Poker Glossary
The poker words you'll actually hear at the table, explained in plain English — each with a quick example. From the nuts to 3-betting to pot odds. Tap any term for the full definition.
Betting & actions
The moves you make on your turn, and the words for the bets and raises behind them.
3-bet
A 3-bet is the third bet in a betting round: a re-raise made against someone who already raised before you, putting in more chips to take control of the hand.
Bluff
A bluff is betting or raising with a weak hand to make opponents fold a better one, winning the pot without having the best cards at showdown.
Check-raise
A check-raise is when you pass the action by checking, then raise after an opponent bets in that same round, instead of just calling their bet.
Cold call
A cold call is calling a raise without having voluntarily put any chips in the pot yet that betting round.
Continuation bet (c-bet)
A continuation bet (c-bet) is when the player who bet or raised before the flop keeps the pressure on by betting again on the flop.
Donk bet
A donk bet is when the player who called a raise before the flop leads out with a bet on the next street instead of checking to the original raiser.
Fold
Folding means throwing away your hand and giving up any claim to the pot, ending your involvement in that round so you put in no more chips.
Limp
Limping means just calling the big blind preflop instead of raising — entering the pot for the minimum without putting in extra chips.
Overbet
An overbet is a bet larger than the current size of the pot, used to pile on pressure with a strong hand for value or as a big bluff.
Snap call
A snap call is when a player calls a bet instantly, with no pause to think, usually because the decision feels obvious to them.
Value bet
A value bet is a bet you make with a strong hand hoping to get called by worse hands, so you win more chips when you're already ahead.
Hands & the board
What you're holding, what the board gives you, and the names for strong (and unlucky) hands.
Bad beat
A bad beat is when a hand that was a strong favorite to win loses to an opponent who catches a lucky card that completes their unlikely hand.
Gutshot (inside straight draw)
A gutshot (inside straight draw) is a hand needing one specific rank to fill a straight, leaving a single gap in the middle of four cards.
Kicker
A kicker is a side card in your hand that doesn't form part of your main pair, trips, or other combo but breaks ties when two players share the same rank.
Muck
Muck means to discard your cards face-down into the pile of dead cards, either when you fold or when you give up a hand without showing it.
Outs
Outs are the unseen cards that would complete your hand and likely make it the winner; the more outs you have, the better your chance of improving.
Set
A set is three of a kind made from your pocket pair plus one matching board card, so both your hole cards are part of the hand.
Suited connectors
Suited connectors are two hole cards of the same suit that sit next to each other in rank, like the 8 and 9 of hearts, giving straight and flush potential.
The nuts
The nuts is the best possible five-card hand on a given board right now — a hand no opponent can beat, only tie (split the pot).
Math & stats
The numbers behind good decisions: odds, equity, and how players get measured.
Equity
Equity is your share of the pot right now, based on the percent chance your hand will win (or tie) by showdown against what your opponent could be holding.
Expected value (EV)
Expected value (EV) is the average result a poker decision would earn or lose if you made it over and over — the long-run profit or cost of a play in chips.
Fold equity
Fold equity is the extra value a bet or raise earns from the chance your opponent folds, letting you win the pot without having the best hand.
GTO (game theory optimal)
GTO (game theory optimal) poker is a balanced, mathematically unexploitable strategy designed so no opponent can profit by adjusting to how you play.
Pot odds
Pot odds are the ratio between the current size of the pot and the amount you'd have to call, used to decide if a call is worthwhile.
Variance
Variance is the natural swing between your short-term results and your long-term expectation, caused by the luck of which cards come out.
VPIP
VPIP (Voluntarily Put $ In Pot) is a stat showing how often a player chooses to put chips in preflop by calling or raising, instead of folding.
Position
Where you sit decides when you act, and acting last is a real edge.
Cutoff (CO)
The cutoff (CO) is the seat directly to the right of the button — the second-best position in Texas Hold'em, where only the button and the two blinds act after you.
Out of position (OOP)
Out of position (OOP) means you have to act before one or more opponents on the flop, turn, and river, so you act first and decide without seeing what they do.
Position
Position is where you sit relative to the dealer button, which decides the order you act in each betting round — acting later is a real advantage.
The button (dealer button, BTN)
The button is a marker showing who is in the dealer's seat — the most powerful position, because that player acts last on every postflop betting round.
Under the gun (UTG)
Under the gun (UTG) is the seat that has to act first before the flop — the player immediately to the left of the big blind.
Slang & etiquette
Table talk, the unwritten rules, and the names players give each other.
Angle shooting
Angle shooting is using sneaky, technically-legal moves to mislead or gain an unfair edge over opponents — bending the rules' spirit without openly cheating.
Chop
A chop (also called a split pot) is when two or more players make the exact same best five-card hand and divide the pot evenly between them.
Fish
A "fish" is a weak or inexperienced poker player who loses money over time by making basic mistakes, like playing too many hands or chasing draws.
Nit
A nit is an extremely tight, risk-averse player who folds almost everything and only puts chips in with premium hands, rarely bluffing or gambling.
Rabbit hunting
Rabbit hunting is asking to see the cards that would have come on later streets after a hand is already over, just to satisfy curiosity.
Slow roll
A slow roll is when a player who knows they have the winning hand deliberately stalls before revealing it at showdown, falsely letting the opponent think they won.
Tilt
Tilt is when frustration or emotion (often after a bad beat) makes a poker player abandon their normal strategy and start playing recklessly.
Tournaments
Terms you'll mostly meet in tournament and special-format play.
Bomb pot
A bomb pot is a hand where every player at the table puts in a set ante before the deal, so there's no preflop betting and everyone sees the flop together.
Guarantee (GTD)
A Guarantee (GTD) is a tournament's promised minimum prize pool, paid out in full even if the buy-ins collected don't add up to that amount.
ICM (Independent Chip Model)
ICM (Independent Chip Model) is a math model that estimates how much of a tournament's prize pool your chip stack is really worth, not just its chip count.
Learn these by playing them: play a hand with Wit, run the odds calculator, or browse the starting hands chart.