If you're new to poker, you may be confused by some of the terminology used in poker game. Don't worry, that's quite normal! I remember when I first started playing Texas Holdem Online many years ago and not knowing what a blind and an ante was. When I was watching the World Poker Tour on TV, I didn't know what the heck Vince and Mike were talking about when they used terms like "under the gun". But those can be learned and this page will explain common poker terms.

Common Poker Terms

Dealer button: It's a marker of some kind, usually a circular plastic disk. It indicates which player is the "dealer" for the current hand. Even if you play in a casino where you have an actual dealer that isn't playing the game, the deal button is still exchanged between players from hand to hand as it affects the order of play. This ensures that there is a fair rotation between who gets to act first at the table, and who gets to act last.

Poker Blinds: Blinds act as a forced minimum bet from one or more players, depending on what game you're playing. In Texas Holdem for example, the big blind represents the minimum bet, and the Small Blind represents half the amount of the big blind. When you are sitting at the poker table, one player is allocated the dealer button, the nest player to his left is allocated the small blind, and the following player to the left is allocated the big blind. Minimum betting amounts, called "the blinds" go up periodically for the entire duration of the game at specific time intervals (like every 10 minutes for example). After a while, the cost of the "forced bet" is starting to get expensive, which usually results in more aggressive play styles as time goes by. In the end, players could end up being forced to bet their entire chip stack simply because the price of the blinds has gone up beyond the total value of their chips. Blinds therefore ensure that a poker game eventually ends.

Blind Structure: This refers to two things: The timeframe in which the blinds go up (every 4 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc) and the amout of the blinds for each level (level 1 = 10/20, level 2 = 20/40, level 3 = 50-100, etc). Se every time the predetermined blind time elapses, the blind timer resets and the blind value increases to the next level.

Antes: These are like blinds except that everyone at the table must pay them. It’s a forced bet for everyone, but the amount is much smaller than the blinds. Usually, you only see antes in tournaments, and only when the blinds reach a high level. A lot of online poker rooms don’t even use antes in their tournaments.

Kicker: When two players have identical poker hands (like two pairs, and both pairs are the same), the card that is used as the "tie breaker" is referred to as the kicker. For example 10, 10, K, J, 5 beats 10,10,3,5,Q because the King from the first hand is the highest kicker.
Betting Actions: These refer to folding, calling, raising and checking. Folding means you get out of the hand and give up the money you contributed in the pot, if any. Calling means you pay the price of the current bet and stay in the hand. Raising means you increase the wager and if others want to stay in the hand they must at least match your wager. Checking only occurs when there are currently no bets and you want to be $0, or when you are in the big blind position and no one has raised the stakes. Essentially, your BB covers the current bet already so you don’t need to put in additional money to stay in the hand.

Under the Gun: In games like Holdem and Omaha, this is the position to the left of the big blind which acts first before board cards are dealt.

Texas Hold'em starting hands

Because Texas Holdem is so popular, players and commentators often describe hole cards with a nick name. Here's a list of popular Texas Holdem terms:

A,A – American Airlines, bullets, pocket rockets
A,K – Big Slick, “Walking back to Houston”
A,J – Ajax
K,K – Cowboys
K,Q – Marriage
K,J – Kojak
K,9 – Canine
Q,Q – Dames, divas, ladies, the Hilton sisters, Siegfried & Roy
Q,J – Maverick, Oedipus Rex
Q,7 – Computer Hand
Q,3 – A San Francisco Busboy
J,J – Jokers, hooks
J,9 – T.J. Cloutier
J,5 – Jackson Five, Motown
10,5 – Five and dime
10,2 – The Doyle Brunson. (He won two World Series of Poker titles with this hand.)
8,8 – Snowmen, Octopuses
7,7 – Hockey Sticks, walking Sticks
7,2 – The Hammer
5,5 – Nickels, presto
5,4 – Jesse James, for his Colt .45
4,4 – Sailboats
2,2 – Ducks

If you wish to learn more, check out this PDF of poker terms that my Friends at Party Poker have developed. Check out this great Party Poker Review while you're at it!