Glossary of Poker Terms
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Terms starting with F
Family Pot
When everyone at the table decides to enter a pot (e.g., see
the flop in hold'em), it's said to be a family pot.
Fast
To play fast is to play aggressively. The opposite of
playing slow. See also speeding.
Favorite
The hand that is expected to win most often in a particular
situation. In hold'em, AA is always a pre-flop favorite. If
the flop is 775, the player with 75 is now a pretty big
favorite.
I knew he was on the flush draw, so I figured I was still a
favorite.
Felt
The surface of most poker tables is made of some sort of
felt, or is in any case referred to as such. A player who is
running out of chips rapidly can be referred to as "down to
the felt."
Fill Up
To draw to and make a full house either from trips or two
pair.
Fish
A bad player. A terrible player. A player who will tend to
give away lots of money. Fish-ness can also be relative.
Common poker wisdom holds that if you can't find the fish at
your table, you're it. See also provider.
I love playing at that fish pond.
Fishhook
A nickname for a jack, more often heard in the plural.
Damn these fishhooks, they keep getting me into trouble.
Five Card Draw
Probably the most well known poker game, although it's not
widely played in public card rooms anymore. Each player
receives five cards. There is a round of betting, after
which each player may draw a certain number of cards (house
rules often stipulate how many may be drawn and under what
circumstances). Then there is a second round of betting, and
(if necessary) a showdown.
Flat Call
Flat call is a way of saying call that emphasizes the fact
that the player didn't raise. See also smooth call.
When he flat called me on the flop and on the turn, I put
him on the flush draw.
Floor
See floor person.
Floorman
A gender-specific form of floorperson.
Floorperson
In a cardroom floorpeople are responsible for the moment to
moment management of the cardroom - seating players,
starting new tables, settling disputes, generally making
sure the cardroom runs smoothly. You'll probably hear the "floorman"
or "floor" more often.
Floor, get some live ones in these empty seats!
Flop
A number of games, such as hold'em and omaha, are played
with five community cards. The first three of these cards
are dealt all at once, and are called the flop. Games with a
flop can be called flop games.
To flop a hand is to make that hand on the flop. To "see"
the flop is to still be in the hand when the flop comes.
I missed my pre-flop raise, and lost the hand when the big
blind made a gutshot on the river.
I flopped a fourflush and made my hand on the turn.
Flush
A hand in which all five cards share the same suit. When
comparing two flushes, the hand with the highest card not in
common is better. So AK873 of hearts is a better flush than
AK872 of diamonds. Not much better.
Fold
To abandon your hand, usually because someone else has made
a larger bet than you are willing to call. Usually, one
folds by mucking one's cards.
Forced Bet
Just what it sounds like - a bet that one is forced to
place, typically a blind bet or a bring-in.
Fourflush
A hand with four cards of the same suit. If there are no
cards remaining to come (or to draw), a fourflush is not
very useful.
With top pair and a fourflush, I thought my raise was a good
idea.
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank. Also called quads. For example,
if you hold 88882, you have quad 8's.
Free Card
Whenever you get to see an additional card without having to
call a bet, it's a free card (usually this means it's been
checked around). Generally speaking, you'd like to get free
cards when you need to improve, and you'd like to avoid
giving free cards when you're ahead.
Freeroll
Whenever you have at least part of the pot locked up and you
still have a chance to outdraw your opponents, you're said
to be freerolling on them. In hold'em, this happens when you
and another player have the same hand at the moment, but you
also have a draw to a better hand. At worst you'll tie, but
you have a chance to win the whole pot while the other
player doesn't. For example, if you hold AhKh and the flop
is As6h4h, you have a freeroll on a player holding AdKd.
While you both have the same hand at the moment, you might
still make a flush, while they can't outdraw you.
Freeroll tournaments are tournaments with no apparent entry
fee or initial buy-in. Such tournaments are typically
promotional events card rooms host in order to attract
players. Sometimes players must clock a certain number of
hours in the cardroom in order to qualify, or meet some
other requirement.
Freezeout
Any tournament format in which you cannot re-buy. A
freezeout is a good format for heads-up pot-limit or
no-limit play, since the amount at stake can be fixed in
advance, and the competitors can use arbitrarily valued
chips as in tournaments.
We decided to play a series of no-limit hold'em freezeouts
to show who was the better player.
Full House
A hand consisting of three cards of one rank and two cards
of another rank. AAA33 is aces full of threes, often
abbreviated to "aces full." To fill up is to draw to and
make a full house. Also called a boat.
I figured even if my trip sevens were no good, there was a
decent chance I'd fill up.
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