Poker glossary

The bigger of the two forced bets, posted by the player two seats left of the dealer. Stacks and bets are measured in big blinds (e.g. '40 BB deep').

The smaller forced bet, posted by the player directly left of the dealer button. You've already put money in, but you'll act first on every street after the flop.

The price you're being laid to call: the bet you must call relative to the total pot after you call. If you must call 1 BB to win 4 BB, you're getting 4-to-1 and need ~20% equity to break even.

Your share of the pot right now — the percentage of the time your hand wins if all remaining cards are dealt and nobody folds.

The cards still in the deck that improve you to the likely best hand. A flush draw has 9 outs; multiply outs by ~2 per street for a rough equity %.

Where you act relative to others. Acting last (in position) is a huge edge — you see what everyone does before you decide.

When betting is done and remaining players reveal their hands to decide the winner. Many hands end before showdown when everyone else folds.

Betting or raising with a hand that can't win at showdown, to make a better hand fold.

Betting a strong hand to get called by worse — the opposite of a bluff. Every river bet should be one or the other.

The first voluntary raise in a hand (Raise First In). Your opening range should widen the closer you are to the button.

Just calling the big blind preflop instead of raising. Usually a leak — it lets everyone in cheaply and surrenders the initiative.

The third bet preflop — a re-raise of someone's open. Used for value with premiums and as a bluff with hands that play well when called.

A re-raise of a 3-bet. At most stacks this represents a very strong range or a deliberate bluff.

Calling a raise (and possibly a 3-bet) without having already invested chips this street. Often weaker than 3-betting or folding.

Calling or raising from the big blind to contest a steal. You get a discount (you've already posted), so you defend fairly wide — but out of position.

3-betting after an open AND one or more callers. The extra dead money makes it especially profitable as a bluff.

The full set of hands a player could have in a spot. Good players think in ranges, not single hands.

A bet on the flop by the player who raised preflop, continuing their aggression — whether or not the flop helped them.

Checking, then raising after an opponent bets. A powerful move for both value and bluffs, especially out of position.

Calling a bet with a weak hand intending to take the pot away on a later street, often when in position against a c-bet.

How the community cards interact — dry (e.g. K-7-2 rainbow) favours the preflop aggressor; wet/connected boards hit callers and draws.

A hand that isn't made yet but can improve — a flush draw or straight draw. Drawing hands prefer to see cards cheaply or to be the aggressor (semi-bluff).

Betting a draw: you can win now if they fold, or improve to the best hand if called. The best kind of bluff.

Keeping the pot small with a medium-strength hand by checking, so you don't bloat the pot in a marginal spot.

A betting range made of strong value hands and bluffs, with little in between — typical of big bets and raises.

Independent Chip Model — the math that converts your chip stack into real-money equity. Because pay jumps aren't linear, chips you can lose are worth more than chips you can win, so you play tighter near the money.

The stage just before the money. Short stacks tighten up to survive, so big stacks can apply huge pressure and steal relentlessly.

With a short stack (roughly under 15 BB) your best play is usually all-in or fold preflop, because there's no room to play after the flop. Nash charts tell you which hands to shove.

Your stack divided by the blinds and antes per orbit — how many rounds you can survive folding. A low M forces action.

Each elimination near the money increases everyone's payout. 'Laddering' is surviving past others to climb pay tiers — central to ICM decisions.

The effective stack divided by the pot on the flop. Low SPR means you're committed with top pair; high SPR rewards skill and implied odds.

Small forced bets from every player (or a single big-blind ante) that grow the pot and reward stealing — they make preflop aggression more profitable.

Voluntarily Put money In Pot — the % of hands you choose to play preflop. A measure of how loose or tight you are; ~20-27% is solid in most formats.

Pre-Flop Raise % — how often you raise preflop. The gap between your VPIP and PFR shows how passive you are (lots of calling) vs aggressive.

How often you re-raise preflop when given the chance. Too low and you're exploitable; a healthy number shows you're fighting back, not just folding or flatting.

Tight-Aggressive and Loose-Aggressive — two winning styles. A TAG plays fewer hands but bets them hard; a LAG plays more hands with relentless pressure.

An extremely tight player who only plays premium hands. Easy to read: when a nit bets big, believe them — and steal their blinds freely.

A player who calls far too much and rarely folds. Stop bluffing them — just bet your value hands relentlessly.