Hole cards
Also: private cards
Cards dealt to one player and hidden from opponents until showdown.
Example: In Holdem a player has two hole cards.
Related materialSHANSIO · LEARNING AND PRACTICE
Poker glossary
Forty concise definitions with examples and links to learning material. Search runs in your browser without sending a query to a server.
Board
Also: community cards
Face-up cards available to every remaining player when forming a hand under the game rules.
Example: In Holdem five board cards are visible by the river.
Related materialPreflop
Also: before the flop
The stage after hole cards are dealt and before the first community cards appear.
Example: There are no board cards preflop.
Related materialFlop
Also: first three board cards
The first three community cards revealed together.
Example: Three board cards are visible after the flop.
Related materialTurn
Also: fourth card
The fourth community card, revealed after the flop.
Example: Four board cards are known on the turn.
Related materialRiver
Also: fifth card
The fifth and final community card.
Example: On the river the completed hands can be compared.
Related materialShowdown
Also: showdown comparison
Comparison of remaining hands after betting ends under the applicable rules.
Example: A kicker can decide the showdown.
Related materialKicker
Also: side card
A card that breaks a tie between hands with the same main combination.
Example: With identical pairs, the higher kicker decides the result.
Related materialSplit pot
Also: chopped pot
A pot shared by players whose best hands have equal rank.
Example: A shared straight on the board can split the pot.
Related materialEquity
Also: expected pot share
Expected share of the pot across outcomes, including the appropriate share of ties; not merely outright win probability.
Example: With two players, a tie contributes half the pot to equity.
Related materialOutright win probability
Also: win without a tie
Share of outcomes where a hand wins without a tie. It can differ from equity.
Example: Six ties add to equity but not to outright wins.
Related materialOuts
Also: improvement cards
Future cards that improve a hand in a stated sense; improvement does not always win.
Example: A flush card may improve a hand yet lose to a higher flush.
Related materialDraw
Also: drawing hand
A hand with a chance to improve on later cards.
Example: Four cards of one suit can form a flush draw under the relevant game rule.
Related materialFlush draw
Also: four to a flush
An incomplete flush needing a suitable card of the same suit.
Example: In Holdem four hearts among usable cards make a flush draw.
Related materialStraight draw
Also: straight possibility
An incomplete straight that a later card may complete.
Example: 6-7-8-9 is an open-ended straight draw.
Related materialGutshot
Also: inside straight draw
A straight draw missing one rank inside the sequence.
Example: 5-6-8-9 needs a seven for a straight.
Related materialOpen-ended straight draw
Also: open-ended draw
Four consecutive ranks that can be completed at either end.
Example: 6-7-8-9 can be completed by a five or ten.
Related materialBackdoor draw
Also: runner-runner draw
A chance to complete a hand only if both following cards cooperate.
Example: After the flop, two suitable cards in a row can complete a flush.
Related materialRange
Also: hand range
A specified set of possible physical starting hands, rather than one exact hand.
Example: AA and AKs contain ten combinations before blockers.
Related materialCombo
Also: card combination
One unordered pair of specific physical cards in Holdem.
Example: AA has six combinations from four aces.
Related materialBlocker
Also: card removal
A known physical card that removes combinations containing it from a considered range.
Example: A known ace of spades leaves three AA combinations.
Related materialSuited
Also: same-suit
Two hole cards of different ranks and the same suit.
Example: AKs has four physical combinations.
Related materialOffsuit
Also: different-suit
Two hole cards of different ranks and suits.
Example: AKo has twelve physical combinations.
Related materialPocket pair
Also: pair in the hole
Two hole cards of the same rank.
Example: AA denotes a pair of aces in the hole.
Related materialPot
Also: available pot
Chips available to the winner or players who split under the hand rules.
Example: In the pot-odds example P already includes the opponent bet.
Related materialPot odds
Also: required share
The cost to continue relative to the final pot, expressed as threshold C/(P+C).
Example: With P=150,C=50 the threshold is 25%.
Related materialExpected value
Also: EV
Average outcome of a stated model across possibilities; in the simple cost model EV=q(P+C)-C.
Example: At q=30%,P=150,C=50 the model EV is +10.
Related materialBreak-even threshold
Also: zero-EV point
The pot share at which the modeled EV of the additional cost is zero.
Example: At P=150,C=50 this threshold is 25%.
Related materialCall
Also: match a bet
The additional amount needed to match the current bet; not necessarily all chips invested on the street.
Example: After contributing 10, if 15 more is needed, the added cost is 15.
Related materialBet
Also: opening bet
The first wager on a street when there is no bet yet to match.
Example: A bet of 50 into a pot of 100 makes the current pot 150.
Related materialRaise
Also: increase a bet
An increase over a bet already made on the current street.
Example: The first wager on a street is a bet, not a raise.
Related materialFold
Also: give up the hand
Giving up a hand and forfeiting chips already committed.
Example: A pot-odds formula alone does not give a universal fold decision.
Related materialCheck
Also: pass without betting
Continuing without adding chips when there is no bet to match.
Example: A check is not a call of a nonzero bet.
Related materialAll-in
Also: all chips
Committing all chips available to a player in the hand.
Example: Unequal stack sizes can create a side pot.
Related materialPosition
Also: action order
A player’s place in the order of action on a street.
Example: The button usually acts late after the flop.
Related materialButton
Also: dealer button
Marker of the nominal dealer used to determine blinds and action order.
Example: The button moves to the next player after a hand.
Related materialBlind
Also: forced blind
A forced contribution before cards are dealt that starts the pot.
Example: The big blind is usually larger than the small blind.
Related materialEffective stack
Also: smaller contestable stack
The maximum chips two players can contest against one another in a hand.
Example: If players hold 40 and 100, their effective stack against each other is 40.
Related materialRake
Also: house fee
A fee taken from a pot under the game operator’s rules; the simple Shansio model excludes it.
Example: Rake can change the required share in a real game.
Related materialSide pot
Also: secondary pot
A separate part of a pot open only to players who contributed enough chips.
Example: Different all-ins may create a main and side pot.
Related material