Glossary of Poker Terms

all-in: this is when a player bets all of his chips

big blind: this is the original bet that everyone must call otherwise fold their hand before seeing any community cards. This also refers to the player that has to put in this amount at the start before he sees his cards ("blind")

button (also known as "the dealer button", or just "the button"): this is a small white disk that is put in front of a player to identify him as "the dealer"

call: this is when a player matches a bet that another player has made

check: this means that the player has passed his opportunity to bet first onto the next player. The player doesn't bet, and as another bet has not already been made the player does not have to fold his hand

chips: these are the little round disks used to represent money used in the game

community cards: these are the cards that are in the middle of the table in a game of Texas Holdem - these cards can be used by all player in conjunction with their own cards

flop: this is the first three community cards turned - these three cards are turned at once when the first round of betting is over

fold: this means to throw away your cards and take no further part in the hand

post: this is the term used to mean putting your chips in the middle - it is usually used in conjunction with the term "big blind" i.e. "post the big blind"

pot: this is the total chips that have been betted and put in the middle in a game

raise or raising: to raise means to bet more than the previous bet; meaning that the next player has to put more chips in the middle or else fold

the river: this is the name given to the fifth and final community card to be turned over

small blind: this is the amount of chips that is put posted by the person to the right of the big blind. This is also put in before the player sees his cards. The small blind is usually half the amount of the big blind. the player that posts the small blind is also often referred to as "The small blind"

split the pot: this means that two or more people divide the pot equally

the turn card: this is the name given to the fourth community card to be turned over - this is turned over following the betting that comes after the flop