Glossary
POKER GLOSSARY
How to play Texas Hold'em
Poker Glossary How to know if I'm winning? Probability tables |
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Learn the most commonly used Poker terms with the Poker770 glossary.
In addition to this list (which is comprehensive rather than complete), you can view Game rules and How to play Texas Hold'em.
A
All-in: To bet all the remaining chips by placing them on a table.
B
Bad beat: When the last community card shown (The River) makes you lose while you were statistically the favourite and had all the chances to win of winning.
Bankroll (Budget): A sum of money or budget set by the player to play Poker with.
Bet limit: Bet limits establish the minimum and maximum amount of chips the players can bet. For example, in a game of £10/£20, the minimum bet is £10 and the maximum bet is £20.
Big blind: In the game of Texas Hold'em and Omaha, the Big blind refers to the second compulsory bet placed by the player sitting on the left of the dealer button. It's twice the amount of the Small Blind.
Blind: In the game of Texas Hold'em and Omaha, these are the first 2 forced bets enabling to make up a part of the pot.
Bluff: A player bluffs when he bets and raises pretending he has a better hand than the other players. It's a common Poker technique which induces others to bet or fold.
Bonus: A promotion in the form of chips or real money offered by the House
Bonus seeker: A player who only plays Poker with the Bonus money offered by the House.
Buy-in: The minimum or maximum amount of chips you bring to a table. It consists of the entry fee to a tournament. The value of the buy-in determines the value of the game (for example: Buy-in of $112.50+12$).
C
Call: It's when a player equals the previous bet and follows it.
Cash-game (see: Money game): Contrary to the tournaments, it's a Poker game where the players are free to leave the table or withdraw their money whenever they want.
Checking: Checking means staying in the game while not betting, but only if you are the first player to bet or if the previous players have checked. You can still pass or raise if a player bets before the end of the betting round. You can 'check' only if you are the first player to bet or if all the previous players have checked.
Common cards (or community cards): The cards placed face up on the table that all the players can use in order to compose the best hand. (see: Game rules).
D
Dealer: In the lobby, it's the player indicated by the button that rotates clockwise in front of each player.
Dealer button: In the Lobby, it's the button that indicates the dealer, it rotates clockwise in front of each player.
Deposit: After opening an account, the player deposits an initial sum of money on his on-line account in order to start playing.
E
ECOOP: The European Championship of Online Poker
F
Flop (The Flop): In Texas Hold'em, these are the first three community cards dealt face-up on the table.
Flush: A hand which contains five cards of the same suit, not in rank sequence
Four of a kind: A hand that contains four cards of one number (for example: Four Jacks).
Freeroll: A tournament with no entry fee. Usually it's the promotion run by the House that invests a sum of money in the Prize Pool.
Full House: It's a hand composed of three cards of one number of the same value plus a pair of the same value (For example: K-K-K-2-2).
H
Hand: One of 9 different hands that can be made possible at Poker (see: Game rules)
L
Lobby: The name given to the Poker software that is free to download and necessary to be able to play on-line.
M
Multi-table tournaments: The scheduled tournaments played with 12 or more players. The one who still has all the chips at the end of the competition is the winner.
N
No limit pot: It's when the players can bet any amount they have at any round. The bets have to be at least equal to the increase of the previous bet in the same betting round.
O
Odds: In the probability count, the 'Odds' is the term that stands for the probability that your hand is not going to improve.
Outs: In the probability count at Poker, the 'Outs' are the cards that will improve your hand.
P
Pair (a pair): A hand composed of 2 cards of the same value. (For example: 5-5-A-K-Q)
Play money: Some games are played in 'play money' mode, i. e. free before a new player makes a first deposit. This mode is especially recommended for beginners.
Pocket cards: These are the two cards called pocket cards, dealt by the dealer. Each player can only see his/her own cards (see: Game rules).
Pool: The amount of money or bonus to be won at the end of a tournament.
Pot: It's the total amount of bets and raises of the players. The winner wins the pot value.
Pot limit (Bet limit): The pot limits establish the minimum and maximum amount of chips the players want to bet. For example, in a game of £10/£20 the minimum pot limit is £10 and the maximum limit of bet/pot limit is £20.
Prize Pool: The prize to be won at the end of a tournament. It's made up of the buy-in paid by the participants.
R
Raise: To increase the bet of the previous player.
Rake: The fee collected by the House. The rake is taken from all the players participating in the game and not from an individual player. The applying rates are indicated in detail on our website (see: The Rakes' structure).
Re-buy (of chips): A tournament during which a player can re-buy the chips and continue the game. The re-buy takes place during a specific time of the tournament. The possibility of re-buying the chips increases the value of the Prize Pool.
It's the betting money deposited by the player on his/her account. The player should be aware that he/she can either win the money or lose it.
Royal Flush: A hand composed of 5 cards all of the same suit (i.e. 10, J,Q,K,A of spade).
S
Satellite: A tournament enabling qualification for a more important tournament. The goal is to win a series of tournaments that lead to the finals of the main event. The advantage of the satellite tournaments is that they have a low admission fee. The pools to win can reach millions of Pounds.
Showdown: After the last betting round, the remaining players place their cards face-up in order to determine the winner.
Sit'n'go: A tournament which starts as soon as a table is full.
Small blind: In Texas Hold'em and Omaha, it's the first mandatory bet placed by the player on the left of the dealer button (see: Game rules).
Straight Flush: A poker hand which contains five cards of any sequence, all of the same suit. (For example: Q-J-10-9-8).
T
Table: It refers to the centre of the table where the community cards and the pot are placed.
The River (or 5th wheel): The 5th community card placed face-up on the table (see: Game rules).
The Turn: The 4th community card placed face-up on the table (see: Game rules).
Three of a kind: A hand composed of 3 identical cards (for example three Jacks).
To fold or pass: When you give up becaise when you have a bad hand that has hardly any chances of making you win.
Tournament: A scheduled Poker competition.
Two Pair: A hand with two pairs of cards of the same value (For example 8-8-6-6-3)
W
WOPC: The acronym of 'World Online Poker Championship'. It refers to the biggest tournament in the world of Poker. It originated in the United States and gathers the best players from around the globe.
WSOP: An acronym for 'World Series of Poker'. It's the championship of the world of Poker. It refers either to the Texas Hold'em tournament, Pot limit or No limit pot for the Main Event whose buy-in is $10 000. It is held each year from June to end of July.
WPT: An acronym for "World Poker Tour". The major world tournament where the world's best players play against each other.
How to know if i'm winning ?
The basics
The probabilities' role is to assess whether your game is likely to get you to win the pot. The probabilities count takes place straight after the Flop and if you already have a good game, you just need to bet and raise.
However, if your hand is incomplete, you need to have a plan and be able to make a fast decision, bearing in mind that at Poker you have 52 cards divided into 4 suits, each suit having 13 values.
Thus, if you have 2 cards in hand and according to the hands you could form, you can calculate the probabilities by counting the cards that improve your game.
The 'Outs' at Poker
The 'Outs' stand for the cards that are likely to improve your hand.
To count them, you just need to confront your 'outs' with the number of remaining cards, that is to say – the number of possibilities that your hand won't improve. You can still stay in the competition and call if you find a percentage higher than 10%.
The 'Odds' at Poker
The 'Odds' are your chances of winning or losing and can be presented in 3 ways:
1. As a percentage (e.g.: 11%)
2. As fractions (e.g.: 1 chance out of 9)
3. As odds (e.g.: 8:1)
The odds
The probabilities at poker are not enough and you also need to count the odds.
The count in a form of odd is simple, as it clearly states the ratio Win/Lose. It presents the probability in a form of a ratio : 7 against 1 or 7:1, which means that out of 8 attempts you will win once against 7 defeats.
The count
The count is valid if you search for one card only. If you search for several cards being part of your 'Outs', you need to multiply the probabilities between them every time.
Example: There are 10 players at a table. You have 2 hearts in hand and you find a heart in the Flop.
So, out of 12 hearts in the play, you know 3, so there are 10 hearts left among the remaining 47 cards 52-5 (the Flop + your 2 cards), which makes either 10/47*9/46=0.041, either 4% of chances of finding 2 hearts in the cards that follow each other or 1 chance out of 4 or 3 :1.
Probabilities Table
This table indicates your chances of completing your hand according to your number of 'Out'.
All-in: To bet all the remaining chips by placing them on a table.
B
Bad beat: When the last community card shown (The River) makes you lose while you were statistically the favourite and had all the chances to win of winning.
Bankroll (Budget): A sum of money or budget set by the player to play Poker with.
Bet limit: Bet limits establish the minimum and maximum amount of chips the players can bet. For example, in a game of £10/£20, the minimum bet is £10 and the maximum bet is £20.
Big blind: In the game of Texas Hold'em and Omaha, the Big blind refers to the second compulsory bet placed by the player sitting on the left of the dealer button. It's twice the amount of the Small Blind.
Blind: In the game of Texas Hold'em and Omaha, these are the first 2 forced bets enabling to make up a part of the pot.
Bluff: A player bluffs when he bets and raises pretending he has a better hand than the other players. It's a common Poker technique which induces others to bet or fold.
Bonus: A promotion in the form of chips or real money offered by the House
Bonus seeker: A player who only plays Poker with the Bonus money offered by the House.
Buy-in: The minimum or maximum amount of chips you bring to a table. It consists of the entry fee to a tournament. The value of the buy-in determines the value of the game (for example: Buy-in of $112.50+12$).
C
Call: It's when a player equals the previous bet and follows it.
Cash-game (see: Money game): Contrary to the tournaments, it's a Poker game where the players are free to leave the table or withdraw their money whenever they want.
Checking: Checking means staying in the game while not betting, but only if you are the first player to bet or if the previous players have checked. You can still pass or raise if a player bets before the end of the betting round. You can 'check' only if you are the first player to bet or if all the previous players have checked.
Common cards (or community cards): The cards placed face up on the table that all the players can use in order to compose the best hand. (see: Game rules).
D
Dealer: In the lobby, it's the player indicated by the button that rotates clockwise in front of each player.
Dealer button: In the Lobby, it's the button that indicates the dealer, it rotates clockwise in front of each player.
Deposit: After opening an account, the player deposits an initial sum of money on his on-line account in order to start playing.
E
ECOOP: The European Championship of Online Poker
F
Flop (The Flop): In Texas Hold'em, these are the first three community cards dealt face-up on the table.
Flush: A hand which contains five cards of the same suit, not in rank sequence
Four of a kind: A hand that contains four cards of one number (for example: Four Jacks).
Freeroll: A tournament with no entry fee. Usually it's the promotion run by the House that invests a sum of money in the Prize Pool.
Full House: It's a hand composed of three cards of one number of the same value plus a pair of the same value (For example: K-K-K-2-2).
H
Hand: One of 9 different hands that can be made possible at Poker (see: Game rules)
L
Lobby: The name given to the Poker software that is free to download and necessary to be able to play on-line.
M
Multi-table tournaments: The scheduled tournaments played with 12 or more players. The one who still has all the chips at the end of the competition is the winner.
N
No limit pot: It's when the players can bet any amount they have at any round. The bets have to be at least equal to the increase of the previous bet in the same betting round.
O
Odds: In the probability count, the 'Odds' is the term that stands for the probability that your hand is not going to improve.
Outs: In the probability count at Poker, the 'Outs' are the cards that will improve your hand.
P
Pair (a pair): A hand composed of 2 cards of the same value. (For example: 5-5-A-K-Q)
Play money: Some games are played in 'play money' mode, i. e. free before a new player makes a first deposit. This mode is especially recommended for beginners.
Pocket cards: These are the two cards called pocket cards, dealt by the dealer. Each player can only see his/her own cards (see: Game rules).
Pool: The amount of money or bonus to be won at the end of a tournament.
Pot: It's the total amount of bets and raises of the players. The winner wins the pot value.
Pot limit (Bet limit): The pot limits establish the minimum and maximum amount of chips the players want to bet. For example, in a game of £10/£20 the minimum pot limit is £10 and the maximum limit of bet/pot limit is £20.
Prize Pool: The prize to be won at the end of a tournament. It's made up of the buy-in paid by the participants.
R
Raise: To increase the bet of the previous player.
Rake: The fee collected by the House. The rake is taken from all the players participating in the game and not from an individual player. The applying rates are indicated in detail on our website (see: The Rakes' structure).
Re-buy (of chips): A tournament during which a player can re-buy the chips and continue the game. The re-buy takes place during a specific time of the tournament. The possibility of re-buying the chips increases the value of the Prize Pool.
It's the betting money deposited by the player on his/her account. The player should be aware that he/she can either win the money or lose it.
Royal Flush: A hand composed of 5 cards all of the same suit (i.e. 10, J,Q,K,A of spade).
S
Satellite: A tournament enabling qualification for a more important tournament. The goal is to win a series of tournaments that lead to the finals of the main event. The advantage of the satellite tournaments is that they have a low admission fee. The pools to win can reach millions of Pounds.
Showdown: After the last betting round, the remaining players place their cards face-up in order to determine the winner.
Sit'n'go: A tournament which starts as soon as a table is full.
Small blind: In Texas Hold'em and Omaha, it's the first mandatory bet placed by the player on the left of the dealer button (see: Game rules).
Straight Flush: A poker hand which contains five cards of any sequence, all of the same suit. (For example: Q-J-10-9-8).
T
Table: It refers to the centre of the table where the community cards and the pot are placed.
The River (or 5th wheel): The 5th community card placed face-up on the table (see: Game rules).
The Turn: The 4th community card placed face-up on the table (see: Game rules).
Three of a kind: A hand composed of 3 identical cards (for example three Jacks).
To fold or pass: When you give up becaise when you have a bad hand that has hardly any chances of making you win.
Tournament: A scheduled Poker competition.
Two Pair: A hand with two pairs of cards of the same value (For example 8-8-6-6-3)
W
WOPC: The acronym of 'World Online Poker Championship'. It refers to the biggest tournament in the world of Poker. It originated in the United States and gathers the best players from around the globe.
WSOP: An acronym for 'World Series of Poker'. It's the championship of the world of Poker. It refers either to the Texas Hold'em tournament, Pot limit or No limit pot for the Main Event whose buy-in is $10 000. It is held each year from June to end of July.
WPT: An acronym for "World Poker Tour". The major world tournament where the world's best players play against each other.
How to know if i'm winning ?
The basics
The probabilities' role is to assess whether your game is likely to get you to win the pot. The probabilities count takes place straight after the Flop and if you already have a good game, you just need to bet and raise.
However, if your hand is incomplete, you need to have a plan and be able to make a fast decision, bearing in mind that at Poker you have 52 cards divided into 4 suits, each suit having 13 values.
Thus, if you have 2 cards in hand and according to the hands you could form, you can calculate the probabilities by counting the cards that improve your game.
The 'Outs' at Poker
The 'Outs' stand for the cards that are likely to improve your hand.
To count them, you just need to confront your 'outs' with the number of remaining cards, that is to say – the number of possibilities that your hand won't improve. You can still stay in the competition and call if you find a percentage higher than 10%.
The 'Odds' at Poker
The 'Odds' are your chances of winning or losing and can be presented in 3 ways:
1. As a percentage (e.g.: 11%)
2. As fractions (e.g.: 1 chance out of 9)
3. As odds (e.g.: 8:1)
The odds
The probabilities at poker are not enough and you also need to count the odds.
The count in a form of odd is simple, as it clearly states the ratio Win/Lose. It presents the probability in a form of a ratio : 7 against 1 or 7:1, which means that out of 8 attempts you will win once against 7 defeats.
The count
The count is valid if you search for one card only. If you search for several cards being part of your 'Outs', you need to multiply the probabilities between them every time.
Example: There are 10 players at a table. You have 2 hearts in hand and you find a heart in the Flop.
So, out of 12 hearts in the play, you know 3, so there are 10 hearts left among the remaining 47 cards 52-5 (the Flop + your 2 cards), which makes either 10/47*9/46=0.041, either 4% of chances of finding 2 hearts in the cards that follow each other or 1 chance out of 4 or 3 :1.
Probabilities Table
This table indicates your chances of completing your hand according to your number of 'Out'.
|
OUT |
THE TURN IN% | THE RIVER IN % | TURN OR RIVER IN % |
| 20 | 42.6 | 43.5 | 67.5% |
| 19 | 40.4 | 41.3 | 65.0% |
| 18 | 38.3 | 39.1 | 62.4% |
| 17 | 36.2 | 37.0 | 59.8% |
| 16 | 34.0 | 34.8 | 57.0% |
| 15 | 31.9 | 32.6 | 54.1% |
| 14 | 29.8 | 30.4 | 51.2% |
| 13 | 27.7 | 28.3 | 48.1% |
| 12 | 25.5 | 26.1 | 45.0% |
| 11 | 23.4 | 23.9 | 41.7% |
| 10 | 21.3 | 21.7 | 38.4% |
| 9 | 19.1 | 19.6 | 35.0% |
| 8 | 17.0 | 17.4 | 31.5% |
| 7 | 14.9 | 15.2 | 27.8% |
| 6 | 12.8 | 13.0 | 24.1% |
| 5 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 20.4% |
| 4 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 16.5% |
| 3 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 12.5% |
| 2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 8.4% |
| 1 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 4.3% |
Good luck!
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