Articles-Glossary of Terms

Sandbag	To play a very good hand with no aggression, intending to raise or reraise eventually. A method used to build a pot.
Satellite Tournament	A tournament with a relatively small buy in where the winner gets a seat into a more lucrative tournaments. Tom McEvoy was the first player ever get into and win the World Series of Poker as a result of winning a satellite tournament. Today, many players qualify for big tournaments by winning online satellites.
Scare Card	A card that could ruin a good hand by obviously or very possibly making a better hand for another player.
Second Pair	A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped the second or smaller possible pair since someone with a king can now have top pair.
See	Call a wager.
Semi-bluff	A bet or raise with a decent but not great hand that you hope will not be called.
Set	Three of a kind, also known as Trips or Triplets.
Shoot-out	A tournament where a single player wins all the money; there's no second-place.
Short Stack	A small amount of money or chips compared to the other players at your table.
Short-Handed	A hold'em game with fewer than seven players.
Showdown	The end of a hand where remaining players turn their cards over to see who has the best hand. Showdown is usually required only if two or more players remain at the end.
Show-One Show-All	A (not always) gentle reminder that if you are going to reveal your cards to one player you must show them to all players at the table.
Side Pot	A pot created when one player is all in and can't participate in the main action. A player with no more chips can still win the main pot but cannot share in the second or side pot. In some instances where more than one player goes all in at different stages, there can be more than one side pot.
Slow Play	To play a strong hand weakly, usually by just calling wagers, so more players will stay in the pot.
Small Blind	The first (and lesser amount) forced wager in hold'em; also the worst position.
Split Pot	A pot shared by two or more players who have like hands.
Stack	Your cheques.
Steal	To make a bet with a losing hand knowing your opponent will fold.
Straddle	An optional extra blind that's twice the big blind usually used as a tool to force some action or to keep unpredictable players out of the action since they might not want to invest that much money before they see their hole cards.
Straight	Five cards in sequential order.
Straight Draw	When on the flop or turn, your hand needs one more card to make a straight.
String Bet	A big no-no. To make a move that looks like you're calling and then going back to your stack for more chips to raise. This is unacceptable in live action poker, though sometimes a player might use it as a ploy.
Structured Limit	The type of betting limits allowed in hold'em games, usually a fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river.
Suck out	A negative term for winning a hand (or player) at the last minute when others already had better hands (negative, that is, unless you're the person who lucked—or sucked—out.)
Suited	A starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit.
Table Stakes	A game that allows you to play with only the money you have on the table. In live game, both checks and cash count as playable. Basically, table stakes doesn't allow you to pull out your wallet and put more money into a live pot and also doesn't allow you to "bet the farm," since you'd have to go get the deed and bring it to the table before you got involved in a hand.
Tell	A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives information about his hand or how he intends to act on his hand. Reading tells is an integral part of winning at hold'em.
Three of a kind	Three equal cards, trips (three aces, for example, which everyone would love to have, especially if two of them are hole cards.)
Three Flush	Three suited cards.
Tilt	Playing badly after a bad beat or when losing consistently.
Tight	Playing very conservatively without much gamble. Playing the best possible hands.
Tight Game	A game where most of the players wait for the best hand.
Toke	A tip, usually to the dealer or cocktail server.
Top Pair	A pair with the highest card on the flop.
Trips	Three of a kind or triplets.
Turn	The fourth community or board card. Also known as fourth street.
Under Raise	To raise less than the amount allowed, done when you are going all-in and don't have enough to make a complete raise.
Under the gun	The term given to act of having to be the first to bet. If, for example, you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop.
Up Card	A card dealt face up.
Value Betting	As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally it's because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw which, given enough callers, has a positive expectation.
Wheel	A straight from the ace to the five, the lowest straight you can have.
Win	To take the money. What you should aim for with each hand you play.
Wired Pair	A pair in the hole.
WPT	Three-letter abbreviation for the World Poker Tour, the event that brought poker to the public via television.
WSOP	Four-letter abbreviation commonly used in the written form to denote the World Series of Poker, the oldest and unarguably the most prestigious poker tournament due to the fact that it was the first of its kind. Originated by Benny Binion, and played each Spring in Downtown Las Vegas, it is now part of the Harrah's Entertainment Corporation.