bluffing hand, but the board still decides which missed hands are worth firing.
- Angle ShootingAngle shooting exploits the rules without technically cheating, from fake folds to ambiguous chip motions. Recognise the common angles before they cost you.
B
- Backdoor DrawA backdoor draw needs both the turn and the river to complete, adding roughly 4 percent equity and a good reason to keep barreling on the flop.
- Bad BeatA bad beat is losing after being a big favourite, like aces cracked by a river flush. The odds are real, and so are the rules behind bad beat jackpots.
- BarrelBarrelling is firing bets on consecutive streets. Good double and triple barrels start with turn cards that help your range, not theirs.
- Big BlindThe big blind is the mandatory full bet and the unit stacks are measured in. Its discount gives you the best preflop calling odds at the table.
- Big Blind AnteThe big blind ante has one player post the entire table ante, speeding up play. The extra dead money improves pot odds and widens defences.
- BlankA blank is a turn or river that changes nothing: no flush, straight or overcard. Blanks often favour the range that bet the previous street.
- Block BetA block bet is a small river lead that sets a cheap price and prevents a larger bet. It works with hands that want a showdown, not a raise.
- Bluff CatcherA bluff catcher beats bluffs and loses to value bets. Pot odds set the price, while your opponent's missed draws decide whether to call.
- Board TextureBoard texture describes how connected, suited and paired a flop is. Read the texture first; it determines who can bet and how large.
- BountyA bounty is cash awarded for knocking a player out. In progressive knockouts it has real chip value, loosening the ranges that can call all-in.
- BubbleThe bubble is the last spot before the money. ICM makes chips you can win worth less than chips you can lose, reshaping every range.
- Burn CardThe dealer discards one card face down before the flop, turn and river. Burning protects the deck against marked cards and accidental exposure.
- ButtonThe button is the dealer seat and acts last after the flop, making it the table's most profitable position. That edge supports the widest opening range.
C
- C-BetA continuation bet is a flop bet made by the preflop raiser. Board texture determines when it works, how much to bet, and when to check.
- Capped RangeA capped range holds no strong hands because the best ones would have raised earlier. Spot the cap and large bets become much harder to defend.
- Check-RaiseA check-raise checks to induce a bet, then raises it. The strongest ranges combine nutty value hands with bluffs that have equity.
- ChopA chop splits a pot between tied hands or prize money at a final table. Odd chips and chopped blinds follow their own simple rules.
- Combo DrawA combo draw pairs a flush draw with a straight draw for 12 to 15 outs, often making it a favourite against one pair. Its equity is larger than it looks.
- Condensed RangeA condensed range is packed with medium-strength hands and missing both the nuts and air. It plays very differently from a polarized range.
- CoolerA cooler is a hand where two very strong holdings collide and the loser could not realistically fold. It is bad luck, not a strategic leak.
- CounterfeitYour hand is counterfeited when a board card makes your cards redundant, turning two pair into a worse holding that now plays the board.
- CutoffThe cutoff sits directly right of the button and steals often because only three players remain behind. Its opening and 3-betting ranges reflect that edge.
D
- Dead MoneyDead money is chips left in the pot by players who folded, as well as slang for outclassed entrants. It is why many steals show an immediate profit.
- Donk BetA donk bet leads into the previous street's aggressor from out of position. Once seen as a blunder, solvers use it on specific board textures.
- Double GutshotA double gutshot has two separate inside draws, giving eight outs like an open-ender while staying disguised. Spotting it quickly changes the price of a call.
- Drawing DeadDrawing dead means no remaining card can win the hand: your equity is exactly zero. It happens more often than players notice on paired boards and flushes.
- Dry BoardA dry board is disconnected and rainbow, offering almost no draws. Small, frequent c-bets work because the caller misses so often.
F
- Family PotA family pot is a flop seen by most of the table, usually after limping. Multiway action crushes bluffing and makes raw equity harder to realise.
- FishA fish is a losing recreational player who calls too much and raises too little. Identify the tendency, then isolate them in position with value hands.
- FloatFloating means calling a bet with a weak hand, planning to take the pot away on a later street when your opponent gives up on his bluff.
- Fold EquityFold equity is the value gained when an opponent might fold. It is the extra reason a draw often earns more by betting than by calling.
- FreezeoutA freezeout is a tournament with no rebuys or re-entries: lose your stack and you are out. That structure makes early-stage risk more expensive.
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H
- HeaterA heater is a hot run of winning sessions. It can look exactly like improvement until the cards cool off, which is why graphs need context.
- Hero CallA hero call is calling a big bet with a weak hand because you read the opponent as bluffing. It needs both a credible bluff and the right price.
- Hero FoldA hero fold lays down a strong hand because the story does not add up. Strong reads and ICM pressure can turn a painful fold into the right one.
- HijackThe hijack sits two seats right of the button and opens wider than under the gun. Its range bridges early and late position.
- HUDA heads-up display overlays opponent stats on the table. The useful numbers need enough hands behind them, and some sites ban the software outright.
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L
- LimpLimping means just calling the big blind preflop instead of raising. Open-limping usually loses money, except in a few small-blind and live-game spots.
- Limp-ReraiseA limp-reraise limps with a monster, then re-raises when someone opens behind. The trap works rarely in modern games, which is why it stands out.
- Linear RangeA linear range takes the best hands from the top down with no gaps, so it is value-heavy. It fits spots where the opener continues too wide.
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N
- NitA nit is an extremely tight player who only puts money in with premium hands. Steal their blinds, then believe them when they finally bet big.
- Nut AdvantageNut advantage means your range holds more of the strongest hands on a board. It is what lets you use big bets and overbets without overdoing it.
- Nut FlushThe nut flush is the highest possible flush, made with the ace of that suit. The ace matters because smaller flushes can lose a stack to it.
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P
- PFRPFR measures how often a player raises first in preflop. Compare it with VPIP to see who is aggressive, passive or simply playing too many hands.
- Polarized RangeA polarized range is nuts or nothing: strong value hands plus bluffs, with the medium holdings removed. It is why big bets and overbets work.
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- RainbowA rainbow flop has three different suits, so no flush draw is possible. That absence of draws lets the preflop raiser bet small and often.
- RakeRake is the house fee taken from pots or tournament buy-ins. Its percentage and cap change which small pots and marginal calls stay profitable.
- RakebackRakeback returns part of the rake you pay as cash or rewards. A strong deal can turn a break-even player into a winner over real volume.
- Re-EntryRe-entry lets a busted player buy a fresh stack in a new seat. Unlike a rebuy, it resets your table and makes early aggression more attractive.
- RegA reg is a regular: the solid, familiar winning player in your games. Table selection usually earns more than trying to outplay them for small edges.
- Run It TwiceRunning it twice deals two boards for half the pot each after an all-in. It cuts variance sharply without changing anyone's long-run expectation.
- Runner-RunnerRunner-runner needs perfect turn and river cards, roughly a 4 percent shot for a backdoor flush. That is useful tiebreaker equity, not a reason to call big bets.
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- Scare CardA scare card completes obvious draws or brings an overcard, shifting range advantage. The player with more credible strong hands gets to apply pressure.
- Set MiningSet mining calls a preflop raise with a small pair hoping to flop a set. You hit about one time in eight, so implied odds decide the call.
- SharkA shark is a strong winning player who hunts weaker opposition. Avoid becoming a target by selecting better tables and refusing ego battles.
- Side PotA side pot forms when a player is all in for less and the others keep betting. The main pot and each side pot are built and awarded separately.
- Slow RollA slow roll is delaying the reveal of a winning hand to fake defeat. It breaks no written rule but is the fastest way to anger a whole table.
- Small BlindThe small blind posts a forced half bet and acts first on every postflop street. Its positional tax makes 3-bet-or-fold the usual defence.
- Snap-CallA snap-call is an instant call with little thought, usually signalling an easy decision. Timing can reveal comfort, but it is never proof by itself.
- Splash the PotSplashing the pot throws chips into the middle instead of stacking them in front of you, making the bet impossible to verify. It draws a penalty.
- SqueezeA squeeze is a 3-bet over an open plus one or more callers, using the dead money and the callers' capped ranges to win the pot preflop.
- Stone-Cold NutsThe stone-cold nuts is the single best possible hand on a board, beatable by nothing. Reading it starts with the board, not your hole cards.
- StraddleA straddle is a voluntary blind raise posted before the deal, usually twice the big blind, that doubles the stakes and moves the action.
- String BetA string bet moves chips forward in more than one motion without declaring an amount, so the dealer rules it a call. State the amount first or move the chips once.
- SuckoutA suckout is when the underdog hits its outs on the turn or river. Two-outers still arrive often enough to keep the game profitable and painful.
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- TankTanking is taking a long time over a decision. A real decision deserves thought; habitual delays invite a clock and may reveal more than you intend.
- TiltTilt is emotion-driven bad play, usually after a beat. Spot the physical warning signs early and use a stop-loss before the decisions get expensive.
- TripsTrips is three of a kind using two board cards and one from your hand. A set is better disguised, which is why it tends to win larger pots.
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V
- VillainVillain is the standard label for the opponent in a hand history, with Hero as the narrator. The convention keeps hand histories short and easy to follow.
- VPIPVPIP is the percentage of hands you voluntarily put money in preflop. Compare it across table sizes to spot a range that is too loose or too tight.
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Static charts can't cover every postflop spot
Build the board, stacks and ranges in Neural Custom Solve, then study the flop strategy while the exact solve runs.