Poker Articles

Freshman Poker (#11)
By Jan Fisher

And so we trudge on with our glossary. Are you beginning to understand the language of poker? By now, you should be hearing these terms often enough that they are second nature to you. You may even have heard some new ones! If you do, let me know and I can then add them to my list. Without further ado, let's learn some more poker talk!

Facecard - a jack, queen, or king; also called a paint

Family pot - a hand played by all of the players at the table

Fast game - a game with lots of betting and raising, lots of action

Fifth street - in stud, the fifth card to each player; in flop games, the last or river card

Filet - slang for full house

Fill up - to complete a hand by making a full house

Filly - Slang for full house

Flash - to expose your hole cards, either accidentally or on purpose.

Floorperson - a supervisor who, among other duties, handles disputes at the table

Flop - in hold'em and Omaha games, the three cards simultaneously turned up in the center as community cards; the first three center upcards after the first round of betting

Flop a set - to make three of a kind with the first three community cards

Flush - five suited cards; also, having lots of money

Fold - to throw away your hand; having no further interest in the pot

Forced bet - a mandatory bet to start the action; in stud, it's the low card by suit; in flop games, it's a blind

Fouled hand - a dead hand; a hand that has come into contact with the muck and/or discards, contains the wrong number of cards, contains a card that has been dropped on the floor, and so on. This hand is ineligible to win the pot, and a floorperson has the discretion to call any hand dead.

Four-flush - four suited cards

Fourth street - in stud, the fourth card to each player; in flop games, the fourth or turn card, the first card after the flop

Free card - a card that is received as a result of no bet by anyone on a particular round, giving those in the pot the next card without having to pay off a bet

Freeroll - a hand, usually in flop games, in which players are tied and should split the pot, but one has a redraw to claim the entire pot

Full boat - full house

George - generous or very good tipper

Getting your hand cracked - getting beaten, usually by a hand coming from behind and outdrawing you

Give action - gamble knowingly

Grind it out - to play a low-limit, very solid game with not a lot of gamble

Gutshot - inside card to a straight; in the gut

Headsup - two players in the pot or game

Heart - courage, fortitude

Help a hand - to improve a holding on the draw

Here to there - a straight, five cards in numerical sequence

Hidden pair - downcards containing two of the same rank

Hidden trips - downcards containing three of the same rank, or a concealed pair matching one of the upcards

Hit your kicker - to catch a card that is the same rank as your side or non-paired card

Hogger - a pot that is scooped in high-low; the entire pot is won in a split game

Holecards - facedown cards; same as downcards

Hook - the card the jack or to cheat someone, rob them

H.O.R.S.E. - a poker game that rotates five different games: hold'em, Omaha high-low, razz, stud, and stud high-low split eight-or-better

Horse - one who has been staked to play

Hot - catching good cards and running well; also, angry or mad

Hot sucker - someone who is on tilt and playing erratically

Human card rack - an individual who seems to run lucky, always catching better than average cards

Idiot end (of a straight) - in flop games, the low end of a possible straight on board

Immortal nuts - an unbeatable hand in a given situation; a lock

"I'll wait" - the same as "I'll check"; not wishing to make a bet

Jack it up - raise the pot

Jackpot poker - a bad-beat giveaway in which a bonus is paid in some houses by a player-funded prize pool for extremely rare hand-over-hand situations

Jam-up game - an action game, one with lots of betting and raising

Jam-up person - a good guy

Juice - rake or vig (orish); the cost to play

Well, we are about 40 per cent through the alphabet and I am sure that you are seeing reuses of many of the same words and terms. Anything that you hear at the table that you do not understand, ask! It is the casino's job to assist you. You are also welcome to send me any of your words or terms for an explanation. I will be happy to define them for you. Class dismissed!

Please email me with any terms you are unclear of or with your poker related questions. I will answer any emails that I receive. Write to me at Jan@PokerPages.com