Pinnacle Poker Glossary

A simple guide to common poker terms, written for real people — not math nerds.

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A

Action – When it’s your turn to act (check, bet, call, raise, or fold).

All-In (Shove) – Betting all your remaining chips.

Ante – A small forced bet everyone posts before the hand starts (we don’t usually use these in our home tournaments).

Aggressive – A style of play that bets and raises often, applying pressure.

B

Backdoor Draw – A draw that needs both remaining streets to complete (e.g., two hearts but only one heart on the flop).

Bet – Putting chips in first to start the betting action.

Big Blind (BB) – A forced full bet paid by the player two seats to the left of the Button; acts last preflop.

Blinds – The two forced bets that start each hand: Small Blind and Big Blind. They rotate clockwise after every hand.

Bluff – Betting or raising with a weak hand to make stronger hands fold.

Board Texture – How connected and/or dynamic the community cards are (wet = connected/suited; dry = unconnected; dynamic = best hand likely to change on future streets; static = best hand likely to remain best hand).

Boat – See Full House.

Broadway – The highest possible straight: T-J-Q-K-A. Can also refer to one of the cards that can makeup a broadway straight (i.e. a Ten, Jack, Queen, King, or Ace can be referred to as a "Broadway" card). Relatedly, a "Broadway hand" usually refers to a hand where both cards are Ten or higher.

Button (BTN) – The dealer position; acts last postflop and is the most profitable seat at the table.

C

Call – Match the current bet amount.

Check – Decline to bet when no one has bet yet.

Check-Raise – Checking first, then raising after your opponent bets. An aggresive play representing a strong hand and, therefore, also good for bluffing.

Chop – Splitting the pot evenly between players.

Cold Call – Calling a raise when you haven’t put chips in the pot yet.

Combo Draw – A draw with multiple ways to win (e.g., flush draw + straight draw).

Continuation Bet (C-Bet) – A bet made on the flop by the preflop raiser, whether or not they connected.

Cooler – Losing with a strong hand against an even stronger one (e.g., set vs. higher set).

D

Defend – Calling or raising from the blinds to prevent losing chips automatically.

Donk Bet – Betting into the previous street’s aggressor from out of position.

Draw – A hand that needs more cards to improve (like a flush draw or straight draw).

E

Early Position (EP) – The first seats to act after the blinds. Requires stronger starting hands.

Equity – Your expected share of the pot if all cards were revealed and the hand ended now.

Equity Realization – How well your hand converts its theoretical value into real winnings.

Exploitative – A poker strategy that takes advantage of your opponents' habits and mistakes instead of trying to play balanced (like GTO). The best strategies against casual players are mostly exploitative.

F

Fish – A loose or inexperienced player who plays too many weak hands.

Flop – The first three community cards dealt face up.

Fold – Surrender the hand and any chips already committed.

Fold Equity – The chance your opponent folds, letting you win without a showdown.

Flush Draw – Four cards of the same suit, needing one more card to complete a flush.

G

GTO (Game Theory Optimal) – A balanced poker strategy that has cannot be easily exploited by opponents. GTO strategies have largely been developed by specialized somputer programs called "solvers" and involve balancing value bets with bluffs so that opponents cannot take advantage of your patterns.

Gutshot (Inside Straight Draw) – A straight draw needing one specific rank to complete (e.g., 8-9-J-Q needs a T).

H

Hand Rankings – See below for full list.

Heads-Up – A hand against one opponent.

Hero – You, the player telling the story or making the decision.

Hero Call – Calling with a marginal hand because you believe your opponent is bluffing.

Hero Fold – Folding a strong hand when you believe your opponent has an even stronger one.

Hijack (HJ) – Seat before the Cutoff; one of the middle positions.

I

Implied Odds – How much more you expect to win later if you hit your draw.

Inside Straight Draw – See Gutshot.

Iso-Raise (Isolate) – Raising after one or more limpers to get heads-up with position.

J

Jam (All-In) – Betting all your remaining chips.

K

Kicker – The side card that comes with a made hand, used to break ties between players with the same main hand. For example, if two players have a pair of kings, the one with the higher unpaired card (the kicker) wins. Kickers only matter if they are one of the five best cards in a player's hand.

L

Limp – Just calling the big blind instead of raising.

Lojack (LJ) – One seat before the Hijack; a middle position at a 7–8 handed table.

Loose – Plays many hands, often too many.

M

Made Hand – A completed hand that doesn’t need improvement (pair or better).

Multi-Way Pot – A pot with three or more players still involved.

N

Nuts – The best possibile hand at that moment.

O

Offsuit – Two hole cards of different suits. Offsuit hands are generally a bit weaker and harder to play than their suited versions.

Open-Ended Straight Draw (OESD) – A straight draw that can complete on either end (e.g., 8-9-T-J needs 7 or Q).

Opening Range – The set of hands you choose to play first-in before anyone else has entered the pot.

Overbet – Betting more than the size of the pot.

Overcards – Cards in your hand higher than any card on the board.

P

Passive – A style of play that tends to check and call rather than bet and raise.

Pocket pair – Two hole cards of the same rank (e.g., 8♣️8♦️). A pocket pair flops three of a kind (“a set”) about 1 in 8.5 times (~12%).

Position – Where you sit relative to the Button; later positions act with more information.

Pot – The total amount of chips in the current hand.

Pot Control – Checking or calling instead of betting to keep the pot small.

Preflop – The round of betting that occurs before the first three community cards (the flop) is dealt.

Probe Bet / Blocking Bet – A smaller bet to test where you stand or control pot size.

R

Raise – Increase the bet amount during a betting round.

Range – The group of hands an opponent could reasonably have.

Re-Raise / 3-Bet – Raising after someone else has already raised.

Reverse Implied Odds – How much you might lose when you hit a second-best hand.

River – The fifth and final community card.