Basic Terms

In order to understand a game at the most basic level you have to learn some of the common terms. Like many games, Texas holdem players use a specialized language with terms that aren't used in normal conversation or terms that mean something different than you're used to.
Here's a list of common terms used at the Texas holdem table.

• Hole CardsThe two cards dealt face down to each player. Your two card starting hand is your hole cards.
• Burn CardThe dealer places a card in the discard pile, also called the muck, before dealing the flop, turn, and river. This card is called a burn card. The phrase burn and turn refers to burning a card and turning over the next community card.
• Community CardsThe community cards are cards placed face up in the center of the poker table. These cards are used in combination with your hole cards to make the best possible five card poker hand. Every player uses the community cards. The community cards are made up of the flop, turn, and river. Some players call the community cards the board.
• FlopThe flop is the first set of community cards dealt after the first betting round. Three cards are dealt face up.
• TurnThe turn is a single community card dealt following the betting round conducted after the flop.
• RiverThe final community card is called the river and it is dealt after the betting round following the turn.
• ShowdownAfter all of the community cards are dealt and all of the betting rounds have been completed all of the remaining players show their hole cards and the winning player receives the pot. When the players show their cards it's called the showdown.
• FoldWhen you fold you turn your cards in to the dealer face down instead of calling the current bet.
• CallIf you decide to remain in the hand you must call any bet that has been made earlier in the round. This includes the big blind on the first round of betting.
• RaiseA raise is when you not only call the current bet but decide to place a larger bet. This is all done at one time, unlike what you often see on television. You don't say I'll call and raise. You simply state that you're raising and push the amount of chips forward to cover the call and the raise. If you say I call and raise it's a string bet and this isn't allowed in poker rooms.
• CheckWhen there hasn't been a bet on the current round of betting you may check to the next person. You can't check on the first round unless you're in the big blind and no one has raised. You must call, raise, or fold on the first round in any position other than the big blind.
• All InIn a no limit Texas holdem game you can push all of your chips into the pot whenever it's your turn to place a bet. When you bet all of your chips it's called all in. You can say I'm all in.
• Limit HoldemLimit Texas holdem has a strict bet and raise limit on each round of betting. The first two betting rounds are the same size as the big blind and the last two rounds are played at double this amount. If the big blind is $40, the small blind will be $20, the first two betting rounds will be $40 per bet and the last two will be conducted at $80 per bet. This means that when you bet you have to bet the amount for the current round. When you arise you can only raise the current limit. On the first betting round of the example above, you can fold, call the $40 big blind, or raise to a total of $80, which is your call of $40 and a raise of $40. A limit game with the above limits is called a $40 / $80 game.
• No Limit HoldemNo limit Texas holdem has a small and big blind like limit holdem but you can raise any amount up to the size of your stack of chips. The only restriction is if you raise you have to raise at least an amount equal to the last bet of the round. If the last bet was $20 you have to raise at least $20. If no one has made a bet on the current round you can raise any amount.
• Big BlindThe big blind is a forced bet that a player must make on every hand of Texas holdem. It's also the name of the position for the player who's forced to make the bet. The big blind is two seats to the left of the player in the dealer position. After each hand the big blind moves one seat to the left. In limit Texas holdem the big blind is equal to the smaller of the two betting limits. In a $20 / $40 game the big blind is $20. In a no limit game the size of the big blind is determined by the house.
• Small BlindThe small blind is a forced bet that is made on each hand of Texas holdem. It also refers to the position of the player making this forced bet. The small blind is between the player in the dealer or button position and the big blind. The amount of the small blind is almost always half the amount of the big blind. If the big blind is $20 the small blind is $10. Occasionally you may see a table with a small blind that is a different amount, but it's rare. The small blind rotates one seat to the left after each hand.
• Dealer or ButtonThe dealer or button is the player who is the last person to act on every round except the first one. This player usually has a small round disc in front of them that looks somewhat like a button. In a poker room the casino personnel who deal the cards is called a dealer, but when you hear someone refer to the dealer position or button they mean the player, not the person dealing the cards. The dealer button is passed to the next player to the left after each hand.
• Under the GunUnder the gun refers to the position who is first to act on the first betting round. This player is seated immediately to the left of the big blind.
• ChipsChips, or poker chips, are the round things, usually made of clay, you receive in exchange for your cash. You use the chips to make bets and when you're done you exchange the chips back for cash in the cashier cage area.
• StackYour stack is your collection of poker chips at the poker table you use to place bets with.
• PositionPosition is a term used to describe where you're seated at a table in relation to the other players. Your position changes as the dealer button is passed around the table. Early position is when you have to act first or second in the hand and late position is when you have to act in the last two positions of the hand. Middle position is in between early and late position.
• NutsThe nuts is a term used to describe the absolute best possible poker hand in the current situation. If the best possible hand is an ace high flush, if a person holds an ace high flush he has the nuts. If you have the nuts after the river you can't lose the hand unless you fold. Many players incorrectly use this term when they have a very strong hand but not the absolute best possible hand.
• RakeIn real money Texas holdem games the casino or poker room makes money by taking a small amount from each pot. This is called the rake. Both land based and online poker rooms take rake.
• Ring GameA ring game is a Texas holdem game that has players join and leave as they run out of chips or decide to stop playing. You bring chips to the table and leave with whatever chips you have left or have won. If you run out of chips you can buy more and keep playing if you wish. If you walk into a local poker room or log into an online poker room and join a game in progress it's a ring game.
• Sit and Go TournamentA sit and go tournament is a small tournament, usually with nine or 10 players. You pay a set buy in and the final three players win prize money. First place usually receives 50% of the prize pool; second place gets 30%, and third place receives 20%. When you run out of chips you're eliminated from the tournament. A few online poker rooms run two or three table sit and go tournaments, but traditionally they're single table events.
• Multi Table TournamentsMulti table tournaments make up every other tournament. The events at the World Series of Poker are multi table events and many online poker rooms run big events. You pay a fee, receive a set number of chips, and play until you win all of the chips in play or run out of chips. Usually somewhere around the top 8 to 12% of the tournament entrants finish in the money. A few tournaments, called re-buy tournaments, allow players to buy back into the tournament for a limited time if they lose all of their chips. Most tournaments don't offer re-buy opportunities so if you lose all of your chips you're eliminated.