Glossary of Poker Terms

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Terms starting with M

Main pot
When a player goes all-in in a table stakes game, that player is only eligible to win the main pot - the pot consisting of those bets they were able to match. Additional bets, placed in a side pot, are contested among the remaining players.
Unfortunately, since I was all-in pre-flop, the main pot was very small.


Make
To (non-specifically) make a hand means to get a decent hand that has a shot at winning the pot.
I didn't make a hand for two hours, but then I went on a major rush.


Maniac
A maniac is a player who plays extremely loose and aggressive, often raising with just about anything. Maniacs at the table tend to increase the variance considerably.
With all the maniacs at the table, I decided to just wait for the nuts and let the money come to me.


Middle Pair
If there are three cards of different ranks on the flop in hold'em, and you pair the middle one, you have middle pair.
I'll often raise with middle pair and an overcard.


Miss
See hit.

Monster
An extremely strong hand, one that is almost certain to win the pot.
It's often a bad idea to slowplay unless you make a monster.


Muck
The pile of discarded cards in front of the dealer, or the act of putting cards in this pile (and therefore taking them out of play).
The house rule is that as soon as the cards touch the muck, they are ineligible to win the pot.

After I mucked my hand, I realized that I should have called the bet.

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