Library
No term matches that.
The count starts with the big blind as the first bet and the open as the second, so the reraise is the third. A 3-bet range can be built for value only, or mix value hands with bluffs that have blockers or playability.
Also called three-bet, reraise, 3bet.
See also: 4-bet, Open raise, Squeeze, Cold 4-bet
A 10 bet on a natural is paid 15. Six decks, H17, DAS and 3:2 give a basic strategy house edge of roughly 0.6%.
Also called 3 to 2, 3:2.
See also: 6:5 payout, Natural (blackjack), House edge
With 100 big blinds stacks, a 4-bet commits a large share of the stack, so 4-bet ranges are narrow and the next raise is often all-in.
Also called four-bet, 4bet.
See also: 3-bet, 5-bet, Cold 4-bet
A 10 bet on a natural is paid 12 instead of 15. The change adds about 1.4% to the house edge, far more than any other common rule change.
Also called 6 to 5, 6:5.
See also: 3:2 payout, Natural (blackjack), House edge
A player who is all-in cannot be forced out of the hand and can win only up to the amount they put in from each opponent; any extra betting goes to a side pot.
Also called shove, jam, push.
See also: Effective stack, Raise, Side pot
Every bet but one has a 5.26% house edge. The five-number bet is worse at 7.89%.
Also called double-zero roulette, American wheel.
See also: European roulette, Double zero, Basket
Many tables limit this with a no mid-shoe entry rule.
Also called wonging, wong in.
See also: Card counting, True count
Example: A Q on K 7 2 has a backdoor flush draw. Backdoor draws add only a few percent of equity but help a hand keep playing.
Also called runner-runner, backdoor.
See also: Flush draw, Draw, Equity
Banker wins slightly more often than player because it draws with knowledge of the player's third card; the commission offsets that.
Also called banco.
See also: Commission, Player bet, EZ Baccarat
Without the bar, the don't side would have an edge over the house. Some tables bar the 2 instead.
Also called barred 12.
See also: Don't pass, Push
Basic strategy uses only your cards and the upcard. It differs a little by rule set and number of decks.
Also called BS.
See also: Deviation, Upcard, House edge
It is the worst bet on the American wheel: its house edge is 7.89%, against 5.26% for every other bet there.
Also called top line, five-number bet, five number.
See also: American roulette, First four, House edge
Having one big blind already in the pot gives the BB a good price to defend, so it calls a wide range against late-position opens. The big blind is also the unit stacks and results are measured in.
Also called big blind, BB.
See also: SB, Big blind (unit), Blinds, Defend
A 200 stack in a 1/2 game is 100bb. Win rates are often given in big blinds per 100 hands, written bb/100.
Also called bb, big blinds, BB/100, bb/100.
See also: BB, Effective stack, Unit
A balanced strategy includes bluffs so that strong hands still get called. A pure bluff has little chance to win at showdown.
See also: Semi-bluff, Value bet, Blocker
Texture decides how many draws exist and how much hand strengths can change on later cards. A K 7 2 flop is dry; a J 10 9 flop is wet.
Also called texture.
See also: Dry board, Wet board, Monotone, Paired board
Because it is guaranteed position after the flop, the button opens one of the widest ranges at the table. The button marker moves one seat to the left after each hand.
Also called button, BTN, dealer, on the button.
See also: CO, In position, Position, Steal
A player who busts loses at once, even if the dealer later busts too. This is the main source of the house edge in blackjack.
Also called break, too many.
See also: Hit, Stiff hand, House edge
Whether buying beats placing depends on how the commission is charged. Where it is taken up front, buying is usually only better on the 4 and 10. FlopMAX charges it only on a win, which makes buying cheaper than placing on the 4, 5, 9 and 10 (the 5 and 9: 2.00% against 4.00%), but not on the 6 and 8 (2.27% against 1.52%).
Also called buy.
The preflop aggressor continues the betting. How often and how large to c-bet depends heavily on board texture and position.
Also called continuation bet, cbet.
See also: Delayed c-bet, Donk bet, Board texture
Many tens and aces left favor the player. Counting uses only what is visible at the table and is legal in most places, but casinos may limit a counter's bets or refuse their play. Using a device to help is illegal in many jurisdictions.
Also called counting.
See also: Running count, True count, Hi-Lo, Bet ramp
Unlike tournaments, there is no payout ladder, so chip expected value is the goal. Common table sizes are 6-max and 8 or 9 handed.
Also called ring game.
See also: No Limit Hold'em, Big blind (unit), Rake
See also: Bet, Check-raise
Example: J 10 on 9 8 2 has 15 outs: 9 hearts plus the 6 non-heart queens and sevens. Strong combo draws can be close to even money against a made hand.
See also: Flush draw, Open-ended straight draw, Semi-bluff
A pocket pair has 6 combos, a suited hand 4 and an offsuit hand 12, so AK has 16 in total. Cards on the board or in your hand remove combos from an opponent's range.
Also called combinations, hand combos.
See also: Range, Blocker, Pocket pair
On the come-out, 7 or 11 wins for the pass line, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number becomes the point.
Also called come out, come-out.
See also: Point, Natural (craps), Craps (roll), Pass line
Also called 5% commission, banker commission.
See also: Banker bet, Vig, Commission-free baccarat
One common version pays only half on a banker win with a total of 6. EZ Baccarat pushes banker wins with a three-card 7.
Also called no-commission baccarat, no commission.
See also: EZ Baccarat, Commission, Banker bet
A preflop flat call is often condensed: the best hands would have raised and the worst folded.
Also called condensed range.
See also: Capped range, Polarized, Range
Every graded decision on FlopMAX gets one of four levels: Correct, Mostly correct, Incorrect or Whiff.
Preflop, Correct is a play the reference ranges make with the hand at least half the time. Postflop, against an exact solve, it is a move within 1% of the pot of the best one, or any move the solve plays at least 10% of the time with the hand.
Also called correct play.
See also: Mostly correct, Incorrect, Whiff
DAS lowers the house edge slightly and makes splitting small pairs against weak dealer cards more attractive.
Also called double after split.
See also: Double down, Split
Fewer decks generally favor the blackjack player slightly when other rules are equal.
Also called pack.
See also: Shoe, Spanish 21
Defense is often measured as a frequency: how often a range continues against a given raise size.
Also called blind defense, defense.
See also: BB, Steal, Minimum defense frequency
Example: with Hi-Lo, standing on 16 against a ten once the true count reaches about 0 (FlopMAX's chart for its default rules, which rounds the true count down, puts it at +1). A list of the most valuable deviations is often called the Illustrious 18.
Also called index play, index, playing deviation.
See also: Basic strategy, True count, Hi-Lo
See also: Come bet, Don't pass
The name once implied a weak play, but leads are part of many theoretical strategies on some boards.
Also called donk, lead.
See also: C-bet, Out of position, Probe bet
Doubling is strongest when you are likely to finish with a good total and the dealer is weak, such as 11 against a 6. Some tables limit doubling to totals of 9 to 11 or 10 to 11.
Also called double, DD.
See also: DAS, Hit, Basic strategy
See also: EZ Baccarat, Panda 8, Side bet
Example: K 7 2 . Rainbow suits and unconnected ranks make it hard for a hand to improve dramatically.
Also called static board.
See also: Wet board, Rainbow, Board texture
Because you can escape a dealer ten or ace before a natural is revealed, early surrender is worth much more to the player than late surrender. It is rarely offered.
Also called ES.
See also: Surrender, Late surrender
In casino games the house usually holds the edge. In poker, edge is your expected win rate against the other players after rake.
Also called advantage, player edge.
See also: House edge, Expected value
If you have 200 big blinds and your opponent has 80, the effective stack is 80 big blinds.
Also called effective stacks, eff.
See also: SPR, Big blind (unit), All-in
If the next spin wins, the bet is returned without a payout. The effect is close to la partage, about 1.35% on a single-zero wheel.
See also: La partage, European roulette
Under ENHC a dealer natural can also take money you added by doubling or splitting, unless the table returns it. Basic strategy is more cautious against a ten or ace, for example not doubling 11 against a ten.
Also called European no hole card, no hole card.
See also: Peek, Hole card, Basic strategy
Equity is measured against a hand or a range. A K has about 46% equity against Q Q preflop. Equity is not the same as expected value, since betting still to come can change who wins.
Also called pot equity.
See also: Pot odds, Range, Expected value, Equity realization
Hands in position and hands that make strong holdings realize more; out-of-position or dominated hands often realize less because they fold before showdown.
Also called realization, EQR.
See also: Equity, In position, Out of position
Every bet has a 2.70% house edge, about half the American figure. Some tables add la partage or en prison on even-money bets.
Also called single-zero roulette, European wheel.
See also: American roulette, Single zero, La partage
Even money is the same as insuring your blackjack, and for a basic strategy player it costs more on average than playing the hand out.
See also: Insurance, Natural (blackjack)
EV weighs each outcome by its probability. In poker it compares choices: the higher-EV play is better even if it loses this time. In casino games every bet has negative EV equal to its house edge, and the right play is the one that loses least.
Also called EV.
See also: House edge, Variance, Long run
With that rule the banker bet's house edge is about 1.02%. The variant is often paired with the Dragon 7 and Panda 8 side bets.
Also called EZ.
See also: Commission-free baccarat, Dragon 7, Panda 8
Other field numbers pay even money, and 5, 6, 7 and 8 lose. With 2 and 12 both paying 2 to 1 the house edge is about 5.56%; tables that pay 3 to 1 on one of them, as FlopMAX's settings can, cost less (about 2.78%).
Also called field bet.
See also: One-roll bet, Proposition bet
Example: a K 8 3 flop. Most of a hand's strategic character is set here, which is why board texture is described by the flop.
See also: Turn, Board texture, Street
See also: Flush draw, Straight, Hand rankings
Example: A 5 on K 9 2 is the nut flush draw. On the flop it completes by the river about 35% of the time.
Also called FD.
See also: Flush, Combo draw, Outs, Backdoor draw
A GTO strategy is unexploitable in theory but is not designed to take the most from mistakes. For full Hold'em it can only be approximated, and solver outputs depend on the bet sizes and inputs they are given.
Also called game theory optimal, equilibrium strategy, Nash equilibrium.
See also: Solver, Exploit, Mixed strategy
Example: 10 9 on Q 8 3 , where only a J makes the straight.
Also called inside straight draw, belly buster.
See also: Open-ended straight draw, Straight, Outs
H17 adds about 0.2% to the house edge compared with S17, and changes a few basic strategy plays.
Also called dealer hits soft 17.
See also: S17, Soft total, House edge
From weakest to strongest: high card, one pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush. Suits never break ties in Hold'em.
Also called hand rank, hand order.
See also: Kicker, Straight, Flush, Full house
A 7 and an 8 make 15, which counts as 5. The best total is 9.
Also called baccarat totals, point count.
See also: Natural (baccarat), Tableau
A hard 16 such as 10-6 can bust with one card. Compare a soft total, which cannot.
Also called hard hand, hard.
See also: Soft total, Bust, Basic strategy
Hard 6 or 8 pays 9 to 1 (9.09%); hard 4 or 10 pays 7 to 1 (11.11%).
Also called hard way, hard 4, hard 6, hard 8, hard 10.
See also: Easy way, Proposition bet
Hi-Lo is the most widely taught count. Because it is balanced, the running count must be converted to a true count.
Also called high-low count, plus-minus.
See also: KO, Omega II, True count
A combination two ways (2-4) typically pays 15 to 1, and a pair (3-3) typically pays 30 to 1.
Also called hop, on the hop.
See also: Proposition bet, Dice combinations
The 2 and 12 parts pay 30 to 1 and the 3 and 11 parts pay 15 to 1; the other three parts lose.
Also called horn bet.
See also: Proposition bet, Yo, Hop bet
A 1.41% house edge means an average cost of 1.41 per 100 bet. It says nothing about any one session, only about the average.
Also called HE, casino advantage.
See also: Expected value, Return to player, True odds
Implied odds let a draw call when pot odds alone are too short, as long as you expect to get paid when you hit. Reverse implied odds are the opposite: a hand that loses more when it is second best.
Also called IO.
See also: Pot odds, Suited connector, Draw
The player in position sees the opponent's action before choosing, can check behind to see a free card, and controls the final pot size on the river.
Also called IP.
See also: Out of position, Position, BTN
Postflop, it means giving up between 5% and 20% of the pot.
See also: Mostly correct, Whiff, Correct
Inside bets pay more and hit less often than outside bets, but on a single-zero or double-zero wheel most carry the same house edge.
Also called inside bets.
See also: Outside bet, Straight up, Split (roulette), Corner
Insurance costs up to half the original bet. Without information about the remaining cards it costs more on average than it returns. Card counters take it when the count shows many tens left, classically at a Hi-Lo true count of +3 or higher.
See also: Even money, True count, Upcard
Iso raises are usually larger than a standard open, adding about one big blind per limper.
Also called iso, iso-raise, isolation.
See also: Limp, Heads-up, Open raise
On A 8 4 2 3 , A K beats A 9 : both have a pair of aces, and the king outkicks the nine.
Also called side card.
See also: Top pair, Trips, Hand rankings
Because it is unbalanced, KO is used with the running count directly, with no true count conversion.
Also called Knock-Out, KO count.
See also: Hi-Lo, Running count
On a single-zero wheel it lowers the house edge on even-money bets to about 1.35%. Some American tables offer a similar rule on 0 and 00.
Also called partage, surrender (roulette).
See also: En prison, European roulette
If the dealer has a natural you lose the full bet; otherwise you may give up half. It lowers the house edge slightly when used correctly.
Also called LS.
See also: Surrender, Early surrender, Peek
The don't bettor risks more to win less: lay 2 to win 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to win 2 on 5 or 9, 6 to win 5 on 6 or 8.
Also called laying odds.
See also: Odds, Don't pass, True odds
Limping first in is uncommon in modern cash-game strategy because it gives up the chance to win the blinds right away. Raising after one or more limpers is an isolation raise.
Also called open limp, limp in.
See also: Open raise, Isolation raise, Call
On an 8-max table the order is UTG, UTG+1, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB; 9-handed, a middle position (MP) comes between UTG+1 and LJ. The lojack is a middle position; at 6-max it does not exist, and the first seat to act is called UTG.
Also called lojack, LJ, low jack.
See also: HJ, UTG+1, Position, Middle position
The long run is far longer than most people expect, often tens or hundreds of thousands of hands or rounds.
See also: Expected value, Sample size, Variance
A natural beats any other 21. It usually pays 3 to 2; some tables pay only 6 to 5. If the dealer also has a natural, the hand is a push.
Also called blackjack, natural, snapper.
See also: 3:2 payout, 6:5 payout, Push
Players make the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the board. FlopMAX trains cash games, where chips are worth their face value and players can leave or reload at any time.
Also called NLHE, NL, Texas Hold'em, holdem.
See also: Hole cards, Board, Street, Cash game
On J 10 4 2 the nuts is the ace-high flush. The nut flush draw is a draw to that hand. Holding the nuts on the turn does not guarantee the nuts on the river.
Also called the nuts, nut hand, nut.
See also: Blocker, Flush draw, Showdown
Pays 2 to 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on 6 or 8. It lowers the combined house edge because part of the money carries none.
Also called free odds, take odds, taking odds.
See also: Lay odds, 3-4-5x odds, True odds
FlopMAX calls this RFI, for raise first in. A spot labeled "BTN RFI vs BB Call" means the button opened, everyone else folded, and the big blind called. Open sizes are usually 2 to 3 big blinds, a little larger from the small blind.
Also called RFI, raise first in, open, opening raise.
The small blind is out of position against every other seat postflop, and the big blind against all but the small blind. Out-of-position players must act with less information, which is one reason preflop ranges from the blinds differ from the button's.
Also called OOP.
See also: In position, SB, BB
Red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozens and columns are outside bets. A zero makes all of them lose, unless a la partage or en prison rule covers even-money bets.
Also called outside bets.
See also: Inside bet, Red/black, Dozen, Column
Example: 8 8 3 . Few hands connect strongly with a paired flop, so most ranges miss it, and trips or a full house usually decides the big pots.
See also: Trips, Full house, Board texture
See also: EZ Baccarat, Dragon 7, Side bet
Pays even money. Once a point is set it is a contract bet and cannot be taken down.
Also called pass, do side.
See also: Don't pass, Odds, Come-out roll
With a peek, a dealer natural ends the hand at once and you lose only the original bet, never doubles or splits.
Also called dealer peek, check for blackjack.
See also: Hole card, ENHC, Late surrender
If the cut card sits 1.5 decks from the end of a 6-deck shoe, penetration is 75%. Deeper penetration makes the count more informative.
Also called pen, deck penetration.
See also: Shoe, Cut card, True count
PFR is always at or below VPIP. A large gap between the two means a player calls a lot preflop.
Also called preflop raise.
See also: VPIP, Open raise
Place 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6 (1.52%), place 5 or 9 pays 7 to 5 (4.00%), place 4 or 10 pays 9 to 5 (6.67%).
Also called place.
See also: Buy bet, Lay bet, Big 6 / Big 8
With 8 decks and an 11 to 1 payout each has a house edge of about 10.4%.
Also called player pair, banker pair, pair bet.
See also: Side bet, Player bet, Banker bet
Acting later is an advantage: you see what others do before you decide. Seats are grouped as early (UTG, UTG+1), middle (LJ, HJ), late (CO, BTN) and the blinds (SB, BB).
Also called table position, seat.
See also: In position, Out of position, BTN
Facing a 50 bet into a 100 pot, you call 50 to win a final pot of 200, so you need 25% equity to break even.
See also: Equity, Implied odds, Minimum defense frequency
Off side up means the next roll is a come-out; on side up on a number marks the point.
Also called on/off button, marker.
See also: Point, Come-out roll
All drawing is fixed by the tableau, so the only choice is which bet to make.
Also called baccarat, American baccarat.
See also: Player bet, Banker bet, Tie bet, Tableau
In No Limit a raise must add at least as much as the previous bet or raise added, and can be as large as your whole stack.
Also called bump.
See also: Bet, 3-bet, Check-raise, All-in
Rake reduces every player's results and makes small edges smaller, which favors tighter preflop play in high-rake games.
See also: Big blind (unit), Expected value
Thinking in ranges instead of single hands is the core of modern strategy: you decide what to do with each hand as part of how your whole range plays the spot.
Also called hand range.
See also: Combos, Polarized, Linear, Capped range
Eighteen numbers are red and eighteen black; the zeros are green and make the bet lose.
Also called red or black, color bet.
See also: Odd/even, High/low, Outside bet
Also called RTP, payback.
See also: House edge, Expected value
The terms carry no judgment: the don't side has a slightly lower house edge.
Also called do bettor, don't bettor, right bettor, wrong bettor.
See also: Pass line, Don't pass
The small blind acts second to last preflop and first after the flop, so it is out of position against everyone except the big blind. Many strategies from the SB favor raising or folding over flatting.
Also called small blind, SB.
See also: BB, Blinds, Out of position
Each coup is almost independent of the last; no streak or pattern on the board predicts the next result, and the house edge on every bet stays the same.
Also called road, big road, bead plate, roadmap.
See also: Coup, Gambler's fallacy
A semi-bluff can win two ways: the opponent folds, or the draw completes.
See also: Bluff, Draw, Fold equity
Example: 7 7 on a K 7 2 flop. A set is well hidden because the pair is in your hand; compare trips, which uses a pair on the board.
See also: Trips, Pocket pair, Full house
Blackjack shoes commonly hold 6 or 8 decks; punto banco uses an 8-deck shoe.
Also called dealing shoe.
See also: Deck, Cut card, Penetration
See also: River, Showdown value, Nuts
Side bets usually carry a much higher house edge than the main game.
Also called side bets.
See also: House edge, Insurance, Player pair / Banker pair
Ace-6 is soft 17. A soft hand cannot bust on the next card, because the ace can drop back to 1.
Also called soft hand, soft.
See also: Hard total, H17, Double down
A solver needs inputs: starting ranges, stack sizes and the bet sizes allowed. Its output is only as good as those inputs and how far it was run toward convergence.
See also: GTO, Mixed strategy, Frequency
Removing the 10s hurts the player, so the game adds player-friendly rules such as a player 21 always winning and late surrender. Basic strategy differs from standard blackjack.
See also: Deck, Basic strategy, Late surrender
Always splitting aces and eights and never splitting tens or fives are well-known parts of basic strategy. Split aces usually receive only one card each.
Also called splitting, split pairs.
See also: Resplit aces, DAS, Basic strategy
FlopMAX labels spots by the preflop action, such as "BTN RFI vs BB Call": the button opened and the big blind called.
Also called node, situation.
See also: Open raise, Position, Range
With 90 behind and 30 in the pot, the SPR is 3. A low SPR means stacks can go in with fewer bets; a high SPR leaves more room for maneuvering.
Also called stack-to-pot ratio.
See also: Effective stack, Pot commitment, Pot
The squeeze uses the dead money from the callers and the fact that a caller's range is often capped. Squeeze sizes are typically larger than a plain 3-bet to account for the extra players.
Also called squeeze play.
See also: 3-bet, Cold call, Capped range
It is pure ceremony: it has no effect on the result.
Also called squeezing, peel.
See also: Coup, Punto banco
Raises from the cutoff, button and small blind are often called steals because so many hands in those ranges profit just from the times everyone folds.
Also called blind steal, steal attempt.
See also: Open raise, BTN, Defend
The ace plays high or low: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight and T-J-Q-K-A the highest.
See also: Flush, Open-ended straight draw, Gutshot, Hand rankings
Each suited hand has 4 combos. Suitedness adds a few percent of equity and the chance to make flushes.
Also called s.
See also: Offsuit, Combos, Suited connector
Suited connectors rarely flop a made hand but make straights and flushes that are hard to see coming.
Also called suited connectors, SC.
See also: Suited, Implied odds, Draw
Most surrender offered today is late surrender. Basic strategy uses it in only a few spots, such as hard 16 against a dealer 9, ten or ace.
Also called give up half.
See also: Late surrender, Early surrender
If either hand has a natural, both stand. Otherwise the player draws on 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7. If the player stood, the banker draws on 0 to 5. If the player drew, the banker's action depends on its total and the player's third card.
Nobody at the table makes these decisions; the dealer applies them.
Also called third-card rules, drawing rules.
See also: Natural (baccarat), Banker bet, Punto banco
A tie happens on about one coup in eleven (9.5%). On a tie, player and banker bets push.
Also called egalite.
See also: Player bet, Banker bet, Push
Example: K 7 on a 7 7 2 flop. Trips are easier for opponents to suspect than a set, and the kicker matters when both players hold the trip card.
Also called three of a kind.
See also: Set, Kicker, Paired board
A running count of +6 with 3 decks left is a true count of +2. With a balanced count, each point of true count shifts the edge by roughly half a percent.
Also called TC.
See also: Running count, Deviation, Bet ramp
A 7 in craps rolls 6 ways of 36, true odds 5 to 1. Any 7 pays 4 to 1; the gap is the house edge.
Also called actual odds.
See also: Payout odds, House edge, Odds
See also: Top pair, Hand rankings, Set
UTG acts first before the flop and is out of position against most of the table after it, so opening ranges from this seat are the tightest. At a 6-max table UTG is followed by HJ, CO, BTN, SB and BB; at 8-max, UTG+1 and LJ sit between UTG and HJ.
Also called under the gun, UTG.
See also: UTG+1, Position, Open raise
A thin value bet is one that only just gets called by enough worse hands to be worth it.
Also called bet for value.
See also: Bluff, Merged, Showdown value
High variance means big swings in both directions. Correct decisions can still produce losing sessions.
Also called swings.
See also: Standard deviation, Expected value, Risk of ruin
Example: 9 8 6 . Connected ranks and two or more cards of one suit give many straight and flush draws.
Also called dynamic board, coordinated board.
See also: Dry board, Two-tone, Board texture
Postflop, it means giving up more than 20% of the pot. Preflop, it is a play the reference makes rarely (under 10% of the time) or never, in a spot that is not a close decision. In blackjack, it means giving up more than 10% of the bet.
See also: Incorrect, Correct, Mostly correct
Called yo so it is not misheard as seven.
Also called eleven, yo-leven, 11.
See also: Horn, Natural (craps)