Poker Terms

Action: The time a player is to do something.  A participant might say to the dealer “Who has the action” should they have forgotten whose turn it is.

Ante: The little part of a bet put down by all players to create a pot at the start of every poker hand.

Burn: This describes the procedure of issuing the top card from the deck, face down.  This is done between each wagering round before dealing the next community playing card(s).  This acts as a security against players recognizing or glimpsing the next playing card to be used on the board.

Complete Hand: A full five card poker hand for instance a straight, flush, straight flush or full house.

House: The institution that runs the poker game

Inside Straight: A set of cards consisting of four playing cards required to make a straight with a single card in the centre missing.

Kicker: A card in a player’s poker hand that is made use of as a tiebreaker whenever two competitors have hands that are of identical ranking.

Muck: The cards in front of the dealer that have been folded or burned during the hand.

Open-ended straight: A set of cards containing four sequential cards that with the addition of one playing card at either end will complete a straight.

Pocket: The cards that only you can observe.

Protect: Putting a chip on your cards to signify that you are still in the game to make certain that your set of cards is not accidentally fouled by a discarded hand or mucked by the dealer.

Quads: Four of a kind.

Rank: The numerical value assigned to a card (not the suit).

Tell: Some clue that a participant (without realizing it) gives off indicating something concerning their hand to other players.

Toke: A small amount of money given by the winner of the pot to the dealer.

Trips: Three of a kind.

Variance: The up and down value of a players bankroll, wider swings in your bankroll means your variance is larger.