Poker Glossary

From beginner to pro — master every poker concept · 1021 terms · 12 categories

Position & seats

Position Advantage

Position advantage refers to the benefit of acting later in a betting round, particularly on later streets, which allow…

UTG

In a [full ring] game 9 or 10 players, UTG is the first to act pre-flop, thus having the least information and the high…

What is the Button in Poker?

Button

The button is the dealer position in poker, acting last post-flop. It is the most profitable seat, but many players mis…

What is the Big Blind in Poker?

Big Blind

The big blind is a forced bet posted before cards are dealt, equal to the minimum opening raise. It is not a voluntary …

What is In Position in Poker?

In Position

In position means you act after your opponent on every betting street. The common mistake is thinking it only matters p…

Cutoff

e., the sixth position to act at a nine-handed table. Its core meaning is "the second-to-last player to act." Preflop, …

MP

MP Middle Position is the seat area in Texas Hold'em that comes after UTG and before the Cutoff CO, typically including…

What is Out of Position in Poker?

Out of Position

Out of position OOP means you must act before your opponent on a street. It is not just a disadvantage; it is a strateg…

UTG+1

The core meaning of this position is that the player is in an early position before the flop, acting early in the betti…

Preflop action

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What is a 3-Bet?

3BET

A 3-bet is the first re-raise after an open-raise. In position a common size is about 3x the open; out of position abou…

What is a Steal in Poker?

Steal

A steal is a preflop raise from late position intended to win the blinds and antes. It is not a bluff with a weak hand.

What is a 4-Bet?

4-Bet

A 4-bet is the re-raise after a 3-bet. At 100bb a common size is about 2.2x to 2.5x that 3-bet, for example 9bb to 22–2…

What is a Resteal in Poker?

Resteal

A resteal is a 3-bet bluff against a late-position open-raise, usually from the blinds. It is not a call or a value rai…

What is a Limp in Poker?

Limp

Limping is calling the big blind preflop instead of raising. It is usually a leak because it caps your range and lets o…

What is a Squeeze in Poker?

Squeeze

A squeeze is a raise after a previous raise and one or more calls, designed to exploit dead money and force folds. It i…

What is an Isolation Raise in Poker?

Isolation Raise

An isolation raise is a preflop raise designed to thin the field and play a hand heads-up against a weak opponent. It's…

What is an Open Raise?

Open Raise

An open raise is the first voluntary raise before the flop. It is not a response to another raise, and its size and ran…

What is a Cold Call in Poker?

Cold Call

A cold call is calling a raise before you have invested in the pot. It is often a leak because you enter a pot with a w…

Math & odds

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EV

EV Expected Value quantifies the average profit or loss of a decision over the long run, considering all possible outco…

What are Pot Odds?

Pot Odds

Pot odds are the price of a call versus the pot you can win. A half-pot bet needs about 25% equity, for example calling…

What is Equity in Poker?

Equity

Equity is your share of the pot based on current win probability. It is not the same as pot odds or expected value.

What is SPR in Poker?

SPR

SPR is the effective stack divided by the pot. After the flop, about 4 or less is low SPR; double-digit SPR is high and…

What is Fold Equity?

Fold Equity

Fold equity is the extra EV you get when a bet or raise makes opponents fold. A bluff with no folds is just a donation.

What are Reverse Implied Odds in Poker?

Reverse Implied Odds

Reverse implied odds are extra chips you expect to lose when you hit a second-best hand. You do not have them when you …

What is an Out in Poker?

Outs

An out is an unseen card that improves your hand to the likely winner. Counting outs is the first step to calculating p…

Expected Value

It is calculated as the sum of the products of all possible outcomes' probabilities and their respective payoffs. In pr…

Variance

In practice, variance determines the range of profit or loss a player may experience in a specific period. Even if long…

Ranges & GTO

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What is GTO in Poker?

Gto

GTO Game Theory Optimal is a strategy that makes you unexploitable by balancing bluffs and value. It is not the same as…

What is an Exploit in Poker?

Exploit

An exploit is a deliberate deviation from balanced play to profit from a specific opponent's predictable mistake. It is…

Game Theory Optimal

Game Theory Optimal GTO refers to a poker strategy that achieves perfect theoretical balance, making it impossible for …

What is Range Advantage in Poker?

Range Advantage

Range advantage means your possible hands beat your opponent's possible hands. It does not mean you have a made hand. I…

Solver

In practice, solvers help players identify theoretically optimal strategies for given situations, such as bet sizing, r…

What is a Blocker in Poker?

Blockers

A blocker is a card in your hand that reduces the chance an opponent holds a specific hand. It's not a guarantee, but i…

What is a Polarized Range in Poker?

Polarized Range

A polarized range contains only very strong hands and weak hands, with few medium-strength hands. It is not the same as…

Blocker Effect

In practice, it is often used to assess the likelihood of an opponent's range. For example, when you hold an Ace, the n…

GTO Wizard

GTO Wizard is a web-based poker training platform that provides pre-solved game theory optimal GTO solutions for variou…

Postflop play

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What is a Bluff in Poker?

Bluff

A bluff is a bet or raise with a hand unlikely to win at showdown, aiming to fold better hands. It is not a pure lie—it…

What is a Value Bet?

Value Bet

A value bet is a bet that gets called by worse hands often enough to print. It is not any bet with a pair.

What is a C-Bet?

C-Bet%

A c-bet is a bet on the next street by the last aggressor, usually the preflop raiser betting the flop. Typical size is…

What is a Double Barrel in Poker?

Double Barrel

A double barrel is a second consecutive bet on the turn after c-betting the flop. It is not a bluff raise or a check-ra…

What is PFR in Poker?

PFR

PFR Preflop Raise is the percentage of hands a player raises before the flop. It is not the same as VPIP, which counts …

What is a Float in Poker?

Float

A float is calling a bet with a weak hand to bluff on a later street. It is not a call for value or a draw.

Triple Barrel

In practice, a triple barrel is used to represent a very strong hand or as an advanced bluffing strategy, forcing oppon…

What is an Overbet in Poker?

Overbet

An overbet is a bet larger than the pot. It is often misused as a bluff-only move, but it is a powerful value tool.

Bluff Catch

In practice, it is used against aggressive opponents when they may be betting with a large number of air hands, and you…

Tournaments

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Final Table

Final Table The final table is the final stage of a Texas Hold'em tournament where all remaining players are consolidat…

What is ICM in Poker?

Icm

ICM converts a tournament chip stack into a share of leftover prizes. Chip EV is not dollar EV, and cash games do not u…

What is the Bubble in Poker?

Bubble

The bubble in poker is the point in a tournament where one more elimination means the remaining players are guaranteed …

In the Money

In a poker tournament, In the Money ITM refers to the point at which a player's finish position guarantees a cash prize…

MTT

Players accumulate chips by eliminating opponents, until one player wins the championship. In practice, an MTT tests a …

What is a Satellite in Poker?

Satellite

A satellite is a poker tournament where the prize is an entry into a bigger event, not cash. Many players misread it as…

ICM Pressure

ICM Pressure refers to the strategic tension exerted on a player in a poker tournament when the Independent Chip Model …

Progressive Knockout

When you eliminate an opponent, you win not only the pot but also a portion of that opponent's bounty. The eliminated p…

PKO

Bounty Tournament PKO A bounty tournament PKO is a knockout format where players earn a portion of each opponent's boun…

Hand types & draws

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Top Pair

Top Pair Top Pair refers to a hand where one of your hole cards pairs with the highest card on the board. In practice, …

Kicker

Kicker 踢脚 A kicker is a side card used to determine the winner when two players have the same hand ranking in Texas Hol…

Set

In practice, a set is a strong, well‑hidden hand because opponents cannot easily deduce your hand strength from the boa…

Draw

Draw A draw refers to a situation where a player's current hand has not yet made a made hand but has the potential to i…

Overpair

Overpair An overpair refers to a situation where a player's hole cards are a pocket pair, and the rank of that pair is …

Flush Draw

In practice, a flush draw is an aggressive and valuable type of draw because it has approximately a 35% chance to compl…

Open-Ended Straight Draw

In practice, this draw typically has 8 outs (e.g., holding 89 on a flop of 6710 means 5 and J both complete the straigh…

TPTK

In practice, TPTK represents a strong hand on the flop, usually ahead of most draws and weak pairs, but one must be cau…

Two Pair

g., A-A and K-K. It is a medium-strength made hand. In practice, Two Pair typically beats One Pair or High Card, but it…

Cash games

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Deep Stack

Deep Stack Deep stack refers to a player's chip count being significantly higher than the current blind level, typicall…

Deep-Stacked

Deep-Stacked Deep-stacked refers to a player having a stack size significantly larger than the standard buy-in or typic…

What is Full Ring in Poker?

Full Ring

Full ring is a poker table with 9 or 10 players. It is not the same as 6-max; full ring requires tighter ranges and mor…

Deep Stack Cash

A cash game format where players typically buy in for 100 big blinds or more, often ranging from 150 to 250+ big blinds…

Live Cash

Its core significance lies in the real monetary pressure that forces players to execute strategies more rigorously, whi…

BB/100

It represents the average number of big blinds won per 100 hands played. In practice, this value is used to evaluate st…

Zoom Poker

In practice, this mode significantly increases hand frequency, making it ideal for players seeking efficient practice o…

Deep Structure

Deep Structure refers to a tournament or cash game situation where effective stack sizes are large typically 100 big bl…

Hourly Winrate

Hourly winrate is the average profit or loss a poker player earns per hour of play, often expressed in big blinds per h…

Stats & HUD

What is VPIP in Poker?

VPIP

VPIP Voluntarily Put Money In Pot is a HUD stat showing how often a player enters the pot by calling or raising. It exc…

Table Image

Its core significance lies in the fact that opponents adjust their decisions based on your image, so you can actively s…

HUD

Term: Heads-Up Display HUD A Heads-Up Display HUD is a software interface used in online Texas Hold'em poker that displ…

WTSD

WTSD Went to Showdown is a poker statistic that measures the percentage of hands in which a player sees a showdown afte…

HUD Ban

A HUD ban is a rule that prohibits players from using heads-up display HUD software that displays real-time statistics …

Multi-Table

Term: 多桌 Multi-Table Multi-table refers to a player participating in multiple poker tables simultaneously, commonly see…

Online Multi-Tabling

The practice of playing multiple poker tables simultaneously in an online environment to increase volume and potential …

AFq

AFq Aggression Frequency is a poker statistic that measures the percentage of times a player chooses to bet or raise wh…

Mindset & bankroll

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What is Bankroll Management in Poker?

Bankroll Management

Bankroll management sets how many buy-ins you need to survive downswings. It is not a strategy for winning more pots.

Downswing

In practice, it is often caused by variance in luck, opponent adjustments, or a decline in one’s own state. Its signifi…

Discipline

Term: Discipline Discipline in Texas Hold'em refers to a player's ability to strictly adhere to a preset strategy, mana…

Upswing

Its core meaning is a positive fluctuation in the win rate and profit curve over the short or medium term, usually resu…

Staking

Staking is a financial arrangement in poker where a backer staker provides funds for a player stakee to play, in exchan…

Steam

In practice, steaming is often triggered by consecutive losses, being bluffed by opponents, or encountering bad luck, c…

Leak Finder

Its core function is to automatically highlight areas where a player underperforms over the long term, such as folding …

Cash Staking

Cash staking is a financial arrangement in poker where a backer staker provides funds for a player stakee to play cash …

Tilt

Tilt refers to a state in which a player deviates from rational decision-making due to emotional fluctuations such as a…

Rules & variants

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Bet

Bet refers to the action of voluntarily placing chips into the pot when there has been no previous bet in that round. I…

Raise

Raise refers to a player actively increasing the bet amount after an existing bet has been made. Its core uses are to i…

Fold

The core meaning is to acknowledge that the current hand has insufficient winning equity or too much potential loss, th…

Check

Its main purpose is to pass the action to the next player when the player has no desire to bet, while avoiding the risk…

Bet Sizing

In practice, reasonable bet sizing can effectively manage opponents' pot odds, shape one's own range, and maximize valu…

What is a Call in Poker?

Call

A call matches the current bet or raise and keeps you in the hand. It is not a raise, not a check, and not a HUD Call% …

Calling Range

In practice, constructing a balanced calling range helps control offense and defense, preventing opponents from easily …

Check-Fold

The core of this strategy is to exit the pot at minimal cost, avoiding passive calling or raising when the hand strengt…

Call Off

To call an all-in bet, often with a moderate-strength hand, typically due to pot commitment or favorable pot odds.

Other

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