Poker glossary

Every term you'll hear at a Texas Hold'em table, defined in plain English — no jargon explained with more jargon. These are the same zero-knowledge definitions Cardamoo's in-game lessons teach, one tap at a time.

The table & the deal

Hand

One round of play, from dealing the cards to someone winning the pot. Your "hand" also means your cards — the best five-card combination you can make.

Chips

The tokens you bet and win with. In Cardamoo, chips are for play only — they never have real-world value.

Hole cards

Your two secret cards. Only you can see them, and only you can use them.

Community cards

Shared cards dealt face-up in the middle. Everyone can use them to build their best hand.

Board

What players call the community cards as a group — "the board" is whatever is face-up on the table right now.

Flop

The first three community cards, dealt together face-up in the middle.

Turn

The fourth community card, dealt after the flop.

River

The fifth and final community card. After the river, no more cards are coming.

Showdown

The end of the hand. Everyone still in shows their cards, and the best five-card hand wins the pot.

Pot

The pile of chips in the middle of the table. The winner of the hand takes it all.

Dealer button

The D marker. It moves one seat around the table every hand, and the player on it acts last after the flop — the best seat in the game. See position.

Small blind

A small forced bet paid by the seat after the dealer button, before any cards are dealt. See blinds.

Big blind

A bigger forced bet — usually double the small blind — paid by the next seat along. It sets the price of entry for the hand.

Position

Where you sit compared to the dealer button. Acting after other players means you decide with more information.

Suit

The symbol on a card: spades ♠, hearts ♥, diamonds ♦, or clubs ♣. Every card has exactly one.

Orbit

One full lap of the dealer button around the table — every player posts each blind exactly once per orbit.

Buy-in

The chips you bring to the table when you sit down.

Stack

The chips you have in front of you at the table. Players often measure stacks in big blinds rather than raw chips.

Heads-up

A pot — or a whole game — with only two players left in it.

The actions

Check

Pass your turn without putting in chips. You can only check when nobody has bet in the current round.

Bet

Put chips into the pot when nobody else has this round. Everyone must at least match it to stay in.

Call

Match the chips someone else has bet, so you stay in the hand.

Raise

Bet more on top of someone else's bet. Everyone must match your new amount to stay in the hand.

Fold

Give up the hand. You lose the chips you already put in, but nothing more. See when to fold.

All-in

Betting every chip you have. You can't be forced out of the hand after this, but you can't win more from each player than you put in.

Check-raise

Checking first, then raising after someone behind you bets — a classic trap with a strong hand.

Muck

To throw your cards away without showing them — folded cards go "into the muck".

The hands

High card

No pair, no combination — your hand is only as good as its single highest card. The weakest kind of hand.

Pair

Two cards of the same value, like two kings.

Two pair

Two different pairs, like two kings and two nines.

Three of a kind

Three cards of the same value.

Straight

Five card values in a row, like 5-6-7-8-9. The suits can be mixed.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit — all hearts ♥, for example.

Full house

Three of a kind plus a pair, in one hand.

Four of a kind

All four cards of one value.

Straight flush

Five values in a row, all of the same suit.

Royal flush

The best possible hand: 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all in one suit. See the full hand rankings.

Kicker

The highest card riding along with your made hand — when two players hold the same pair, the better kicker decides it.

Split pot

When the best hands are exactly equal, the pot is divided evenly between them.

Side pot

A separate pot created when someone is all-in — players with chips left keep betting into the side pot, which the all-in player can't win.

Table talk & strategy

Draw

A hand that is not complete yet — but one more card could turn it into something strong. See draws and outs.

Flush draw

Four cards of one suit. One more card of that suit makes a flush.

Straight draw

Four card values in a row. One more connecting card makes a straight.

Outs

The cards still hidden in the deck that would complete your draw.

Value bet

A bet made with a strong hand, hoping a weaker hand pays you off. See bet sizing.

Bluff

A bet made with a weak hand, meant to make better hands fold. See how to bluff.

Monster

Player slang for a very strong hand — one that is almost never beaten.

Learn the words at the table

Inside Cardamoo's lessons, every one of these terms is tappable the moment it appears — a plain definition right where you're reading, then the concept played out in a real hand.

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