Poker Terminology

Master the language of poker to better understand the game

Essential Poker Terms

The total amount of chips or money in play for a single hand

"The pot has grown to $500 after multiple raises."

To discard your cards face down, forfeiting your hand

"After facing a large bet, she decided to muck her cards."

Betting all of your remaining chips in a single hand

"With pocket aces, he pushed all-in preflop."

The fee taken by the house from each pot in cash games

"The standard rake is 5% of the pot up to $5."

The best possible hand at any given moment

"With a royal flush, he had the nuts and couldn't lose."

A situation where a very strong hand loses to an even better hand

"Losing kings full to aces full is a classic cooler."

A weak or inexperienced player

Usage: "The table is full of fish tonight."

Note: Consider this term potentially derogatory

An extremely tight/conservative player

Usage: "He's such a nit, he only plays premium hands."

A player making unconventional or poor plays

Usage: "That donk bet made no sense."

Note: Often used to describe unusual betting patterns

A very tight player who rarely bluffs

Usage: "When a rock raises, they always have it."

A skilled, professional player

Usage: "Watch out for that shark in seat 4."

Playing poorly due to emotional frustration

Usage: "After that bad beat, he went on tilt."