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Terminology
- Add-on
- The option in poker tournaments which allows the player to buy additional chips. Add-ons are permetted no matter how many chips are left in the player’s stack (unlike re-buys).
- All-in
- When the player bets all the chips he or she has in the stack. In case other players call or raise this amount the All-in player is not obliged to match their bets. But the player who has chosen the All-in option can win only the pot up to the pot when he or she contributed has bet last and all the players called that bet. Other players in the hand compete for the side pot (the rest part of the pot).
- Ante
- The type of forced bet made by all the players before the cards are dealt. Ante bets are usually used in poker tournaments.
- Bet
- To wager chips into the pot. (Like in online blackjack, online slots and Roulette Tips game where you bet the money on the table or machine).
- Bet the Pot
- To make bet which is equal to the pot amount.
- Betting Round
- The complete set of bets made by all the players at the table. The betting round is considered to be completed as soon as all the players contributed the equal amount to the pot (after raises and re-raises).
- Blinds
- The bets made by two players next to the dealer. The first player makes places the Small blind (which the half of the minimal betting amount) and the second – the Big blind (the whole amount). The aim of the blinds is to create the initial pot and open betting.
- Bluff
- To force other players to give up their hands by deceiving them that you have very strong hand. However, the player who really has good hand may bluff and make them believe the hand is not very strong. It is made to force other players to stay longer in the game and add more to the pot.
- Board
- The middle of the poker table where the pot is collected and the Community cards are placed.
- Burn a Card
- It means that the dealer after shuffling discards the top card of the entire deck and start to deal the cards from the next card.
- Button
- Special disc which indicates the position of the dealer.
- Buy-in
- The amount you are to pay in order to sit at the poker table. It is usually used in poker tournaments.
- Call
- To match the bet or raise made by the previous palyer.
- Check
- Not to bet or raise, just pass the bet to the next player. Check option is available only if you are the player who opens the betting round or all the previous players also checked.
- Community Cards
- The cards placed face up on the board. They can be used by all the players to complete their hands.
- Feeder
- The poker tournament which is held as the mean to enter the main poker event. Such tournaments are also called the Satellites.
- Flop
- The first three community cards which are followed by the first betting round.
- Fold
- To give up your cards and stop competing for the pot.
- Limit Poker
- Poker game with the limited betting amount.
- Muck
- Choose not to reveal the cards at the showdown. The player can muck if there is the player with better hand of in case he or she is the only player left in the hand and is awarded the pot automatically.
- No Limit Poker
- Poker game with no limits imposed upon the betting amount. This amount can vary from the minimum bet to the whole stack of chips.
- Pocket Cards
- The cards which are dealt face down to every player. Pocket cards are also called the hole or down cards.
- Pot
- The amount of chips wagered by all the players in the hand and which will be finally awarded to the winner.
- Pot Limit Poker
- Poker game where the betting amount is limited to the range from the minimum bet the pot size.
- Prize Pool
- The cumulative amount of funds contributed by all the players in the poker tournaments.
- Raise
- To match the previous bet and increase the betting amount.
- Rake
- The commission taken by the House from the pot.
- Re-buy
- The option which allows the players who are low or run out of chips to buy more chips and continue the game. Re-buys are common for poker tournaments.
- River
- The fifth community card which is followed by the last betting round.
- Satellite
- See Feeder.
- Side Pot
- The part of the pot for which the players compete after one of them chose to All-in.
- Split Pot
- The pot which is split in case two or more players have similar hands of the same rank.
- Stack
- The whole amount of chips the player has for betting in the certain hand.
- Turn
- The fourth community card dealt face up on the board.
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Quotations
God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e., everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, 1991