Glossary of Poker Terms Pt. 3

By: Nick Laurrell

Sometimes poker players seem to be speaking in a different language. Here is a list of commonly used poker slang and terminology beginning with letters F- O so you can get acquainted with what players are actually saying.

The Felt: The Felt is an oblique reference to the poker table. It is made because the poker table is generally made with green felt on top. “Enough of this trash talk, we’ll settle this on the Felt.”

The Flop: The first three community cards which come all at once. “The flop came 2 5 8.” NOTE: Flop is also used as a verb meaning “a hand which is picked up on the flops.” “I flopped three Aces.”

Freeroll: A freeroll tournament is a tournament with no buy-in but often with a cash prize, hence it is a free roll. “Freerolls make me happy.”

Full Boat or Boat: A full house is often referred to as a “full boat.” Boat is a shortening of that phrase but also means a full house. “You have a boat, don’t you?”

A Gus Hansen Hand: A Gus Hansen hand is a weak hand which someone has raised with. Gus Hansen hands are hands like 6-2, 5-3, 4-8. This term comes from the playing style of Gus Hansen, who has become famous for playing (and winning) with weak hands. “Guy had 4-2, who knew he liked Gus Hansen hands.”

Heads Up: When you are alone in a hand with one other player you are said to be head’s up with them. “To win any tournament, you have to win the head’s up battle.”

Hit or to Hit: When a player hits their hand they have made their hand. So if you pick up a pair of Aces on the Flop, you have hit your Ace. If you make a flush on a draw then you have hit your flush. Hit can be used in terms of a card (I hit my Ace) or betting round “I hit the River and won.”

Hooks: A pocket pair of Jacks. The term “hooks” refers to the nature of the letter J which looks like a fishing hook. Hence JJ is called hooks. “Hooks can be tough to play.”

Inside Straight Draw: To have 4 nearly sequential cards where unlike an open-ended straight draw only one card could come and make your straight. “I hate inside straight draws because they almost never come true.”

In the Door: When you are playing Stud, the first face up card is said to be your door card. So if you are showing a 4 then you have a 4 in the door. “I always bet with an Ace in the door to try and steal the pot.”

In the Hole or Hole Cards: These are the facedown cards that only one player possesses. They are said to be “in the hole.” “I had Jack-seven (J-7) in the hole.” NOTE: Some players will incorrectly say “hold” cards. You do not have hold cards, instead you are holding hole cards.

In the Money or to Cash: To finish a tournament “in the money” means to finish with a high enough position to receive payment. It is also referred to as cashing in a tournament. “Chad Brown has the record for most cashes in a single WSOP with 8.”

Joint: A joint is a straight. “I flopped a joint.”

Kicker: If you are to pair one of your hole cards but not the other, the unpaired hole card is referred to as your kicker. “I had K J and once the flop came J 4 6 I knew my King kicker was strong.” NOTE When you beat someone because of a higher kicker you are said to have “out-kicked” them. “We both had a pair of Aces but my ten out-kicked his 4.”

Ladies: Pocket Queens – Queens at least always look like ladies. “I picked up a pair of Ladies and went all-in.”

Late Position, or With Position: Players who are amongst the last to act post-flop are said to be in late position, or to have position on the other players. “He was on the button so he had position on me.”

Limp in: This refers to a player who has called the pre-flop big blind rather than raise. “He just limped in so I raised him.”

Loose: This is an adjective referring to a play or player which is unusually speculative concerning their hand requirements. A loose player is a player who plays in many hands. Loose refers to being loose or free with their chips. “I just kept putting him all-in on the river because he was so loose, I knew he had nothing.” NOTE: Loose is often used in tandem with “passive” or “aggressive” to define a player’s basic gaming strategy. So a loose-aggressive player is a player who plays in many hands (loose) and bets heavily(aggressive.)

Middle Pair: The middle pair on any given Board. “Flop came J 9 5 and I was holding A-9 so I had middle pair.”

Money in Good: To “get your money in good” means that at the time you put your money into the pot you had a better hand then whoever called you. So if you go all-in with pocket Jacks and get called by someone holding 10-Q you would be about a 66% favorite and would have gotten your money in good. “Better to take money from the table than to get money in good.”

Monster or Flop a Monster: A monster hand is big hand with a lot of strength. To flop a monster is to pick it up on the flop. “I was holding AK and the flop came AAK, now that’s flopping a monster!”

Moved in On: Whenever anyone goes all-in then they are said to have moved in on their opponent. Vice versa whenever someone goes all-in against you then you are said to have been moved in on. “He kept moving in on me so I took offense and waited for him outside of the casino.”

To Muck: To throw your cards away without showing anyone. “I was bluffing. Once he called I just mucked my cards so no one would know.”

Multi-Accounting or to Multi-Account: Multi-accounting is the online practice of possessing more than one account on a single site and playing with them at the same table at the same time. It is a common form of online cheating. “All players found to be multi-accounting will be banned from the site and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”

Multi-Table Tournament (MTT): A multi-table tournament is a tournament where there is more than one table of players playing simultaneously. “Most major tournaments are MTTs.”

Nickel: A nickel is a $5,000 chip. “I’ve never even seen a nickel in cash game play.”

The Nuts: The best hand possible. “It’s not hard to play good poker when you keep picking up the Nuts.”

On the Button or Last Position: The player who represents the dealer’s position in a hand is said to “be on the button” because they have the dealer button in front of them. This is also called “last position” because they are last to act after the flop. “Everyone raises on the button.”

On the Draw or Chasing: When you are looking for a card to come to make your hand you are said to be on the draw, or chasing a card. “I had four clubs so I was chasing another one.”

Open Ended Straight Draw: To have 4 sequential cards on the flop or turn with additional card(s) to come. It is said to be open ended because either of two cards could come and make your straight. “I was holding 10-J and the flop came 9 Q 4 so I had an open ended straight draw.”

Out: An out is a card which could come to give a player with a losing hand a winning one before the pot is awarded. “I had a flush draw and she had top pair going into the river. There were 7 clubs left in the deck so I had 7 outs.”

Overbet: To make a bet bigger than the size of the pot. “The pot was only $20 but he made a $100 overbet.”

Overcards: Cards which are higher than other cards are said to be overcards. So an Ace is an overcard to everything else while a three is only an overcard to a two. “Overcards are only valuable until you get called.”

Overpair: An overpair is a pair which is either higher than every other card on any given Board or a pair which is higher then both of another player’s hole cards. “Tom Murfle went all in when the flop came K J 9, but I had Aces so I called with the overpair.”

Overplay: To play a hand too aggressively and be beaten. “I overplayed my Aces once the fourth Heart hit the on the river and lost a lot of money.”

Over the Top: When you re-re-raise you are said to have come over the top. “The guy came over the top of me, what am I supposed to do?”

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