Poker Dictionary
This is our pared down version of a poker dictionary, paying particular attention to the terms that you will frequently seen used in poker strategies and winning tips.
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Blinds: These are the forced bets that are used in place of the ante in other forms of poker. The blinds always begin with the player directly to the left and of the dealer for the small blind and the person next to him will be responsible for the big blind.
Board Cards: These card are also know as the "community cards" and can be found directly in the center of the table. These cards are shared by all the players to use in creating the best poker hand.
Draw: A draw means you are hoping to draw certain cards to enhance your poker hand. For ex: if you are holding a Q clubs and 9 Clubs and the flop reveals a J Diamonds, 6 Spades and K of Hearts you will be looking to "draw" a 10 with the next two community cards.
Flop: These are the first 3 board cards/community cards in Texas Holdem.
Implied Odds: This means the same as pot odds, which implies that although you are making a small bet on the flop you are looking to making bigger bets on later hands once you have hit your draw. If you hit your draw the implied odds would be how much you have to bet compared to the size of the pot at the end of the hand.
Limit Poker: This is a poker game that has a fixed bet size. In a 5 - 10 game all bets and raises are 5 in the first 2 rounds and 10 each round afterwards.
Longhand: This is a poker game consisting of 7 or more players.
Outs: An out is a card that can improve your hand. Ex: If you are holding a 7 Diamonds and K Spades and the flop shows J clubs, Q, hearts and A Diamonds you will be looking for the 10 of any suit to complete your straight. There are only 4 tens in the deck so your perceived outs will only be 4.
Position: The position is the place at the table where a player sits. The dealer always has the advantage in the game because he bets last and has a better understanding of what other players are holding due to their betting or folding patterns. The small blind is the worse position at the table as they must always bet first.
Pre-flop: This is the betting round that occurs directly after the dealer has completed dealing out the hole cards to all players.
River: This is the fifth and final community or board card in a Texas Holdem poker game.
Shorthand: This is a poker game that consists of six or less players.
Turn: This is the fourth community or board card in a Texas Holdem game or Stud game.