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A Beginners Guide to Poker Jargon
- By Thomas Kearns
- Published 02/13/2010
- Improve Your Game
- Unrated
Thomas Kearns
The author of this article plays online poker and gets Rakeback at Carbon Poker where they offer the Highest Carbon Poker Rakeback.
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Poker has its own distinctive language just like so many other activities, from surfing the net to surfing the perfect wave. But do not be dismayed, it is not a plot against you, the newcomer to the game, it is simply an outgrowth of the popularity and longevity of the game of poker in its infinite variety. The following is a guide for those of you who are new to the game in online play and need more understanding of the communication both while engaged in the game and in the poker rooms and forums.
Let's begin with some of the more obvious things. Probably the most popular game is Texas Holdem. It can be a limit, pot-limit, and no-limit game. From 2 to 10 players can participate in a Texas Holdem session. The person dealing the cards is called the dealer; his position at the table is marked by a special "button" and may be referred to as "the button." Do not confuse the dealer with the casino representative who deals the cards to the players but never participates in the game.
In back of the dealer are two players who make bets blindly. Only the table limit keeps the lid on their bets. They cannot bet over the particular table's limit. The first blind bet is for half of the table limit and is termed the small blind, the second player places a bet for the full table limit, the big blind. So, if the table limit $2/$4, the small blind will be for $2 and the big blind for $4. You often see abbreviations which designate the player's position. SB stands for small blind and BB denotes the big blind. Of course this
seems too easy and it is. SB can also mean small bet and BB big bet, having nothing to do with blind. Be aware of this and distinguish between them while engaged in play.
The small blind player is always the first to make the move. His position is therefore counted as the first position, while the button (the dealer's) position is the last. The third player, the one immediately after the big blind, is in the early position and is said to be "under the gun" or UTG. The next two positions are likewise "early positions" and are abbreviated as UTG + 1 and UTG + 2.
The next three players represent the middle position: MP1, MP2, and MP3. The next "late" position includes the player immediately before the button - referred to as the cutoff or CO - and finally the button player him or her self.
These are position terms for a ten player Texas Holdem game. In a game of less than ten players, some of the positions will be missing.
With that out of the way, lets begin the play. The first step is the preflop, where each player is dealt two pocket cards. The next steps in the game are referred to as streets and are the flop, the turn (fourth street) and the river (fifth street). While this is going on, cards are laid on the table (AKA, the board). These cards are known as the relevant streets, first three flop cards, then one turn and one river card. The flop cards in different suits are referred to as a rainbow.
This should be enough to get you started at the poker table. You can, and should continue to learn more poker jargon so that you won't be caught off guard by something someone says at the table.
Let's begin with some of the more obvious things. Probably the most popular game is Texas Holdem. It can be a limit, pot-limit, and no-limit game. From 2 to 10 players can participate in a Texas Holdem session. The person dealing the cards is called the dealer; his position at the table is marked by a special "button" and may be referred to as "the button." Do not confuse the dealer with the casino representative who deals the cards to the players but never participates in the game.
In back of the dealer are two players who make bets blindly. Only the table limit keeps the lid on their bets. They cannot bet over the particular table's limit. The first blind bet is for half of the table limit and is termed the small blind, the second player places a bet for the full table limit, the big blind. So, if the table limit $2/$4, the small blind will be for $2 and the big blind for $4. You often see abbreviations which designate the player's position. SB stands for small blind and BB denotes the big blind. Of course this
The small blind player is always the first to make the move. His position is therefore counted as the first position, while the button (the dealer's) position is the last. The third player, the one immediately after the big blind, is in the early position and is said to be "under the gun" or UTG. The next two positions are likewise "early positions" and are abbreviated as UTG + 1 and UTG + 2.
The next three players represent the middle position: MP1, MP2, and MP3. The next "late" position includes the player immediately before the button - referred to as the cutoff or CO - and finally the button player him or her self.
These are position terms for a ten player Texas Holdem game. In a game of less than ten players, some of the positions will be missing.
With that out of the way, lets begin the play. The first step is the preflop, where each player is dealt two pocket cards. The next steps in the game are referred to as streets and are the flop, the turn (fourth street) and the river (fifth street). While this is going on, cards are laid on the table (AKA, the board). These cards are known as the relevant streets, first three flop cards, then one turn and one river card. The flop cards in different suits are referred to as a rainbow.
This should be enough to get you started at the poker table. You can, and should continue to learn more poker jargon so that you won't be caught off guard by something someone says at the table.