Card Game Glossary

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A B C D F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W

A

All-in

Putting every chip you have into the pot. You can win only the part of the pot you have matched; see Betting Rounds and Bet Types.

Ante

A small forced bet paid by every player before the deal.

B

Backdoor

A draw that needs both of the last two cards to complete.

Bag

In Spades, a trick won above the contract. Ten bags cost 100 points.

Bankroll

Money set aside for playing and nothing else. See Bankroll Basics.

Blind

A forced bet posted before the cards are dealt by the one or two players left of the button.

Blocker

A card in your hand that makes a particular strong hand impossible for an opponent.

Board

The community cards in the middle of the table.

Bring-in

The forced opening bet in Stud, paid by the lowest exposed card.

Bubble

The point in a tournament just before the paid places begin.

Burn card

A card discarded face down before each community card is dealt.

Bust

To lose your whole stack, or in Blackjack, to exceed 21.

Button

The marker showing the nominal dealer, which sets the order of action. See Table Position.

Buy-in

The amount paid to join a game or enter a tournament.

C

Call

To match the current bet without raising it.

Check

To pass the action without betting, legal only when nobody has bet.

Check-raise

Checking first, then raising after an opponent bets.

Community cards

Shared cards that every player may use, as in Hold’em and Omaha.

Contract

In Spades, the number of tricks a partnership has bid.

Cutoff

The seat immediately to the right of the button.

D

Deadwood

In Gin Rummy, cards that are not part of any meld, and the points they carry.

Door card

A player’s first face-up card in Stud.

Draw

A hand that needs one or more cards to become strong, or the card exchange in Five-Card Draw.

Drawing dead

Holding a hand that cannot win however the remaining cards fall.

F

Flop

The first three community cards, turned together.

Flush

Five cards of one suit. See Poker Hand Rankings.

Fold

To give up the hand and forfeit the chips already put in.

Follow suit

To play a card of the suit led, compulsory in Hearts and Spades when you hold one.

Freezeout

A tournament with one buy-in and no re-entry.

Full house

Three of a kind plus a pair.

G

Gin

In Gin Rummy, ending a hand with no deadwood at all.

H

Heads-up

A game or hand between exactly two players.

Hole cards

Cards dealt face down to a player.

House edge

The permanent advantage a house game such as Blackjack holds over the player.

I

Implied odds

The money you expect to win later if a draw completes, added to the current price. See Pot Odds and Outs.

K

Kicker

An unpaired side card used to break ties between equal hands.

Knock

In Gin Rummy, ending the hand with ten or fewer deadwood points.

L

Lay off

Adding deadwood cards onto an opponent’s melds to reduce your score.

Limp

To enter a pot by calling the big blind rather than raising.

Lowball

Any variant where the worst hand wins.

M

Meld

A set or run of matching cards in rummy games.

Muck

The pile of discarded cards, and the act of discarding into it.

N

Nil

A bid of zero tricks in Spades, worth 100 points if kept.

Nuts

The best hand possible given the cards on the table.

O

Out

A card still unseen that would give you the winning hand.

Overcard

A card higher than any on the board, or higher than an opponent’s likely pair.

P

Pot

All the chips bet during a hand.

Pot-limit

A format where no bet may exceed the current size of the pot.

Pot odds

The ratio between what you can win and what you must pay to call.

Push

A tie with the dealer in Blackjack; the bet is returned.

R

Rail

The area beside the table where spectators stand.

Raise

To match the current bet and increase it.

Rake

The house’s cut of each pot, or a time charge in its place.

Razz

Seven-card stud played for the lowest hand.

Revoke

Failing to follow suit when able, in a trick-taking game.

River

The fifth and final community card.

Rolled up

Starting Stud with three of a kind.

Run

Three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, in rummy games.

S

Set

Three cards of the same rank; in rummy, a meld of matching ranks.

Shoe

The box holding several decks in a casino card game.

Shooting the moon

Taking every penalty card in Hearts, which scores against the other players instead.

Showdown

The point at which remaining players reveal their hands.

Side pot

A separate pot created when a player is all-in for less than the full bet.

Soft hand

A Blackjack hand with an ace counted as eleven, which cannot bust on the next card.

Split pot

A pot shared between players holding equal hands.

Stand pat

To take no cards at the draw.

Stock

The face-down pile that players draw from in rummy games.

Straight

Five cards in sequence of mixed suits.

String bet

Putting chips in with more than one motion without announcing the amount; it is not allowed.

T

Table stakes

The rule that only the chips on the table are in play during a hand.

Tell

An unintentional habit that gives information about a player’s hand.

Tilt

Playing badly because of frustration, usually after a lost pot.

Trick

One card from each player; the highest card of the suit led, or the highest trump, takes it.

Trips

Three of a kind.

Trump

A suit that beats all others. In Spades it is always spades.

Turn

The fourth community card.

U

Under the gun

The seat that acts first before the flop.

Up-card

A card dealt face up, visible to the whole table.

V

Variance

The natural swing of results around the long-run average.

Void

Holding no cards in a suit, which allows free discarding.

W

Wheel

The straight 5-4-3-2-A, and the best hand in ace-to-five lowball.

Wrap

A large straight draw in Omaha using several connected hole cards.