Do you dream of becoming a poker master? Join the club! In its many forms, both offline and online poker offers endless opportunities for excitement and thrills, as well as being a great way to improve your mental abilities.
We’ve assembled this guide to the most important poker terms and phrases, so whether you’ve never mastered the difference between Hold’Em and Stud poker, or you’re unsure exactly how to identify a Flush or Full House, we’re here to clarify things.
Without further ado, let’s get into the key poker terms to learn before you start stacking those chips!
Poker Betting Terms
Bet – the amount of money placed as a wager on your hand.
Check – bet zero while staying in the game.
Call – match the previous bet to stay in the round.
Raise – increase the previous bet.
Re-raise – also known as ‘backraise’, the player raises despite having previously ‘called’ earlier in the round.
Fold – pass the round and lay down cards.
All In – the entirety of a player’s chips is bet on a single hand.
Other Basic Poker Terms
Buy-In – the minimum amount that must be spent in order to partake in a game.
Ante – some games require a forced bet to made at the beginning (this ensures there is always something in the pot to be won).
Blind – a forced bet – there is usually a big blind and a small bind that players take in turns to pay before each round commences.
Bluff – a bet that is made on a hand that isn’t statistically strong with the aim of disguising playing habits or winning a round.
Poker Face – keeping the face expressionless in order to conceal emotions and intentions.
Muck – the term for the pile of discarded cards.
Hands & Rankings
Here are the 10 poker hands in order of most to least valuable.
1. Royal Flush – Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 all of the same suit.
2. Straight Flush – Five cards in sequence and all of the same suit.
3. Four of a Kind – All four cards in the same rank (e.g. four Jacks)
4. Full House – Three cards in the same rank and a pair.
5. Flush – Five cards all of the same suit.
6. Straight – Five cards in sequence.
7. Three of a Kind – Three cards in the same rank.
8. Two Pair – Two pairs of cards, each in the same rank.
9. Pair – Two cards in the same rank.
10. High Card – When none of the above rankings are present, the highest card of the five wins.
Game-Specific Terms
Draw Poker – Players are dealt 5 cards and the full hand is kept secret throughout the game until the big reveal at the end.
Stud Poker – Each player is dealt 5 cards, with some of them being revealed to the table and others kept secret.
Hold ‘Em Poker – Texas and Omaha Hold’Em are both popular versions of community poker games, in which some of the cards are shared with everyone else round the table.
Community Cards – present in a community card game like Texas Hold’Em – these are the cards places face-up in the middle of the table and their value is shared by every player.
So there you have it – our quick guide to poker games terms. These are the essential terms and ideas to understand if you want to start playing poker; however, there are tons of other poker terms and phrases used by pros that you will likely learn by playing. Test your poker skills at our awesome online casino with the best poker online from NetBet Casino.
