Poker is a world of weird words and nicknames. Just as soon as you've figured out who Doyle Brunson is, you're folding him because you figure the limper has cowboys. Sometimes it can just be too much. Here is a glossary of poker slang and nicknames to help you figure out exactly what is being said at the poker table.
Ace-Baby: Ace-baby refers to any set of hole cards with an Ace and a small other card. Ace-baby hands are hands like A-2, A-3, up to about A-7. "Be careful with Ace-Babies from early position."
Aggressive: An aggressive player is a player who usually makes big bets whenever they are in a hand. "Aggressive players are the most successful players." NOTE: Aggressive is usually used in tandem with "loose" or "tight" to define a player's basic gaming style. So a tight-aggressive player is a player who doesn't play in many hands (tight) but bets big when he is in one (aggressive.)
All-in: When all of your poker chips are in the pot you are said to be all-in or have gone all-in. "I had a strong hand so I went all-in."
Backdoor: "Backdoor" refers to two consecutive cards on the turn and river which produce a big hand. If there is one Spade on the flop and you are holding two more, then you have a backdoor flush draw because if the turn and river bring Spades then you will have made a flush. "I've been betting on my backdoor draws to throw off my opponents."
Bible or the Poker Bible: While many players have different favorites, Doyle Brunson's Super Systems is referred to as the Poker Bible. "I got my Bible for free from a rakeback plan."
Big Ace: A big Ace is a hand with one face card and an Ace like Ace-Jack or Ace-Queen. "Isn't every big Ace a Blackjack?"
Big Slick: Ace King in the Hole is called Big Slick. "Did you know that Big Slick is an underdog to every pocket pair pre-flop?"
Big Stack: Whoever has the most chips at a table is said to be the big stack as they have the biggest stack of chips. "He was pushing everyone around because he was the big stack."
The Bitch: The Queen of Spades; this refers to the game of Hearts. "Once the Bitch came I figured that he'd made his flush."
Blinded to Death or, Blinded Out: To lose a lot of chips just calling the blind. Whenever a player is not present at a table but his chips are still in play they are in danger of being blinded out because their blinds will be automatically posted while their hands will be automatically folded. "Stu Ungar had so many chips in the 1990 WSOP Main Event that he was blinded out and still finished in 9th place."
Bluff, or Buy the Pot: To bet while knowingly without the best hand. The "knowingly" part is important because if you bet with the worst cards thinking you have the best ones, then you are not bluffing - you're messing up. When a player successfully bluffs they are said to have bought the pot. "He looked weak so I bluffed and bought the pot."
The Board: The Board is the face up poker cards. Be careful to not confuse community cards and boards as a Board can belong to the table as a whole as it does in Hold'em or to each player specifically as it does in Stud. "How am I going to bet with a pair of pocket eights when there are 3 overcards on the Board?'
Bonus Code: Bonus codes are sign-up passwords for specific gaming sites which grant the user rewards like extra money, extra rakeback percentage and the like. Obviously, bonus codes only exist in the world of online poker. "If you play online poker you must use bonus codes."
Bottom Pair: The lowest possible pair on any given Board. "I only had bottom pair so I folded."
Bounty: A bounty is a reward for knocking a specific player out of a tournament. "I knocked out Daniel Negreanu and received a $5,000 bounty."
Bracelet: A bracelet refers to a World Series of Poker bracelet, which is awarded to only the winner of each event. A poker player with a bracelet is analogous to a basketball player with a ring. "The guy was incredible, like 5 bracelets incredible."
Broadway: A 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace straight which is unsuited. "I flopped Broadway, baby."
Bubble Boy or On the Bubble: In a tournament, only the top 10% or so of players receive money. The last player to receive no money is said to have finished on the bubble, or to be the bubble boy. "Poor bubble boy."
Bust out, to Bust or to Go Bust: To bust out of a tournament is to be eliminated from a tournament. If you eliminate someone else you are said to have "busted" them. "In his whole life, Stu Ungar was only busted out of 20 tournaments."
Buy-In: The cost of a tournament is called the buy-in. "The WSOP Main Event is a $10,000 buy in, but the H.O.R.S.E. tournament is a $50,000 buy-in!"
About the Author:This article was published courtesy of PokerSourceOnline.com.
Poker Source Online (www.pokersourceonline.com) is one of the most popular poker communities on the net, offering free poker gifts, free poker money, and freerolls to members since 2004. We are proud to offer 24/7 online support. PSO is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian.
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