Glossary Of Poker Terms - Part 1

Advance Action: To help keep the pace of the games moving nicely, we have provided advance action capabilities. When you know what you will do next, you can use these to indicate your next action prior to the bet reaching you. These advance action options will always present the correct options for the context of the play. Using Advance Action buttons will help keep the pace of the game exciting.

All-in: When you run out of chips during a hand, but don't wish to fold, you are all-in. This means you have the potential to win a share of the pot up to and including your last contribution to that pot. You cannot share in any bets added beyond that point. These bets form a side-pot. The all-in is also used for situations where a player in a hand loses connection to the server.

Ante: The small stake required from each player to participate before a hand is dealt. The ante is used in 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud High/Low on our site. In Hold'em and Omaha, a blind is used as opposed to an ante. The ante is not part of a player's bet whereas a blind is.

Avatar: A term from computer gaming for an image or figure used to represent a person.

Away-from-table: In tournaments, you may not "sit out". Rather, you may be "away-from-table" which means your are dealt into every hand, posting blinds when your turn, and then folded when there is a raise before the flop, or a bet after the flop. When you are in a tournament and need to leave, time-out, or lose your connection, you are automatically marked as "away-from-table".

Bad Beat: to be a heavy favorite in a hand and lose to an opponent who was a severe underdog statistically speaking

Bet the Pot: This term is used in pot limit games. It means your bet matches the current amount in the pot. If, when your turn to bet, the pot was at $217, and you bet the pot, your bet is $217.

Big Blind: In games using a blind to put money in play, the big blind is generally equal to the lower amount of the stakes for that game. In a $5/$10 game, the big blind is $5. The big blind follows the small blind, which is put up by the first player to the left of the dealer.

Blind: This term refers to the required bets, called the small blind and the big blind used to put money into play. The blinds are mandatory bets and rotate around the table.

Board: The community cards in Hold'em are collectively known as the board.

Bring-in: In ante games, the bring-in is a mandatory bet, normally half the lower stake value. The player with the lowest face-up card must either bet the lower stake, or the bring-in to start the hand.

Buddy List: A feature of our poker room allowing players to identify other players, with permission, as buddies. Buddies will be marked to reflect which table they are playing at, making it easier for you to find the people you enjoy playing poker with.

Burn: In physical poker rooms, the top card of the deck is discarded prior to each round of dealing. The intent is to minimize the risk of cheating by knowing the next card. There is no possibility of this happening in our poker room, therefore we do not burn cards.

Button: A marker, usually disk-shaped, to indicate which player is the virtual dealer. The button is used in games where position relative to the dealer is important.

Buy-in: There is a minimum chip value required to sit at any given table. Normally the minimum is 10 times the higher stake for that game. For some special games, that value may be higher. The minimum value required to be seated is called the buy-in. The amount of money you sit down in a game with. All games have a minimum buy-in, typically 10 times the big blind.