Glossary of Poker Terms
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Terms starting with B
Back Door
A hand made back door is one made using both of the last two
cards, as in seven card stud or Texas hold'em. For example,
if in hold'em you hold AhTh and the flop comes Ad4c9h, you
have top pair and a backdoor flush draw. The back door draw
isn't anything to get excited about, but it can tip the
scales occasionally. While you're busy playing your made
hand, you might accidentally make a flush in the back door.
I couldn't believe he stayed around for that back door
straight with no other outs. Back Into
When you make a hand other than the one you were originally
drawing to, you are said to have backed into it. For
example, if your first four cards in a seven card stud hand
are AA44, and you end up making a flush, you backed into the
flush. Bad Beat
Different people seem to feel differently about what counts
as a bad beat. One thing is certain: you have to lose the
hand. What makes the beat bad? Maybe one or all of the
following: you lose in a situation where you're a very big
favorite; you lose with a hand you couldn't possibly have
been expected to fold; you lose so improbably you feel
compelled to tell the story multiple times; you lose to a
player who couldn't have beat you without misplaying the
hand (but who was astoundingly lucky); you lose in a way
that seemed inconceivable until you saw it happen; or more
than two experienced players at your table say, "ouch."
Here's an example. Say you're playing hold'em, you hold AA,
the flop comes A55, and someone holding 98, suited with one
of the fives, catches two perfect cards for a straight
flush, you have suffered a very painful bad beat. The guy
holding 55 is in a similar position, only more so.
The phrase "bad beat" is heard often in the phrase "bad beat
stories," because many poker players, especially (but not
exclusively) occasional or inexperienced players, love to
tell stories about how rotten their luck was. Some people
don't mind listening, or even enjoy these stories. Other
people (especially jaded poker veterans who are pretty sure
they've heard and seen it all) would sooner sit through
eight hours of root canal surgery than listen to one bad
beat story. Don't take it personally.
Another phrase you'll hear is "bad beat jackpot." Some games
have for particular types of bad beats.
After that bad beat I put on him, he went on tilt for about
six months. Bankroll
The total amount of money one is willing (and able) to put
at risk. Many players keep poker bankrolls separate from
their other finances. An adequate playing bankroll for a
particular game (assuming positive expectation) is an amount
large enough to survive the expected swings due to variance.
For a negative expectation game, an adequate bankroll is one
which doesn't run out before you die.
Some players also limit their risk on a per-session basis,
in effect playing with a session bankroll. Whether a
bankroll is for poker in general, for poker this week, or
for poker today, depends on how you manage your money.
To bankroll someone is to provide some or all of the money
they use to gamble. In effect, you assume part of the risk
in return for part of the profit.
Behind
Before the last cards have been dealt, you either have the
best hand or you don't. If you don't, you're said to be
behind. See also chase.
Even though I was probably behind, I decided to raise
because I had a lot of outs.
Belly Buster
Another name for an inside straight draw. See also double
belly buster.
Bet
To bet is to put money into the pot, usually by opening as
later action in a round is a raise or a re-raise. As a noun,
a bet can be the money added to the pot by a player on one
turn, or the amount required in order to call. It can also
be used to mean "turn to act," and lastly, especially when
used in the plural, it can be used to mean the number of
bets and raises.
Who bet? (meaning who opened)
That's his bet. (meaning that there is the money he wagered)
What's the bet? (meaning how much to call)
Your bet. (meaning your turn)
Let's make it two bets. (meaning I raise)
Bicycle Wheel
A bicycle wheel (also called a wheel or a bicycle) is just
the following hand: A2345. Normally this is a straight to
the five. In games played for low, this is sometimes the
best possible low hand (see ace to five). It's also a great
hand in some high-low games where it's the nut low and
counts as a straight for the high pot. Note that in Kansas
City Lowball, a wheel is 23457, or the nut low. See also
steel wheel.
Big Bet
In limit games in which the size of the maximum bet
increases in later rounds, a big bet is the largest bet
size. A small bet is the smallest bet size. So in a 5-10
hold'em game, small bets are $5 and big bets are $10. See
structure and limit.
Big Bet Poker
Pot-limit and no-limit poker are sometimes referred to as
big bet poker (as contrasted with limit games of any size).
The "big" in a sense refers to the size of bets relative to
the pot, irrespective of the amount of money involved.
Big Blind
See blind bet.
Big Slick
An ace and a king as your hole cards in hold'em.
I had big slick eight times last night, and didn't win one
pot with it.
Black
Black is the most common color for $100 chips. If someone
tells you they saw someone betting black at a blackjack
table, it means they were betting at least $100 a hand. See
also white, red, and and green.
Blank
Any card that doesn't look like it's going to help anyone.
I was pretty sure she was on some sort of draw, so I didn't
mind betting into her when the river was a blank.
Blind Bet (or Blind)
A blind bet, or blind, is a forced bet that must be posted
before you see any cards. Blinds are an alternative to antes
for getting money in the pot initially. Blinds are more
often used in flop games like hold'em and omaha than in stud
and draw games. Typically in hold'em the two players to the
left of the dealer button are forced to place blind bets. In
limit play, the small blind (to the dealer's left) is
typically half the size of a small bet, and the big blind
(to the small blind's left) is a full small bet. Betting
then starts with the player to the left of the big blind
(who is considered under the gun), who must at least call
the big blind to stay in. When you sit down at a new table,
it's good to wait until it's your turn to blind before
playing a hand. See also live blind, structure, and
straddle.
"Big blind" and "small blind" are also used to refer to the
players who posted these bets.
I didn't get a playable hand for over three hours, but I
lost $135 in blinds.
I tried to steal the blinds with a late-position raise, but
the big blind raised me back.
Bluff
A bet with a weak hand (typically a busted hand), usually
intended to get other players to fold. A bluffing player
usually has little or no chance of winning a showdown, but
may suspect that other players will fold if they have not
made strong hands either. In limit play, bluffing is more
often a good idea against weak, tight players, who may fold
even if they think they have a chance of winning. Bluffing
is a bad idea against players who call too often, because
it's unlikely to scare them out of the pot. Bluffing is also
a much more significant factor in pot-limit and no-limit
play, where the bluffer can make calling an expensive
proposition. See also semi-bluff, represent, speeding, table
cop, and advertising.
Board
The community cards in a flop game (like hold'em) or the up
cards in a stud game (like seven card stud). Someone who
"plays the board" isn't using any of their hole cards.
Boat
Another name for a full house. I've also heard "full boat,"
but I think it sounds idiotic so I'm not giving it a
separate entry.
Bottom Pair
If there are three cards of different ranks on the flop in
hold'em (or any flop game), and you pair the lowest one, you
have bottom pair.
I figured bottom pair was enough since we were heads up.
Bounty
Some tournaments offer small amounts of cash - bounties - to
anyone who knocks out another player in the tournament. This
is typically in low buy-in tournaments, and the size of the
bounty is usually fairly small (since as many bounties as
the number of entrants might be awarded).
Brick
A blank, or (especially in low or high-low games) a card
that counterfeits one's hand. "Brick" is more often heard in
seven card stud, while "blank" is more appropriate to
hold'em, probably because a brick is a personal thing, while
a blank is a community thing.
Bring In
To bring in the betting is to make the first bet on the
first round of a hand (not including blind bets and antes).
A player who does this is said to "bring it in." In seven
card stud, often the lowest card on the board is forced to
bring it in. The bet so placed is called the bring-in.
Broadway
An ace high straight.
Brush
A cardroom employee responsible for managing the seating
list is sometimes called the brush.
Bug
A joker, usually in five card draw or draw lowball. In high
games, a bug can usually only be used as an ace or to
complete a straight or flush.
Bullets
A pair of aces in the hole.
Bump
To raise.
Buried
A buried pair is a pair in the hole in seven card stud - a
pair in the first two down cards. Buried kings are kings in
the hole, buried aces are aces in the hole, etc.
Burn
In order to reduce the chances of players getting advance
information about cards to come, in many games the top card
on the deck is discarded at certain pre-determined points in
the dealing process (e.g., in hold'em, before the flop,
turn, and river). These cards are the burn cards. In
general, any time a card is discarded from the top of the
deck it's called a burn card.
Burn Card
See burn.
Bust
To run out of money, especially in a tournament.
I busted in the second round, when my rockets lost to 87 off
suit.
Busted Hand
A hand in poker without so much as a pair (i.e., any hand
that will lose to a pair of 2's). A busted hand that missed
a draw to a straight or a flush is a busted straight or a
busted flush.
Button
A button is a marker, usually a plastic disc, used to mark a
particular position at the table. Usually "the button"
refers specifically to the dealer button, used to mark the
dealer position, or the player playing in that position. In
games with a professional house-supplied dealer (who is not
playing), this marks the player who acts in the dealer's
position (who is dealt the last card and who is last to act
in games where the order is fixed). This player is said to
be "on the button." Other buttons include the ever-popular
big blind button, used to indicate a player who was absent
when it would have been their turn to post a blind bet (and
who will be forced to post before they can return to the
game).
(For some reason, in Maryland the dealer button sits to the
left of where it should be, so when you're on the button you
post the first blind and act first in subsequent rounds. As
far as I know Maryland is the only blatant exception.)
I wouldn't have called with that hand, except that I was on
the button.
Buy
To buy a pot is to make a bet large enough that other
players would be extremely unlikely to call.
To buy the button in flop games is to raise before the flop
in order to induce the players with better position than
yourself to fold. If everyone closer to the button folds,
you've bought the button. Obviously this works better the
closer to the button you start out.
Buy-In
The amount of money with which you enter a game is your
buy-in. In a ring game, this is (hopefully) the amount you
get in chips. Most ring games have a minimum buy-in that's
typically less than you'll realistically need. In a
tournament, your buy-in is the amount it costs you to get
your initial bunch of tourney chips. As a verb, to buy in is
to make your initial purchase of chips.
I wanted to play in the bigger game, but the buy-in was too
high.
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