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Poker glossary

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A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W #

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3-bet The first reraise preflop, made over an open raise.

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
4-bet A reraise over a 3-bet.

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
5-bet A reraise over a 4-bet, usually all-in at 100 big blinds or less.

Also called five-bet, 5bet.

See also: 4-bet, All-in, 3-bet

A

All-in Putting your entire remaining stack into the pot.

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

B

Backdoor draw A draw that needs both the turn and the river to complete.

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
Bankroll The money set aside for play, separate from everyday money.

Also called roll.

See also: Risk of ruin, Variance, Unit
BB Big blind: the full forced bet posted by the seat two left of the button, and the last seat to act preflop.

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
Bet To put chips in when no one has yet bet on the current street.

Bets are usually described as a fraction of the pot, such as one third pot or pot size, so that sizes compare across pot sizes.

See also: Raise, Check, Overbet
Big blind (unit) Stacks, bets and results measured in big blinds so they compare across stakes.

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
Blinds The forced bets posted by the two seats left of the button before cards are dealt.

Blinds create something to fight over. In a 1/2 game the small blind is 1 and the big blind is 2.

Also called forced bets.

See also: SB, BB, Straddle
Blocker A card in your hand that makes certain opponent hands less likely because you hold one of the cards they need.

With A 5 on K 9 4 2 , your ace of spades means no opponent can hold the nut flush. Blockers are often used to choose which hands to bluff with.

Also called blockers, card removal, removal.

See also: Combos, Nuts, Bluff
Bluff A bet or raise with a hand that wins mostly when opponents fold.

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
Board The face-up community cards that every player can use.

Also called community cards.

See also: Board texture, Flop
Board texture How the community cards relate to each other: how paired, suited and connected they are.

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
Broadway The five highest ranks, T through A, or a hand made only of them.

Hands like KQ or AJ are called broadway hands. The ace-high straight T-J-Q-K-A is also called Broadway.

Also called broadways, broadway cards.

See also: Straight, Suited, Offsuit
BTN Button: the dealer seat, which acts last on the flop, turn and river.

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
Burn card A card discarded unseen, after a shuffle or before dealing.

Also called burn.

See also: Shoe, Cut card

C

C-bet A bet on the flop by the player who made the last raise preflop.

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
Call To match the current bet and stay in the hand.

A call closes the action when everyone else has acted. A call preflop with no raise in front is a limp; a call of a raise made by someone else, with no prior money in, is a cold call.

Also called flat, flat call, smooth call.

See also: Raise, Cold call, Limp
Capped range A range that rarely or never contains the strongest possible hands.

A player who only calls preflop is often capped, because the very best hands would usually have 3-bet.

Also called capped.

See also: Condensed, Range, Squeeze
Cash game A poker game where chips represent fixed value and the blinds stay the same.

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
Check To pass the action without betting when no bet has been made on the current street.

See also: Bet, Check-raise
Check-raise Checking, then raising after an opponent bets on the same street.

Also called x/r, check raise.

See also: Raise, Check, Out of position
CO Cutoff: the seat directly right of the button.

The cutoff is a late position with only the button and blinds behind it, so it opens a wide range. If the button folds, the cutoff will be in position for the rest of the hand against either blind.

Also called cutoff, CO, cut-off.

See also: BTN, HJ, Position
Cold 4-bet A 4-bet by a player who has not yet entered the pot, made over an open and a 3-bet.

Because the cold 4-bettor faces two players who have both shown strength, this range is usually very tight.

Also called cold four-bet.

See also: 4-bet, 3-bet, Cold call
Cold call Calling a raise when you have not yet put any money into the pot on that street.

A call from the big blind is not a cold call, because the blind is already in. Cold calling an open from a middle seat invites squeezes from players behind.

Also called flat a raise.

See also: Call, Squeeze, 3-bet
Combo draw A hand with two draws at once, typically a flush draw plus a straight draw.

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
Combos The specific suit combinations of a hand; there are 1,326 two-card combos in a deck.

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
Condensed A range made mostly of medium-strength hands, with the strongest and weakest removed.

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

D

Defend To continue with a call or reraise rather than fold, especially from the blinds against an open.

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
Delayed c-bet A bet on the turn by the preflop raiser after they checked the flop.

Also called delayed continuation bet.

See also: C-bet, Probe bet
Donk bet A bet by an out-of-position player into the preflop raiser before the raiser can act.

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
Draw A hand that is not yet strong but can improve to a strong hand on a later card.

Also called drawing hand.

See also: Outs, Flush draw, Open-ended straight draw, Semi-bluff
Dry board A board with few draws, where hand strengths rarely change on later streets.

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

E

Edge The average advantage one side holds, as a percentage of the money at risk.

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
Effective stack The smaller of the stacks between two players, the most either can win or lose against the other.

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
Equity Your share of the pot if all remaining cards were dealt out with no more betting, given as a percentage.

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
Equity realization How much of a hand's raw equity it actually turns into winnings once betting is considered.

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
Expected value The average result of a decision if it were repeated many times.

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
Exploit A deliberate departure from a balanced strategy to take advantage of an opponent's mistakes.

Exploiting gains more against the targeted mistake but opens you to counter-exploitation if your read is wrong.

Also called exploitative play, exploitative.

See also: GTO, Range

F

Float Calling a bet, often in position, with a weak hand planning to take the pot on a later street.

Also called floating.

See also: In position, Bluff, C-bet
Flop The first three community cards, dealt face up together, and the betting round that follows.

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
Flush Five cards of the same suit.

See also: Flush draw, Straight, Hand rankings
Flush draw Four cards of one suit, needing one more to make a flush; 9 outs.

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
Fold To give up the hand and any claim to the pot rather than match a bet.

Folding costs nothing beyond what is already in the pot. It is often the best play: a fold that saves a losing call is worth as much as a winning bet.

Also called muck, give up.

See also: Call, Raise
Fold equity The value a bet or raise gains from the chance that opponents fold.

Also called FE.

See also: Semi-bluff, Bluff, Equity
Frequency How often a range or a hand takes a given action in a spot, as a percentage.

Also called action frequency.

See also: Mixed strategy, Range
Full house Three of a kind plus a pair.

Also called boat, full boat.

See also: Set, Trips, Hand rankings

G

GTO A strategy at equilibrium, where no opponent can gain by changing how they play against it.

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
Gutshot A straight draw that only one rank completes; 4 outs.

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

H

Hand rankings The order of five-card poker hands from high card up to straight flush.

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
Heads-up A pot or game contested by exactly two players.

Also called HU.

See also: Multiway, Isolation raise
HJ Hijack: the seat directly right of the cutoff, two seats right of the button.

The hijack is the last of the middle positions. Its opening range is wider than the early seats because only the cutoff, button and blinds are left to act.

Also called hijack, HJ.

See also: CO, LJ, Position
Hole cards The two private cards dealt face down to each player in Hold'em.

Also called hand, starting hand, pocket cards.

See also: Pocket pair, Suited, Offsuit

I

Implied odds The extra amount a hand expects to win on later streets when it improves.

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
In position Acting after your opponent on the current and later streets of the hand.

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
Isolation raise A raise over one or more limpers, aiming to play the pot heads-up against them.

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

K

Kicker The highest unpaired card that decides between two otherwise equal hands.

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

L

Limp Calling the big blind preflop instead of raising when no one has raised yet.

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
Linear A range made of the strongest hands down to a cutoff, with no weaker bluffs mixed in.

A linear 3-bet range might be every hand from the top down to a certain strength.

Also called linear range, depolarized.

See also: Polarized, Merged, Range
LJ Lojack: the seat directly right of the hijack, three seats right of the button.

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
Long run The very large number of trials over which average results approach expected value.

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

M

Merged A range that bets strong and medium hands together, often used for thin value against wide calling ranges.

The word is used loosely: some players treat merged and linear as the same thing.

Also called merged range.

See also: Linear, Polarized, Value bet
Middle position The seats between the early positions and the cutoff; on a 9-handed table, the seat called MP.

9-handed, the order is UTG, UTG+1, MP, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB. Middle positions open wider than the early seats and tighter than the cutoff and button.

Also called MP, middle.

See also: LJ, HJ, UTG+1
Minimum defense frequency How often a player must continue against a bet so that a pure bluff does not profit right away.

MDF equals pot divided by pot plus bet. Against a pot-size bet it is 50%; against a half-pot bet it is about 67%. It is a theoretical reference, not a rule to follow in every spot.

Also called MDF.

See also: Pot odds, Defend, Bluff
Mixed strategy Playing the same hand in the same spot in more than one way, each a set share of the time.

For example, a hand might raise 60% and call 40%. When an equilibrium mixes two actions, both have about the same expected value in that spot.

Also called mixing, mix.

See also: Frequency, GTO, Solver
Monotone A flop with all three cards of the same suit.

Example: K 9 4 . Anyone holding two of that suit already has a flush, and a single card of the suit is a flush draw.

See also: Two-tone, Rainbow, Flush
Multiway A pot with three or more players.

Bluffs work less often multiway because more players must fold.

Also called multiway pot.

See also: Heads-up, Squeeze

N

No Limit Hold'em A poker game with two private cards, five shared cards, and bets that can be any size up to a whole stack.

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
Nuts The best possible hand given the current board.

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

O

Offsuit Two hole cards of different suits, written with an o, as in AKo.

Each offsuit hand has 12 combos, three times as many as the suited version.

Also called o.

See also: Suited, Combos
Open raise The first voluntary raise preflop when everyone before you has folded.

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.

See also: 3-bet, Limp, Steal, Position
Open-ended straight draw Four consecutive ranks that a card at either end completes; 8 outs.

Example: 9 8 on 7 6 2 , where any 5 or T makes a straight.

Also called OESD, open ender, up and down.

See also: Gutshot, Straight, Outs
Out of position Having to act before your opponent on each street after the flop.

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
Outs The unseen cards that would improve your hand to the likely winner.

A rough rule: with two cards to come, multiply outs by 4 for your approximate percent equity; with one card to come, multiply by 2. Discount outs that also improve an opponent.

Also called out.

See also: Draw, Equity, Pot odds
Overbet A bet larger than the current pot.

Overbets usually come from polarized ranges and put a lot of pressure on medium-strength hands.

See also: Polarized, Bet
Overcard A card higher than any card on the board, or higher than a player's pair.

With A K on a 9 6 2 flop you hold two overcards, about 6 outs to make top pair.

Also called overcards.

See also: Outs, Top pair
Overpair A pocket pair higher than every card on the board.

Example: Q Q on a 10 7 3 flop.

See also: Pocket pair, Top pair, Set

P

Paired board A board on which two community cards share a rank.

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
PFR The percentage of hands in which a player raises preflop.

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
Pocket pair Two hole cards of the same rank.

Each pocket pair has 6 combos. Small pairs often rely on flopping a set, which happens about 12% of the time.

Also called pair, pocket pairs.

See also: Set, Overpair, Combos
Polarized A range made of strong hands and bluffs, with few medium-strength hands.

Large bets and overbets usually come from polarized ranges because medium hands do not want to grow the pot that much.

Also called polar, polarized range.

See also: Linear, Merged, Condensed, Overbet
Position Where a player sits relative to the button, which decides the order of action on every street.

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
Pot The chips bet so far in a hand, won by the last remaining player or the best hand at showdown.

See also: Side pot, Pot odds, Showdown
Pot commitment A point where so much of a stack is already in the pot that folding to a final bet would be a mistake for most of a range.

Also called pot committed, committed.

See also: SPR, All-in, Pot odds
Pot odds The ratio of the current pot to the cost of a call, which sets the equity a call needs.

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
Preflop The first betting round, after hole cards are dealt and before any community cards.

Also called pre.

See also: Flop, Open raise, Street
Probability How likely an outcome is, from 0 (never) to 1 (certain), often written as a percentage.

Probability and odds describe the same thing differently: a 25% chance is 3 to 1 against.

Also called chance.

See also: True odds, Expected value
Probe bet An out-of-position bet on the turn after the in-position preflop raiser checked behind on the flop.

Also called probe.

See also: Delayed c-bet, Donk bet, C-bet

R

Rainbow A flop with three different suits, so no flush draw is possible yet.

Example: A 9 4 .

See also: Two-tone, Monotone, Board texture
Raise To increase the size of the current bet, forcing others to put in more to continue.

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 The fee a card room takes from each pot, usually a percentage up to a cap.

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
Range The full set of hands a player could hold in a given spot, often with how often each is played.

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
Risk of ruin The chance of losing an entire bankroll before reaching a goal or the long run.

It rises with variance and bet size relative to bankroll, and is certain over time for any negative-EV game played without end.

Also called RoR.

See also: Bankroll, Variance
River The fifth and final community card and the last betting round.

On the river there are no more cards to come, so draws either got there or missed and every hand has a fixed value.

Also called fifth street.

See also: Turn, Showdown, Street

S

Sample size The number of hands, rolls or spins in a set of results.

Small samples are dominated by variance; they say little about whether a strategy is good.

See also: Long run, Standard deviation
SB Small blind: the forced bet, usually half a big blind, posted by the seat left of the button.

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
Semi-bluff A bet or raise with a draw that is behind now but can improve.

A semi-bluff can win two ways: the opponent folds, or the draw completes.

See also: Bluff, Draw, Fold equity
Set Three of a kind made with a pocket pair and one matching board card.

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
Showdown The point after the river betting where remaining players show their hands to decide the pot.

See also: River, Showdown value, Nuts
Showdown value A hand strong enough that it may win when cards are turned over without further betting.

Also called SDV.

See also: Showdown, Value bet
Side pot A separate pot for bets that an all-in player cannot match.

See also: All-in, Pot
Solver Software that computes approximate equilibrium strategies for a defined poker spot.

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
Spot A specific decision point defined by positions, prior action, stacks and board.

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
SPR Stack-to-pot ratio: the effective stack divided by the pot at the start of a street, usually the flop.

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
Squeeze A 3-bet made after an open raise and one or more callers.

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
Standard deviation The square root of variance, in the same units as the results.

Over many trials, results land within about two standard deviations of the expectation roughly 95% of the time.

Also called SD, std dev.

See also: Variance, Sample size
Steal An open raise from a late seat that aims mostly to win the blinds uncontested.

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
Straddle An optional blind raise, usually two big blinds, posted by UTG before the cards are dealt.

A straddle effectively doubles the stakes for that hand and makes stacks shallower in big blind terms. Many games do not allow it.

See also: Blinds, UTG
Straight Five cards of consecutive rank, of any suits.

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
Street One of the four betting rounds in Hold'em: preflop, flop, turn and river.

Also called betting round.

See also: Preflop, Flop, Turn, River
Suited Two hole cards of the same suit, written with an s, as in AKs.

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 connector Two suited hole cards of adjacent rank, such as [8h 7h].

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

T

Top pair A pair made with the highest card on the board.

With A J on a J 7 2 flop you have top pair with an ace kicker.

Also called TP.

See also: Overpair, Kicker, Two pair
Trips Three of a kind made with one hole card and a pair on the board.

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
Turn The fourth community card and the betting round that follows.

Also called fourth street.

See also: Flop, River, Street
Two pair A hand containing two different pairs.

See also: Top pair, Hand rankings, Set
Two-tone A flop with two cards of the same suit, so flush draws are possible.

Example: Q 8 3 .

Also called two-flush.

See also: Rainbow, Monotone, Flush draw

U

Unit A standard bet size used to measure bets and results independently of stakes.

Also called betting unit.

See also: Bankroll, Bet ramp, Big blind (unit)
UTG Under the gun: the first seat to act preflop, directly left of the big blind.

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
UTG+1 The seat directly left of UTG, used on 8-max and larger tables.

UTG+1 is still an early position: many players remain to act behind, so opening ranges stay tight. On a 6-max table this seat does not exist.

Also called UTG1, under the gun plus one.

See also: UTG, LJ, Position

V

Value bet A bet made hoping to be called by worse hands.

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
Variance How widely actual results spread around the expected 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
VPIP The percentage of hands in which a player voluntarily puts money in preflop.

Posting a blind does not count; calling, limping or raising does.

Also called voluntarily put money in pot.

See also: PFR, Range

W

Wet board A board with many possible draws, where the best hand often changes on later streets.

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