P

(n) The speed of a game, with respect to its action (definition 1). Fast pace describes a game with a lot of betting and raising, performed by most of the players; slow pace describes a game without much betting and raising.

1. (n) The deck of cards. "Whack the pack, Jack" means "Please cut the cards." 2. (vt) stack (definition 3); usually followed by a or the deck.

(n phrase) full house.

(n) Any portion of a deck of cards.

(n) In a cardroom or casino game, the spatula-shaped tool with which the house dealer drops the chips collected from each pot for the rake, or each designated time period as the time collection, into the drop box.

(n phrase) A banking game based on the Asian tile game pai gow, in which players arrange groups of tiles into two hands, which then compete severally each against the two hands played by the banker. In the card version, each player makes a wager, and then receives seven cards, which he arranges into two hands, one consisting of five cards and one of two, with the stipulation that the five-card hand must rank higher than the two-card hand. These hands, after being set (arranged), are placed in front of the player, and then compete, one at a time, as in a blackjack game, against the banker hand (which can be held by a player or the house). If both player hands beat the dealer hand, the player wins; if both banker hands beat the player hand, the dealer wins; otherwise it is a push. If either hand is exactly the same, that counts as a win for the banker, which gives the banker hand a slight edge. The banker hand competes against player hands in an order determined by the shaking of a number of dice. (This gives the game its alternative name of shake-shake.) This order is important, because if the banker loses his stake prematurely, not all player hands may get to compete. The house makes its money by always extracting a certain fee from every player bet, prior to the actual playing of the hands (and often takes that fee whether or not the hand is even played). Apart from the rankings of the hands being the same as in poker, pai gow poker is not really poker. Also called double hand or double-hand poker.

1. (n) face card. 2. daub. 3. (v) In lowball, catch a face card (on the draw)."Paired and painted and nearly fainted" means, drawing two (or more cards), a player paired one of his original cards and also caught a face card, and now he's complaining about his luck; such a catch in lowball is the ultimate insult (and should teach the player not to draw more than one card).

(v) In lowball, having caught a face card (on the draw). "I painted."

(n) A thief who uses daub.

1. (n) face card.

1. (n) Two cards of the same rank in the same poker hand (or part of the community cards in hold 'em-type games). "I have a pair of kings." 2. one pair. 3. (v) In various forms of draw poker, to catch a pair, when drawing to some other hand. In high draw, you can draw to a straight or flush and pair, which means you missed the hand. In lowball, you can draw to any hand and pair (which also means you missed). "I was drawing to a bicycle, but I paired."

(n phrase) short pair.

(v phrase) In lowball, to draw to a hand and pair one of your original cards.

(v) Perform the cheating maneuver of removing one or more cards from the table (for the purpose of introducing them later) or chips surreptitiously from a pot (that is, steal the chips) by the expedient of covering and concealing them with the hand. Also see check cop, hold out.

(n phrase) A card that was removed from the table, or introduced into the game later, by a thief, by the expedient of covering and concealing it with his hand.

(n phrase) Two or more cards, arranged in a specific order, held out (that is, palmed; see palm) by a thief for later introduction into the game.

(n) The queen of spades.

(n) Poor player. In general (nonpoker) usage, this term has a wider but similar application, referring to an athlete (often a boxer) of limited capabilities, or, even more generally, any inept person.

(n) 1. panguingue. 2. Three 3s, 5s, or 7s, or, sometimes, J-Q-K of spades. This usage usually comes up in a lowball game, when one player shows another his unplayable hand, says, "Pan," and then pulls out his three 5s, or other paying pan combination.

(n) A game resembling gin rummy played with eight decks of cards, some of the melds of which are worth payments from active players; pronounced pan-GHEE-nee, and usually shortened to pan. The game is played in many California cardrooms and a few Nevada casinos. See tops for another poker term to come out of this game.

(n) 1. Cards. "Nice paper" (used only as a spoken expression, often sarcastic) means "Good hand." (Even though most cardrooms use plastic decks, players rarely say "Nice plastic.") Compare with tickets. 2. marked cards. 3. Bad checks. Passing paper means writing bad checks.

(n phrase) See card, cards, deck.

(n phrase) One who deliberately writes and passes bad checks.

(n) See spotted papers.

(n phrase) marked cards.

(n phrase) A cheat who uses marked cards.

(n) 1. The confederate of a thief. 2. A player who shares a bankroll with another.

(n) 1. Two or more thieves playing together. 2. Two or more players using the same bankroll (honestly).

(n) partners.

(n) See throw a party.

(v; imitative) "I pass."

(v) 1. Decline to bet. This is not exactly the same as check (definition 1), because in a blind game or bet-or-fold game, if you pass on the first round of betting, you must throw your cards away. 2. Decline to call a bet, at which point, you must throw your cards away and you have no further interest in the pot. If someone bets, and you say, "I pass," you are out of the pot. 3. Loosely, check (definition 1). 4. Perform a pull-through.

(n, adj phrase) A form of draw poker in which, before the draw, if the pot has not yet been opened, a player can, in turn, either open the pot, or pass, holding his cards for a possible call (or raise) later if someone opens behind him. Compare with bet-or-fold.

(n, adj phrase) bet-or-fold.

(adj phrase) Pertaining to a passed pot.

(n phrase) 1. In a double-limit draw (high) game, a pot that no one opened, and is consequently being redealt. The first passed pot usually has an extra ante by each player. The second passed pot usually has an extra ante and is played at a higher limit. the third and all subsequent passed pots usually stay at the same limit as the second, with no further antes. 2. In any draw game with minimum opening requirements (such as jacks or better, a pot that was not opened either because no one had openers or no one chose to open. (Sometimes pots don't get opened even when players have openers, because some players like to pass good hands in early position, hoping that someone else will open so that they can raise.)

(v phrase) In a no-limit lowball game, when a player is faced with a raise, and wants to gamble alone with the raiser, usually involving a proposition like two-for-one, but there are other players to act after the player, in some clubs the player is permitted to pass for a prop, and then, if the other players do not call the bet, can negotiate a proposition with the raiser. If any other player calls the bet, usually the player who so passed is required to drop; furthermore, if the raiser does not wish to accept the proposition, the passer must also drop. For example, in a $4-to-go no-limit lowball game, Harry opens with A-joker-2-K-K. Sally and Bob call. Walt raises $35. Harry does not fold, nor does he call the raise. Instead he says, "Pass for a prop." Sally and Bob now both fold, and Harry tosses the two kings, saying, "Two-for-one?" Walt throws a card among the discards, and says, "You're on." (Walt can, of course, also offer a counter proposition. He may say, "For all of them," and stick his whole stack in, which means, essentially, "I'll break this hand, but only if we both put all our chips in the pot." At this point, either Harry agrees, or dumps his hand.)

(n phrase) Writing bad checks.

(v phrase) Fold rather than call a bet.

(n; adj) bet-or-fold.

(v phrase) pass the deal. See buck.

(verb phrase) In a game in which the players deal for themselves (as opposed to one dealt by a house dealer), refuse to deal when it is one's turn to deal, passing the deck instead to the next player to the left. In some home games, rather than each player anteing, the dealer antes for all; in such a game, a player is not permitted to pass the deal, nor can he do so in a game with traveling blinds (see traveling blind).

(n phrase) 1. Anaconda. This is the most common usage of the term pass the trash. 2. Less commonly, keep it or shove it.

(n) 1. Paper cards. 2. By extension, any cards.

1. (adj) In draw poker, describing a hand that needs to draw no cards, or one that does not. (A hand can be played pat despite needing to draw cards to improve. That is, a player may play a pat hand bluff with one pair.) 2. (adv) Drawing no cards."How many cards?" "I'm pat." 3. (vt) Draw no cards; often followed by up. In lowball, a player might say, "You took three cards? That patted me up."

(n phrase) 1. In draw poker, a hand that needs no cards for completion. In high draw, this is generally a straight or better. In lowball, a pat hand is any hand (presumably one with no pair) to which a player elects to draw no cards. 2. In draw poker or lowball, a hand to which a player draws no cards. This could be a hand that fits into the categories described in definition 1, but could also be a pat hand bluff.

(n phrase) In high draw poker, standing pat on a hand that is not complete, with the intention of representing a good hand, thereby driving all active players out of the pot with a bet, and winning whatever is in the pot at that point. In lowball, standing pat on any five cards that do not constitute an otherwise playable lowball hand, with the same intention.

(n phrase) poker solitaire.

(n) pat hand.

(n) 1. Misleading or distracting conversation by one player, often an experienced player, meant to precipitate a desired action in another player, such as folding or calling. 2. Conversation used by a player to cover up his own reactions to his cards (or his possible tells; see tell).

(v phrase) One with higher stakes than usual, often conducted on whichever day of the month the live ones (see live one) get their paychecks.

(v phrase) Call the final bet merely to see the other player's cards, or with little expectation of winning. "Well, I'm sure you've got me beat, but I'll pay you off." Similar to keep someone honest.

(n phrase) calling station.

(n) In lowball, a good hand, that is, one without a pair; used humorously. "I've got a pair." "Yeah? Well, I've got a peach!"

(n) In hold 'em, K-9 as one's first two cards. Also, canine.

(n) A 5 (the card); so called because 5s are important in the game of pedro.

1. (n) A look at one or more cards in a hand, often those drawn. See free look. 2. A surreptitious look at cards drawn to a hand, usually in such a way as to imply that the peeker actually has not seen any of the drawn cards, prior to this person claiming (or implying to claim) that he is now making a blind bet, that is, one based on really not having seen the cards. Also, fast peek. 3. A surreptitious look by a thief at the undealt top or bottom card of the deck. 4. (v) Look at drawn cards, often done by squeezing the cards, that is, slowly separating them, as if the viewer wishes to surprise himself with the cards; this is often done agonizingly slowly, frequently when it is the peeker's turn to act, as if the player deliberately wants to annoy the others, while he pretends to be innocent of any knowledge of what effect his slowness is having. 5. Make the cheating maneuver of looking at the undealt top card of the deck (prior to possibly dealing a second) or the bottom card (prior to dealing a bottom).

(n) A cheater (such as a bottom dealer or seconds dealer) who peeks at the undealt top card of the deck (prior to possibly dealing a second) or the bottom card (prior to dealing a bottom), or who exposes such card to a confederate.

(n phrase) seven-card stud.

(n phrase) A crooked gaming establishment. This term is used more often for a dishonest carnival games midway than a cardroom or casino.

(n) Mexican stud.

(n) Small cards (in rank).

(v) Mark the fronts of cards with a pin, thumbtack, ring, etc., in such a way that the thief making such marks can later tell by feel the ranks of the cards. Such marks are applied to the surface of cards and do not tear the cards, merely add indentations that can be felt from the back, as opposed to nailing (see nail), which puts marks in the edges of cards. Also called punch or blister. This is the opposite of prick, in which the thief marks the backs of cards.

(n phrase) The marks put on cards as described under peg.

(n) kilter.

(n phrase) penny-ante game. "We're playing penny ante."

(adj) Describing a small game, often referring to small limit; usually part of the phrase penny-ante game. The phrase has passed into general usage meaning petty or small-time.

(n phrase) A small home poker game, in which the stakes generally are literally pennies. Sometimes shortened to simply penny ante.

(n phrase) penny ante.

(n) penultimate card.

(n phrase) The next-to-last card in the deck.

(n) 1. The edge or money odds a player has or thinks he has in making a particular call. Frequently a player who calls a bet to take a longshot draw or extra card announces, "Percentage"; he is often taking much the worst of it. For example, in lowball the big blind may draw four cards because there are four other players in the pot, and he is getting a better than 9-to-1 return on his investment. 2. The house cut, or rake, sometimes also called drop.

(n phrase) A bet (often a blind bet) made in a situation in which you have the best of it. This kind of bet is often made in lowball, when both players are drawing cards, and the first player is drawing no more than the second. The first player now either openly bets blind, or pretends to look at his draw card, but doesn't actually see it, and in reality bets blind. Since the opponent makes a 9 or better (the worst hand with which many players call) less than 43% of the time even with a one-card draw, the first player has the best of it, and his bet is termed a percentage bet.

(n phrase) A call made by a player in a situation in which he is a decided underdog, because he is getting better (usually substantially better) than a 1-to-1 return on his investment. For example, in hold 'em a player may call a small bet when holding only a high card when it is very likely that the bettor has at least a pair, because that bet represents only a small fraction of the amount of money currently in the pot.

(n phrase) 1. Someone who plays--that is, calls bets or raises, or makes them--only when she thinks she has the best of it on that wager. 2. shill (definition 1).

1. (n) perfect low. "I have a perfect." 2. (adj) In lowball, pertaining to the lowest hand of the rank of the highest card, that is, containing 4-3-2-A plus one other card 7 or higher. For example, a perfect 7 is 7-4-3-2-A, and a perfect 8 is 8-4-3-2-A.

(n phrase) Receiving precisely the card you need to make your hand. In lowball, this means drawing the lowest card that doesn't pair one of your own, as, for example, catching an ace to 2-3-4-5. In draw high, this means making the best possible straight or flush, or even straight flush, you can make in a one-card draw. In a stud game, this means catching the one card that makes your hand as good as possible.

(n phrase) In a high-low game, the lowest possible hand, often A-2-3-4-5, or, in lowball, the same hand, where it is often called a wheel or bicycle.

(n phrase) A good, honest deck, that is, one consisting of either 52 or 53 cards, with no marks, intentional or otherwise.

(n phrase) runner-runner.

(n phrase) An undefined line toward the center of the table surface when determining whether or not a player must be forced to complete a bet. If there is a line, the perimeter of the pot coincides with the line.

(v; imitative) "I have a full house."

(n phrase) Michigan bankroll.

(n) In English slang, a thief or cheat at cards.

(n) A diamond or spade pip.

(n phrase) In hold 'em, 5-7 as one's first two cards; so-called because of the Heinz slogan, "57 varieties."

(v phrase) Catch someone bluffing.

(v phrase) Remove a player from a game, usually by the management. If a player leaves a full table for whatever reason (such as to have a meal, try to get more playing capital, go outside for a smoke) and does not return within a specified amount of time (such as, depending on the cardroom, 20 minutes, half an hour, 45 minutes), the floorman might elect to pick him up. "You've been gone for nearly an hour, and the other players were complaining, so we had to pick you up. Your chips are in the cage." A player can also get picked up for cheating. Also see third person walking rule.

(v phrase) Leave a game.

(v phrase) In someone's absence, play his cards for him; usually followed by for. "I gotta go to the can; can you pick up a hand for me?"

(v phrase) Catch on to, generally implying noticing someone cheating. "Yeah, I came off the bottom, but I don't think anyone picked up on it."

(v phrase) Same as pick someone up.

(n) face card.

(n phrase) face card.

Any playing cards.

(n) A portion of one's action given away in exchange for help on the buy-in; often done in tournaments by players who don't think they have a great chance of winning, or traded by participants to increase their chances of making money. "If Doyle, Chip, or Phil finishes in the money, I'll make out okay; I've got a piece of each of them." The term point is similar.

(n phrase) A terrible hand, usually said disparagingly by the actual or apparent winner of a pot about the hand that might call him, or just has. "Throw that piece of cheese in the muck."

(n phrase) See piece, action (definition 4).

(n) 1. live one. 2. A card that makes a hand, often received as the last card in a stud game.

(v phrase) wild widow.

(v phrase) The ace of diamonds, so called because the single diamond pip resembles the rhomboid iris of a pig's eye.

(n) A player's stack of chips, or money.

(n) A form of hold 'em in which each player starts with three downcards, followed by a round of betting, after which each player discards one of the downcards, and then the first three community cards are flopped, at which point the game proceeds as in ordinary hold 'em. Compare with crazy pineapple.

(adj, adv) Part of the phrase all pink.

(n phrase) Infrared (pink- or red-tinted) contact lenses worn by a thief to see the markings on luminous readers, cards marked with special luminous ink that can be seen only in infrared light. Sometimes called readers.

(n) In hold 'em, J Q as the downcards. Comes from the game of pinochle. Compare with marriage.

(n phrase) Cards marked (by a cheater) with scratches on their backs, such that their ranks can be determined by feel. See prick.

(n) One of the suit spots (spade , heart , diamond , club ) on the face of a card. Each face card has four pips: one at each end, outside the border, under the K, Q, or J representing the card's rank and one more at each end, within the border, next to each head. Each ace has three pips, one in the center and one under the A at each end. Each card, 2-10, has two more pips than the number that represents its rank, the rank total in the central area, plus one more pip under the number at each end. (Some say that the smaller symbol beneath the number or letter designating the rank of the card is not a pip, but is part of the index, which is that number or letter plus the smaller suit symbol beneath it. In that reckoning, each face card has two pips, each ace has one, and each card, 2-10, has as many pips as the number that represents its rank.) Also called spot.

(n phrase) An honest player in a public cardroom game, usually someone knowledgeable, whose presence deters thieves from plying their pernicious trades.

(n) A cheating method in which a player on the rail (that is, in close proximity to a game) signals a thief in the game the holdings of a player whose cards the one doing the piping can see. See sign off.

(n phrase) hole card stud.

(n phrase) hole card stud.

1. (n) twist. 2. (v) To make such a substitution. 3. Deal cards, sometimes with the implication of doing so in a cheating manner.

(n) A professional card dealer.

(n) Shorthand, particularly in e-mail and Internet postings, for pot-limit. You might see a posting on rec.gambling.poker that starts, "I was playing p/l h/e at the Pasatiempo last night, and this hand came up..."

(n phrase) 1. The second-best hand in a showdown. Comes from the horse racing term place, plus tickets, a slangy name for the cards that make up a hand. Compare with show tickets. 2. A form of draw poker, found only in home games, in which the second-best hand wins.

(adj) Describing cards with numbers, that is, all but the face cards.

(n phrase) See card, cards, deck.

(n) A device for marking cards by trimming their edges. (This produces strippers of various sorts.)

1. (n) A bluff. "He got caught making a play. 2. Playing a hand in a nonstandard manner, not necessarily a bluff. 3. An attempt, often spectacular or by a large or desperation bet, to win a pot. "When everyone passed, he made a play for the pot." 4. A playing session. 5. (v) Participate in a poker game. "Deal me in; I'll play." 6. Participate in a pot. "How much does it cost? I'll play."

(v phrase) reraise. "He raised me and I played back at him."

(v phrase) 1. The situation in which a player has called for chips, say from a chip person, and has not yet received those chips, but can have action on that amount of money in case he gets involved in a pot. A player might say before receiving his cards, "Dealer, I'm playing $100 behind." 2. Agree to call any bet, as if the player had an unlimited stack. If the bet is more than his chips, he buys more as needed. This is not normally permitted in a table stakes game, but is sometimes found in private games.

(v phrase) See behind a log.

(v phrase) Bet or raise without looking at one's cards.

(adv phrase) See book (definition 2).

(v phrase) chase (definition 2).

(n) 1. Any participant in a poker game. "There are eight players at each table." 2. Any participant in a particular pot. "Even after the raise, there were still five players in the pot." 3. Someone who knows what's going on in the cardroom milieu, and usually implying someone making his living playing cards. "Who's that guy putting all the chips in the pot? Some live one?" "Nah, he's a player."

(n phrase) A fund on deposit by a player with the management of a cardroom, from which he can withdraw cash to play on, or to which he can add his winnings, and which he can, of course, clear out at any time. This is a convenient means for a player to get around the difficulty of carrying large amounts of cash on his person. The player's bank is usually kept track of on a ledger card with transactions initialled by the player or a house official or both. The cashier is usually responsible for keeping the records straight. See sheet.

(v phrase) 1. Play recklessly; gamble excessively; speed (definition 1). 2. Play aggressively, betting and raising as often as possible, and, in a no-limit game, as much as permitted.

(v phrase) See behind a log.

(n phrase) Any one card in a deck.

(v phrase) See S & M.

(v phrase) See full deck.

(n) In some tournaments, the final portion, in which the winners of previous levels compete. For example, a tournament may be held weekly for a number of months. At the end of that time, the winners of each weekly tournament compete in the playoff. In a shootout tournament, a number of single-table contests are played, with one winner in each. After these end, the winners compete in the playoff.

(n) playoff.

(v phrase) 1. In a winner blind game, a player wanting to leave just after winning a pot usually gets dealt one more hand so that he can exercise the option to have last action on the hand. That is, the winner of the previous pot is supposed to be dealt a hand. To play this one more hand is to play off the blind. 2. Similarly, in a traveling blind game, a player wanting to leave the table (for a break, for example) might wait until she has taken both (or all three, in a three-blind traveling blind game) blinds before leaving. To do this is also to play off the blind.

(v phrase) play off the blind.

(v phrase) Play in a player's seat while that player is absent from the table for an extended period of time. A player playing over someone plays his own chips, as opposed to one picking up a hand (see pick up a hand) for someone. When someone plays over someone else, he must get up when the owner of the seat returns. He also moves immediately into the next available open seat if one opens up while he's still playing over.

(n phrase) A plastic box set over the chips of a player on break while another player plays over (see play over) the absent player. The purpose of a playover box is to make sure the chips of the two players don't accidentally get mixed together.

(v phrase) In a draw game, decline to draw cards when it is time to draw, that is, indicate a pat hand.

(v phrase) In hold 'em, use all of the board (community) cards to determine one's best hand. When this happens, if no active player can use one or both of his or her dealt cards to form a better hand than that of the five board cards, the pot is split among all active players. Also see beat the board, can't beat the board.

(v phrase) Play only hands that are almost guaranteed to win.

(v phrase) play off the blind (definition 2).

(v phrase) play off the blind (definition 2).

(v phrase) See tight.

(v phrase) Play in liberal fashion. The opposite is to play tight.

(n) Shorthand, particularly in e-mail and Internet postings, for pot-limit hold 'em.

(n) Shorthand, particularly in e-mail and Internet postings, for pot-limit hold 'em.

(n) Shorthand, particularly in e-mail and Internet postings, for pot-limit Omaha.

1. (n) A chip, a stack of chips, or a token of some sort (sometimes labeled "hold") set down by the house at any empty position to indicate that no one may sit there. The house may place a plug because a player has asked to hold his seat while he goes to get more cash, or because it wants to keep the seating arrangements balanced (see balanced games). For example, two draw tables have seven players each. The house may place a plug at each empty position so no one can move to the other game and leave one table with only six seats while the other is full. The floorman who puts a chip plug at an empty spot may not tell the players at the table that those chips do not represent a real player, leading some to wrongly think that the seat has been sold and someone will soon come to play those chips. 2. (v) To place a plug; often followed by the seat designation. A floorman may say to the house dealer, "Plug the No. 2 seat, dealer."

(v phrase) splash around.

(n) pochen.

(n) pochen.

(n) An early German card game having some of the features of poker. (Pochen means to boast of, which could be construed as to bluff.) Also, poch, poche.

1. (n) The first two cards in hold 'em, that is a player's "private cards" (as opposed to the community cards or flop). "I had a king in the pocket." 2. The downcard or downcards in a stud game. 3. (adj) Pertaining to the first two cards in hold 'em, usually a pair, as, for example, a pocket pair or pocket rockets.

(n phrase) Downcards. See downcard.

(n phrase) A pair as one's first two cards in hold 'em (and sometimes seven-card stud).

(n phrase) A pair of aces as one's first two cards in hold 'em.

(n) 1. A percentage of one's action given away in exchange for help on the buy-in; often done in tournaments by players who don't think they have a great chance of winning, or traded by participants to increase their chances of making money. Similar to piece. 2. The face value of a card, using blackjack values (as described under points). You might hear a lowball player complain about having 50 points. This would be a combination of face cards and 10s that add up to 50.

(n) A side bet, made in a draw game, between two or more players, in which the player holding more than 40 points receives a prearranged payment (say one chip) for each point he holds over 40. Aces count 11 (sometimes only 1), face cards 10, and the others have face value. Such an arrangement would likely be made in a lowball game, so that players might feel that they can win something on otherwise unplayable hands. Often played in conjunction with colors.

(n) 1. A bankroll. 2. The place where one keeps that bankroll, as a wallet or purse.

(n) A commercial board game that combines some of the elements of poker with those of other games.

1. (n) A card game based on the language of deception, a language expressed in words represented by bets; a card game among two or (usually) more players, in which each player makes one or more wagers that his five-card (sometimes fewer) hand ranks higher than those of all the others, or that he can convince the others to retire from contention because they believe his hand ranks the highest. 2. high draw poker. "What games do you have open?" "I have a seat in a 3-blind lowball, and 15-30 poker." 3. (vi) Play poker. 4. (vt) Beat (someone) at poker. These last two usages are rare.

(n phrase) chip (definition 1).

(n phrase) An apparently sad, nonverbal sound (a sort of tsk-like click) made by a player who in reality has a good hand. The term was invented by Mike Caro, and described in his books, columns, and videos about tells. (See tell.)

(n phrase) Poker players.

(n phrase) 1. An establishment, usually open to the public, in which players gather to play poker. This definition is somewhat more restricted than a cardroom, in which any form of cards may be played (bridge, gin rummy, California games, for example). 2. A group of players who meet regularly to play poker, usually in the home of one player or alternating among the homes of various players, or at a private club.

1. (n phrase) Dice that have card symbols, usually ranking from 9 through ace, one of each, on each die, three, four, or five of which are shaken in a cup and then thrown out. When several players compete, the player throwing the best poker hand combination wins. Sometimes players are allowed to "draw" to a hand, by leaving some of the dice on the table or counter top and shaking and tossing the remainder. 2. A set of five ordinary dice, thrown similarly for poker hands. Flushes are not possible, but pairs, aces through sixes, two pair, and so on, and two straights (1-2-3-4-5 and 2-3-4-5-6) are possible. 3. The game played with either of the two preceding dice sets.

(n phrase) A magazine, now defunct, devoted to poker playing.

(n phrase) 1. A poker player's supposed lack of facial expression, such that others cannot tell whether she is bluffing. In reality, few poker players remain expressionless doing play. 2. A poker player who maintains such an expression. This usage is rare.

(adj) Having a poker face.

(n phrase) A poker room.

(n phrase) A mythical deity to whom poker players supposedly pray for good hands, and who presumably protects those in his (her?) good graces; used humorously. Compare with lowball god. Also, god of poker.

(n phrase) The five cards (usually) that a poker player uses in his contention for a pot. Some of the possible five-card combinations from the poker deck have higher (or lower, in low games) ranking than others, and this is how the winner of a particular contest is determined.

(n) Poker played for very low stakes, often found in retirement homes, convalescent hospitals, and the like. Compare with penny ante.

(n) A poker player. This usage is rare.

(n phrase) poker room.

(n phrase) video poker machine.

(n phrase) poker solitaire.

(n phrase) One who plays poker.

(n phrase) One who plays poker for a living.

(n phrase) A place where poker players play; cardroom.

(n phrase) The regulations of a particular cardroom on the conduct of a poker game, often codified in that cardroom's rule book, sometimes posted on the wall. Poker rules are not standard, although most rule books contain many similar rules. Some rules (frequently termed the rules of poker), such as what hand beats what, are fairly standard, particularly in public cardrooms, while others, such as what constitutes a legitimate bet or raise and the manner in which betting must be made, vary widely. The smart player familiarizes herself with the poker rules of a particular establishment before first sitting down to play.

(n phrase) People assembled to play poker. Sometimes called simply school. Also, poker clergy.

(n phrase) See session.

(n phrase) An expert poker player, often implying one who wins by cheating, usually by manipulating the cards; a mechanic. Also known as a cardsharp, sharp, or sharper.

(n phrase) A form of solitaire in which the player tries to arrange 25 cards in a 5-by-5 grid such that all (or most of) the horizontals and verticals (and sometimes the diagonals) form the highest possible poker hands. Also called patience poker and poker patience.

(n phrase) 1. A table used in cardrooms especially for the play of poker. Most poker tables have a felt cover. Poker tables for draw or stud games generally accommodate eight players, with an extra place for the house dealer, if there is one. Poker tables for hold 'em games can accommodate as many as 12 or 13 players, although nine or 10 is more common. 2. Any table on which to play poker. In home games, this can be the kitchen table, or a fancy table with seven or eight places having recessed chip racks and drink holders at each position. 3. A table in a casino devoted to poker (as opposed to, say, a blackjack table).

(n phrase) 1. Any poker game in which a joker is used. Also called joker poker. 2. high draw poker played with a 53-card deck (that is, one containing a joker).

(n) The player sitting to the dealer's immediate right. This is an old term now rarely used.

(v phrase) ante (definition 4).

(n) In English poker games, the pot.

(v phrase) raise (definition 1).

(v phrase) raise (definition 1).

(n) An early French card game, from which some say the word poker came. The French pronunciation of the word is like poker without the r sound.

(n) 1. Where a player sits in relation to the others at the table. 2. Where a player sits in relation to the dealer, or, sometimes, in relation to the blinds. Position 1 is generally the position to the left of the current dealer, although, in a three-blind traveling blind game, position 1 could be the position to the left of the big blind, that is, position 1 is three positions to the left of the dealer. Mike Caro reckons position as the number of players remaining to act. Thus, in an eight-player game, the position to the left of the dealer is position 7, while the dealer position is position 0. The compiler of this dictionary has extended this in his writings to blind games, wherein the position immediately to the left of the big blind is position 7, the dealer is position 2, the middle blind is position 1, and the big blind is position 0 (because no players act after him). Also see early position, late position. 3. Where a player sits in relation to a particular player. Sitting to someone's left is generally termed good position, and to his right bad position. 4. Good position with respect to the other players at the table. "You can open with a worse hand when you've got position." 5. Sitting in good position with respect to a particular player, usually sitting one or two seats to the player's left. "I had position on the live one all night, but I never held any hands."

(n phrase) A bet made more on the strength of one's position than one's hand. For example, a player opening for a raise on the button (possibly with relatively weak cards) is said to be making a position bet.

(n phrase) Someone who plays position, that is, who is more or less liberal with his opening requirements and more or less aggressive in the play of his hands, dependent on his position with respect to the other players, or one vulnerable player in particular.

(n phrase) The situation in which a particular bet, in the long run, has an overall average profit. A wager can lose more times than it wins and still have a positive expectation; this is because in the long run the amount of money won on the times it wins is greater than the amount lost on the times it loses. Also called positive return. See discussion at expectation.

(n) positive expectation.

1. (n) In high poker, a hand that needs one card to be completed, as four cards to a flush or straight. For example, in seven-card stud, after the last card is dealt, you have face up three spades in sequence, possibly even four. Together with your three downcards, there exists a great possibility that you have a straight or better. A player may have board cards that rank higher than yours, such as a pair, but that player is afraid of your possibilities. When it is his turn to initiate the betting, he might say, "Check to the possible." 2. (adj) In stud games, the description, often by the dealer of the hand, of a hand that could, based on its exposed cards, be part of a complete hand, such as a flush or straight. For example, in a five-card stud game, one player has four spades showing; another has K-Q-10-9, so that a jack in the hole would give him a straight. As the dealer distributes the last round of cards, he might say, "Possible flush, possible straight, pair of aces. Pair of aces is high."

(v) Put up a missed blind. If you miss playing the blind in a particular round, probably because you were away from the table or because you just came into a game and the blind has already passed you, the house dealer asks if you want to post, that is, put in as many chips as are in the blind you missed. When the action gets to you, you have already called one bet, and, if the pot has not been raised, you do not have to put any more chips in the pot. (You can, of course, raise in turn.) This is not the same as an overblind or kill, in which the action temporarily skips the player who has put the blind chips in the pot, and which causes the limit to increase.

1. (n phrase) An exhaustive discussion after a hand is over about the play of the hand, with so-called experts giving their opinions (with the loser usually providing the most strident) on how the hand should have been played. 2. (v phrase) To engage in or conduct such a discussion; usually followed by a or the hand.

(n phrase) In a no-limit game, a minimal bet made into a large pot by the holder of a marginal hand in the hopes that the bet won't be raised and the bettor will either win the pot because no better hand is out, or that he will get to see the best hand "for free" because the holder of a slightly better hand is afraid to raise. Also, protection bet.

1. (n) The chips in play on a particular hand. "They both had straight flushes and the pot was over $1000." 2. The portion of the table in which the pots in play on a particular hand go. "Is that money in the pot?" might be what the house dealer asks a player who is toying with a stack of chips very near to the perimeter of the pot. 3. The interval of time from the deal of cards until the showdown. (Also see hand, definition 2.) 4. (v) Make an arrangement to pay for drinks, sandwiches, etc., out of the next pot over a certain amount (usually twice the cost of whatever they're potting for); often followed by for. An example is a drink pot. "Let's order a round. Who wants to pot?" "Who wants to pot for cigarets?"

(n phrase) A player who announces this has just won his first pot of the session.

(n) A 9 (the card).

(n phrase) A game whose betting limit is always equal to the current size of the pot. A raise can include the size of the pot after the call is accounted for. For example, each player in an eight-player game antes $1. The maximum the first player can open for is $8. If he does, a player can raise that bet by $24 ($8 in antes plus the $8 bet plus the $8 it takes to call that bet). At this point it takes $32 to call (the original $8 bet and the $24 raise), which brings the pot to $80. That bet could now be raised by a maximum of $80, and so on, till everyone is all in.

(adj phrase) Describing a game played for pot limit, in such phrases as pot-limit game, pot-limit poker, pot-limit Omaha, and so on.

(n phrase) A pot-limit game not played for table stakes, that is, one in which players can take money out of their pockets if they run out of chips in the middle of a hand. This is permitted only in private games, never in public cardrooms and casinos.

(n phrase) The ratio of the size of the pot compared to the size of the bet a player must call to continue in the hand. For example, the pot contains $20, and you must call a $4 bet; this gives you pot odds of 5-to-1. Compare with implied odds. Also, investment odds.

(adv) Having invested so much in a pot that it "wouldn't be good poker" to fold.

(n phrase) Taking money out of a pot to buy food, cigarettes, or drinks, or to make bets. Also see pot (definition 4).

(n phrase) A form of poker, usually found only in home or private games, in which a player is given a free buy-in, after going broke, on which to continue playing. Usually that buy-in must be returned to the source if the player wins, and the player must quit if he loses the free buy-in. The source for such funds either comes from a direct contribution at the time by the other players, or, more frequently, by cutting money from each pot, which money goes toward a special fund to be used for this particular purpose.

(n) 1. In stud poker, the hand containing the strongest upcards, or, sometimes, the hand with the most potential (as four cards to a straight flush). 2. The holder of the hand who has been betting the most aggressively. For example, in no-limit lowball, you made a large raise before the draw, I called to draw a card, and you stood pat; if I miss the hand I was drawing to, but either made, or want to imply that I made, a hand with which I might call, I might say, "Check to the power."

(n) An exceptionally strong hand, often one that cannot lose in a given situation.

(adv, adj) Pertaining to the bet or situation before the flop.

(n) A bonus or royalty paid by all players to the holder of a particular hand, or a very high hand. For example, in some private games, anyone holding aces full or better receives one or more chips at the showdown from all the players, in addition to winning the pot. Also called royalty or bonus.

(n phrase) A hand that entitles the holder of the hand to a premium. Also called special hand.

1. (v) Give a stake player more chips to play on, after he loses his first stack; usually equal to half of what he started with. For example, the shift manager used Crying Cal to help get a game started, by staking Cal, for which he gave Cal $40 in house chips with which to play. Cal lost the $40, and the game is in danger of breaking up, so the shift manager goes to the cage, and says to the cashier, "Press Cal," for which the cashier gives him $20, and writes the $20 on the sheet. 2. (n) The chips so given. The manager might later say to the cashier, "I'm $20 short in my box. Did you write down that press for Cal?"

(n) In hold 'em, a pair of fives as one's hole cards. "Three limpers in the pot and I raised with presto."

(n) In hold 'em, what one says when revealing a pair of fives as one's hole cards. The term was coined at BARGE. Evolved from what a blackjack player says when turning over a blackjack.

(n) 1. Chips of (relatively) large denomination. A stack of pretties is 20 $20 chips, $100 chips, etc. Also, society chips, high society chips. 2. Any particularly good hand.

(n) The pot odds currently offered for a call, usually in a drawing situation. "The pot was giving such a good price, I stayed for the inside straight draw." (Presumably the player was getting more than 12-to-1 for the call in a draw game or in hold 'em with one card to come.)

(v) Mark the backs of cards with a pin, thumbtack, or other sharp instrument, in such a way that the thief making such marks can later tell by feel the rank of the card. This is the opposite of peg, in which the thief marks the fronts of cards. Such markings are sometimes called pin work.

(n) An early Spanish card game having some of the features of poker.

(n phrase) A poker game played elsewhere than in a public cardroom. Also called home game. Sometimes private game has a wider application, because a private game could be played in other than someone's home (for example, in a hotel room). Compare with public game.

(n phrase) A form of stud, found exclusively in home games, in which each player receives four cards face down, and three community cards are dealt face down, and these cards are turned up one at a time, each followed by a betting round, with the last card, and all cards of the same rank, wild.

(n) 1. Someone who brings lots of money to a game and keeps that money in circulation. The term is usually used by the management to describe someone around whom a game can be built (because others like to play with him or her), or by professionals to describe a live one. Also, provider. 2. A player whose main source of income does not derive from gambling.

(n) Cheating at cards, cardsharping, illegal gambling; always preceded by the.

(n phrase) A player whose main source of income derives from gambling. Compare with producer (definition 2).

(n) A gambler who has the ability to calculate the odds, particularly in card games. Also, dean.

(n) The picture cards whose faces are shown in profile, that is, K, J, and J; the one-eyes.

(adj) 1. Describing the high draw games as used to be played in Southern California (which is not the same interpretation as in home games). They are jacks or better progressive. The California cardroom interpretation of progressive was a further ante after each passed pot (up to triple ante) plus a doubling of the stakes (usually once only). 2. Describing games with increasing opening requirements, such as progressive jackpots.

(n phrase) A form of draw poker found mainly in home games in which the opener must have at least a pair of jacks to open, and be prepared to show openers before the pot is out of play; if no one opens, players ante again, sometimes the next dealer deals, and the minimum opening requirements increase to queens, and so on if no one again opens. Sometimes the opening requirements after passed pots stop at aces; sometimes they continue to increase (to two pair, and so on). Pots can grow quite large from just the antes.

(n phrase) progressive jackpots.

(n phrase) progressive jackpots with the ante increased (in size) each hand that is not opened. Sometimes called rangdoodles.

1. (n) proposition player. 2. A proposition. 3. (v) To function as a prop. "How ya keepin' in chips?" "I'm propping at the Pasatiempo Club."

(n phrase) proposition bet.

(n) 1. An offer by one player to another to play under certain circumstances, usually more favorable to the other player, in exchange for calling a bet. Propositions are found mainly in no-limit lowball games. For example, one player raises. The player who opened the pot asks, "Two-for-one?" He is offering a proposition, which is, in effect, saying, "I need to draw two cards to this hand. I would not normally call your raise, but you look like a sporting fellow, so I will call and draw two cards if you agree that you will take one card. If you have to break a pat hand to comply, then so be it; I will not play otherwise." Gentlemen do not offer a proposition and then renege. In other words, if you offer, for example, two-for-one, it's not considered sporting to then draw only one or stand pat after the other has thrown his card, nor is it sporting on his part to accept and then stand pat. (Of course, he could accept and draw two, because that is more of a gamble than the offerer of the proposition was requesting or expecting.) If someone offers you a proposition, naturally you can decline. Again, the sporting thing to do in this example is not to say, "Oh, I'm probably drawing anyway," and then stand pat. If you don't want to give away anything about your intentions, you can say, "Just call the bet, or throw away your hand," or say nothing. Just don't out-and-out lie. While permitted, it's not sporting, and will lose you respect and action later. A counter proposition (described under pass for a prop) is also a possibility. 2. An agreement between two or more players to always take part in a certain gamble when circumstances warrant, such as open blind, raise blind (definition 2) or two-three.

(n phrase) 1. The bet that arises out of a proposition. 2. The bet offered by a proposition hustler.

(n phrase) Someone, usually a player, who offers other players bets on certain occurrences, paying off at less than true odds. For example, in a draw game, a proposition hustler might say to another player, "I'll bet you can't beat a pair of sevens before the draw next hand." The actual odds against such an occurrence are worse than 1.5-to-1.

(n phrase) One who receives a salary from the management of a cardroom for playing in short games (those with empty seats), starting new games, filling in where needed, etc. While a proposition player works for the house, he does not play house money (thus differing from a stake player), nor does the house care how he plays; he plays his own money, and is welcome to continue propping as long as his money holds out (although it is generally understood that a proposition player will treat the other patrons and the dealers kindly and with respect). Frequently shortened to prop. Also called public relations player in politically correct cardrooms.

(n phrase) proposition player.

(v) 1. Hold onto your cards, as opposed to leaving them sit on the table, such that the dealer cannot accidentally scoop up your hand, and such that it cannot be otherwise fouled. 2. Place a chip atop your cards so that no cards falling on them can foul the hand; usually followed by your hand or the hand. 3. Do the same with the deck (by the player dealer or the house dealer) after dealing the first round of cards, so that discards cannot accidentally get mixed in with the deck; usually followed by the deck. "Hey, dealer, protect the deck," means the cards are just sitting on the table, and a player wants the dealer to put a chip on top of the deck. 4. Bet in such a way as to increase the chances of an all-in player winning a pot, that is, ensure a showdown between only the bettor and the all-in player. For example, in a $4-to-go no-limit lowball game, Grady has $20, while Tom, Sue, and Scott all have over $200. Grady opens for $4, and Tom raises to $20. Sue calls, and Scott raises another $40. Grady calls all of his remaining chips. Tom and Sue call the reraise, creating a $60 side pot. Grady, Tom, and Sue all draw one card, and Scott stands pat. Grady cannot bet after the draw. Tom and Sue both pass. Now Scott says, "I'll protect your hand, Grady," and bets $150. If Tom and Sue now both fold, Grady has a better chance of winning the main pot (and Scott can make money even if he was bluffing, by winning the now-uncontested side pot). Compare with dry pot. 5. When you have a blind in a blind game, invest more money so money you've already put in the pot isn't "wasted." "Jim always protects his blind, no matter what his cards are or how many bets it costs." See make the blind good. 6. See protect the other players. 7. Bet in such a way as to make other players pay for the privilege of trying to beat your hand, a hand that is currently the leader, but could easily be outdrawn on the draw in a draw game or on the next card in a stud or flop game.

(n) See protected hand.

(n phrase) A bet made in a situation such that it is likely to win or lose a pot based on the comparative value of a hand, without having to introduce the complication of bluffing. For example, in a hold 'em game, Norman, an aggressive player, has been betting the flop and the turn with two spades on the board. You flopped middle pair, and intend to call all the way. Behind you sits Sue, a player capable of raising with less than the best hand, even a bluff; she will, of course, also raise with the best hand. Another spade comes on the river. Norman bets and you call. Normally you would be worried about Sue, because when you just call, if she raises and reopens the betting, you'll have trouble calling if Norman reraises. But Sue has exactly one big bet left. Because she cannot raise, your call was a protected bet. If you have the best hand, you win, and you don't have to worry about being bluffed. Also see protected hand.

(n phrase) A hand in a situation such that it is likely to win or lose a pot based on the comparative merits of its value, without having to introduce the complication of bluffing. For example, in a straight limit lowball game, a solid player opens the pot in a middle position. A very live player calls on the middle blind. This player is likely drawing to a rough hand or drawing two cards. You have the big blind; your hand is a rough 10, say 10-9-8-7-6. If it were just you and the middle blind, you would raise. You do not want to raise, though, because the opener is either drawing to a very good hand or already has a pat hand better than yours, and if he reraises, you will have wasted an extra bet (because you'll likely fold for the reraise). Just calling the half a bet offers odds of better than 5-to-1. Neglecting bluffing, you should win the pot in this situation more than one-sixth of the time, giving you positive expectation. At least a sixth of the time, both players will be drawing and will both miss. And you can neglect bluffing, because, if the middle blind passes after the draw, you will pass also to see what the opener does. Now, whether the middle blind draws one or two cards, the opener has to play his hand properly. That is, if he has a one-card draw, he must draw one card; if he stands pat, he really has a pat hand better than yours. Had it been just you and the opener, you probably would not stand pat without raising and then check after the draw. If you stand pat, the opener likely would stand pat with a better 10 and might stand pat with worse, reasoning that you would be hard put to call a bet. But when the other player is added into the mix, if the opener stands pat, you know he really has a pat hand and do not have to consider calling a bet. Also, if he draws and bets, again you don't have to call a bet. The opener would be very unlikely to bluff, not because of your hand, but because the middle blind is a calling station. The middle blind could very well be drawing to an 8 or 9, which he would pass if he made but then call either your or the opener's bet. Since the opener is unlikely to bluff in this situation, your hand is a protected hand.

(n) 1. How a cardroom protects players against being cheated, including such measures as having a house dealer, using plastic cards, having floor personnel who know what to look out for, etc. 2. A protection bet.