Poker Texas Hold'em

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How to play Poker Texas Holdem - game rules

All-in – "betting" or "calling" with all of your chips. After going "all-in", you can't participate in the next rounds of betting for that hand. If any more bets are placed after someone calls "all-in", a side pot is created.

Ante – chips put into the pot before a hand is dealt. "Ante" is usually used in tournaments to speed up the game.

Back Door – a hand that is made using cards drawn from the 'turn' or 'river'. If you use both the 'turn' and 'river' cards, then your hand is called a "Runner-Runner".

Bad beat – losing a hand (when someone was thought to be the favorite) before or after the flop has been dealt.

Bankroll – the amount of chips that you have in your account. The size of your "bankroll" determines how high of stakes you can bet.

Broadway – a deal that could potentially complete "a nuts straight" (AKQJT), for example: KQ.

Big Blind – a forced bet that's placed by the player who sits to the left of the dealer. It also determines the stakes for the table, the maximum "buy-in", and the minimum raise amount.

Big stack – a player with at least 100 BB in the cash games or that has an above average stack in the tournament.

Big stack bully – the player with the biggest stack at the table that uses it to his advantage to bully the other players

Bluff – betting with a very weak hand but implying that you have a monster hand so that you can win the pot without a showdown.

Board – all of the community cards on the table.

Button – the button (a small, round disk) is given to the player who bets last after the river is dealt (in other words, the dealer), therefore he/she has the best position at the poker table.

Buy-in – the amount of chips paid for entering the game, both in tournaments and cash games.

Call – calling the bet and putting the same amount of chips into the pot.

Calling station – a passive player that wants to see the flop and other streets as often as possible, even if his hand is very weak.

Check – if no one bets before you, you can check and pass to next player, without betting.

Check Raise – a play in which after checking on your turn, someone raises the next bet. Usually used to bait players to put more into the pot, while holding a very strong hand.

Coin flip – a situation in which both players have very similar odds of winning the hand, for example AK vs QQ.

Combo draw – drawing for multiple hands at the same time, for example: a flush and a straight.

Community cards – the cards that are face up on the table and belong to all of players.

Connectors – two cards that are one apart in rank, for example: 8 and 9.

Crying call – a desperate call when you are almost certain you have the worst hand.

Cut off – the position at the table that is to the right of the dealer. One of the last positions taken.

Dominant hand – a hand that is dominated by your opponent, usually by holding one of your outs and a higher kicker, for example: AK dominates KQ.

Donkey – a very weak player that is mostly losing.

Draw – the possibility of greatly improving your hand and creating a monster hand with certain cards that might be dealt on later streets.

Drawing Dead – a player that can't possibly improve his hand and win the pot.

Early position – usually the first three positions at the table, the worst positions to be in.

Fish – a very weak player that can only win with luck, not skill.

Flop – the first three community cards.

Flush draw – whenever a player can improve his hand to flush on the later street, he has a flush draw.

Fold – giving up the pot after a bet and mucking your cards.

Freeroll – free-to-enter tournament, a great way to build up your initial bankroll.

Freeze-out – a type of tournament without re-buys. When you lose all of your chips, you are eliminated.

Full ring – tables with 9 or 10 players.

GF – good fold. Used whenever one of the players makes a very good fold.

GG – good game, a greeting used to thank others for the game.

Gutshot – a draw in which we need exactly one card to complete a straight. For example: AKQT needs one of the jacks to complete a "broadway".

Heads-Up – a "one-on-one" poker game.

Isolating – raising to minimize the amount of players involved in a hand, making it more likely to able to play "Heads-Up"

Kicker – one of the cards in your hand that isn't used to complete your hand, but it could determine whether or not you win the pot.

Late position – "button", "cut-off", and the position to the right of these two, which makes them the best positions the table.

Leak – making the same mistake over and over that causes a player to lose more chips in a long run.

Limp – calling the "big blind", a very passive play.

Loose – a term used to describe a player that plays a lot of hands, even the weak ones.

Maniac – an overly aggressive player.

Middle position – one of the middle positions at the table.

Monster – very strong hand that is a heavy favorite to win the pot.

Muck – A pile of all the folded cards, or to not show your hand at the showdown when you have been beaten.

Nh – nice hand.

Nuts – the best possible hand in certain situations.

Offsuit – pocket cards of different colors.

Open Ended Straight Draw – a hand that can complete a "straight draw" using higher or lower sequential cards, for example: "KQJT" can have either an "ace" or a "9" added to them to form a "straight draw".

Out – a card that could come up on the table which would greatly improve your hand and let you win the pot.

Overbet – betting a very high amount that greatly exceeds the pot.

Overcards – pocket cards that are higher than any other card on the table, for example: AK with the 6,4,5 flop.

Overpair – a pocket pair that is higher than any pairs on the table, for example: JJ with the T74 flop.

Passive – a way of playing in which the player is mostly checking and calling, allowing the others to take the initiative.

Pocket Cards – two cards dealt to you by the dealer.

Pot limit – a type of poker game in which the maximum bet is the same size as the pot.

Pre-flop – the first round of betting, before the first community cards are shown.

Rags – worthless cards, usually after the flop or during later streets.

Rainbow – community cards that are different colors and make it impossible to form a "flush draw".

Re-raise – raising a raise. A very aggressive tactic, usually used when a player has a strong hand.

Rebuy – adding chips to your stack after losing some.

River – the final and fifth community card.

Satellite – a tournament in which the prizepool are tickets to better tournaments.

Short stack – a player who doesn't have very many chips at the table.

Showdown – the final stage of the game, when players reveal their cards to determine the winner.

Sit and go – a tournament that begins when the required amount of players registers.

Sit out – taking a break from the game.

Short handed – tables with a maximum of 6 players.

Slowplay – a passive play used by a player with a very strong hand to bait other players into putting more in the pot and to get more value.

Small Blind – a forced bet, equal to half of a "big blind", placed by player to the right of the player who executed a "big blind".

Suited – pocket cards of the same suit. For example: AJ of diamonds.

Suited connectors – connectors of the same suit, for example: the 8,9 of clubs.

Stack – the amount of chips you have on the table.

Steal – raising from a late position with a weak hand to force "blinds" to fold.

Straight draw – a hand that can be improved to form a "straight".

Tight – a way of playing where the player "raises" and "calls" with only strong hands and folds his/her weak ones. This is one of the most effective strategies.

Tilt – a player's mental state after losing one or more hands in a very unlucky way. Having the "tilt" can cause you to play much worse and taking a break to cool off is strongly advised.

Top Pair Top Kicker – a hand in which you have the possible pair on the table with the best kicker. For example: AJ on J28 flop.

Turn – the fourth card put on the table by the dealer.

Ty – thank you.

Under The Gun – the first player to act "pre-flop".

Underdog – a hand that is dominated by another hand and has very low odds of winning. For example: KK vs AA.

Value bet – a bet in which the goal is to increase the size of a pot and take more chips from other players while holding a very strong hand.

Wheel – the lowest straight possible: A2345.

WP – well played.