The A-Z Of Poker
Look up poker actions, playing styles and tournament terms. Understand ICM, with worked examples for pot odds, quartered pots and zero-sum play.
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Poker terminology describes actions, hands, formats and calculations. This is a selection of terms in alphabetical order, with explanations of several easily confused meanings. It is not a betting system or a complete dictionary of every regional nickname.
A: All-in
Committing the chips remaining in your stack. Further betting may continue between other players; side pots can arise.
B: Bluff and bonus code
A bluff is a bet or raise intended to make a better hand fold. It can fail. A bonus code is a separate registration term, not a poker action. BCP’s bet365 code is BET247: it is optional and does not increase the offer. Eligibility and the applicable offer terms still matter.
C: Cash out
Check the context. Withdrawing an account balance is different from accepting a settlement for an unfinished hand. PokerStars’ feature explanation, for example, describes an eligible all-in player accepting an offered hand value and giving up further claim to that pot. Availability, fees and conditions belong to the particular room and game; that example is not confirmation of a current UK bet365 feature.
D: Dark
Acting before seeing the next cards, rather than acting out of turn. Checking in the dark means checking before those cards are revealed. Do not assume every room permits the same procedure.
E: Expected value, or EV
The probability-weighted average of possible net outcomes under stated assumptions. It is not a forecast of the next hand. A calculation with guessed probabilities does not prove a decision profitable.
F: Family pot and felt
A family pot involves all or nearly all of the players entering the initial betting. Felt also names the table surface, even when its covering is a different material.
H: Hero call
A hero call is a call with a marginal holding against a bet representing strength, based on a belief that the bettor is bluffing. The nickname is not evidence that the call is correct.
I: Independent Chip Model, or ICM
ICM estimates a tournament stack’s expected share of the prizes using stack sizes and payouts. GTO Wizard explains the model and its assumptions, including equal skill. This estimated prize equity is not an account balance you can withdraw, and chips do not simply convert to cash at a fixed rate.
J: Jam
Slang for betting or raising all-in.
K: Kicker
A side card used to distinguish otherwise equal hands where the game’s ranking rules require it.
L: LAG, loose and aggressive
Loose describes entering more starting hands; aggressive describes betting and raising rather than mainly checking and calling. SplitSuit distinguishes LAG from TAG, or tight and aggressive. The labels describe behaviour, not a guarantee of skill or profit.
M: Multiway pot
A multiway pot has at least three players contesting it. It does not require four.
N: Nuts
The strongest possible holding in the current situation. Later cards can change which hand that is.
O: Overpair
A pocket pair higher than every card on the board. It is not necessarily the winning hand.
P: Pot odds, passive play and professionals
Pot odds compare the current pot with the amount needed to call. In an original paper exercise, a pot of 120 units and a 30-unit call give 4:1. Ignoring fees and further betting, 30 ÷ (120 + 30) = 20% is the break-even equity. This is invented arithmetic, not a real hand or advice to call. BCP’s pot-odds guide explains the limits of that calculation.
Passive play relies more on checking and calling than betting and raising. “Pro” abbreviates professional; neither that label nor a playing-style label establishes someone’s income, ability or the safety of joining a game.
Q: Quartered
Receiving a quarter of the pot. PokerZone describes a common high-low case: tying for one half while another hand takes the other. In a fictional 80-unit pot, the high half is 40; two equal low winners receive 20 each. There need not be four winners.
R: Rake
A room’s charge taken from pots or tournament entry fees. Consult the game’s actual fee schedule; do not assume a rate.
S: Satellite and super satellite
A satellite awards entry to another tournament. A super satellite awards entry to another satellite. Neither name means entry is free: check the buy-in, fees and what the prize covers.
T: Three-bet, tilt and Twister
A three-bet is a re-raise, not three separate bets by one player. Tilt means emotions are adversely affecting play. Neither term implies a profitable tactic.
Twister is a three-player jackpot Sit & Go format described in bet365’s UK poker guide. That is three players in total, including you, not three opponents. This definition does not establish current stakes, prizes or availability in your account.
U: Under the gun, or UTG
The first pre-flop actor in ordinary three-or-more-player Hold’em. Heads-up order differs; see BCP’s position guide.
V: Value bet
A bet intended to be called by a worse hand, as described in Upswing’s value-bet definition. It need not be small or seek calls from every opponent.
W: Wet board
A wet board has connected or suited cards that allow several draws or strong holdings. The description does not establish what anyone actually holds.
Z: Zero sum
A zero-sum model has gains and losses that add to zero; it does not mean equal chances of winning and losing. In an original two-person paper example, each contributes ten units and one receives all twenty: the net results are +10 and −10. If four units are removed as a fee, they become +6 and −10, totalling −4 for the players. This is fictional bookkeeping, not a room’s fee schedule.
For basic definitions such as all-in, bluff, jam, kicker, nuts, overpair, pot odds, rake and three-bet, compare the PokerStars glossary. Promotional labels need a different check: read eligibility, expiry and restrictions rather than assuming a promotion improves the value of every session.
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