Plain-English definitions for the Texas Hold'em terms you'll hear at any table or watching coverage. New to poker? Start with how to play Texas Hold'em or the hand rankings ladder.

Action: Whose turn it is, or the level of betting in a hand. "The action is on you" means it's your turn.
All-in: Putting your entire chip stack in the pot. You can only win up to the amount each opponent has matched; everything beyond that goes into a side pot.
Ante: A small forced bet that all players post before each hand. Used in late-stage tournaments to encourage action.
Bad beat: Losing a hand you were a heavy favorite to win, usually because the opponent hit an unlikely card.
Blinds: Forced bets posted by the two players left of the dealer button before cards are dealt. The small blind is half the size of the big blind.
Bluff: Betting or raising with a weak hand to make opponents fold a stronger one.
Board: The five community cards dealt face-up. "Playing the board" means your best hand uses zero hole cards.
Boat: Slang for a full house.
Burn card: The card discarded face-down before each new community card is dealt, to prevent cheating with marked decks.
Button: The dealer position marker. The button rotates clockwise after every hand. Acting last after the flop is called "being on the button" or "in position."
Buy-in: The amount of chips you sit down with at a cash game, or the entry fee for a tournament.
Call: Match the current bet to stay in the hand.
Check: Pass the action without betting. Only legal when no one has bet on the current street.
Check-raise: Checking when the action reaches you, then raising after someone else bets. A strong, deceptive move.
Community cards: The five face-up cards in the middle that everyone shares: three on the flop, one on the turn, one on the river.
Connector: Two hole cards of consecutive rank, like 9-10. Suited connectors can make straights and flushes.
Continuation bet (c-bet): A bet on the flop made by the player who raised pre-flop, regardless of whether the flop helped them.
Cooler: A hand where two players both have very strong holdings and one is doomed to lose a big pot.
Cutoff: The seat to the right of the button. The second-most-powerful position at the table.
Dealer: The button position, which rotates each hand. In a casino there's also a physical dealer who runs the game.
Donk bet: An out-of-position bet on the flop into the pre-flop raiser. Often considered a beginner move.
Drawing dead: Holding a hand that cannot win even if the best possible card comes.
Equity: Your statistical share of the pot at any point — the percentage chance you win if all remaining cards run out.
Fish: A weak, losing player. Don't be the fish — if you can't spot the fish at the table, it's probably you.
Flop: The first three community cards, dealt all at once after the pre-flop betting round.
Flush: Five cards of the same suit. See hand rankings.
Fold: Throw your cards away and forfeit any chips already in the pot. You can fold any time it's your turn.
Full house: Three of a kind plus a pair. Also called "a boat" or "full boat."
Gutshot: An inside straight draw — only one rank can complete the straight (e.g., 7-8-_-10-J needs a 9). Roughly 8.5% to hit on the next card.
Hole cards: The two private cards each player is dealt face-down at the start of every hand. Also called "pocket cards."
Implied odds: The chips you expect to win on later streets if you make your hand. Justifies calls that aren't profitable on raw pot odds alone.
Kicker: The highest unpaired card that decides ties. If two players both have a pair of jacks, the higher kicker wins.
Limp: Just calling the big blind pre-flop instead of raising. Generally considered weak.
Muck: The discard pile of folded cards. To "muck" your hand is to fold without showing.
Nuts: The best possible hand on the current board. "Holding the nuts" means you cannot lose.
Open-ended draw: A straight draw where two ranks complete the straight (e.g., 7-8-9-10 needs a 6 or J). About 17% on the next card.
Outs: The cards remaining in the deck that improve your hand to a likely winner.
Overpair: A pocket pair higher than any card on the board. Pocket queens on a 10-7-2 flop, for example.
Pocket pair: Two hole cards of the same rank — pocket aces, pocket eights, etc.
Position: Where you sit relative to the button. Acting last is "in position" (good); acting first is "out of position" (bad).
Pot odds: The ratio of the current pot size to the cost of your call. If the pot is $90 and the bet is $10, you're getting 9-to-1, so you only need to win 10% of the time to break even.
Pre-flop: The betting round after hole cards are dealt but before the flop.
Quads: Four of a kind.
Rainbow: A flop with three different suits, eliminating any flush draw.
Raise: Increase the current bet. The minimum raise is at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
Rake: The fee a casino or poker site takes from each pot. ChipMonk is rake-free since chips have no real-money value.
River: The fifth and final community card. The last betting round happens after it's dealt.
Semi-bluff: Betting with a hand that's not currently best but has good odds to improve — like a flush draw on the flop. You can win by getting opponents to fold or by hitting your draw.
Set: Three of a kind made with a pocket pair plus a board card. More valuable than "trips" because it's harder to read.
Showdown: The final reveal at the end of a hand if two or more players are still in. Best five-card hand wins.
Side pot: A separate pot created when one player goes all-in for less than the others. The all-in player can only win the main pot.
Slow-play: Playing a strong hand passively to disguise its strength and trap opponents into betting.
Suited: Two cards of the same suit. Suited hole cards are slightly stronger than off-suit because of flush potential.
Tilt: Playing badly because of emotional frustration, usually after a bad beat. Famously expensive.
Trips: Three of a kind made with one hole card and two board cards (as opposed to a set, which uses a pocket pair).
Turn: The fourth community card, dealt after the flop betting round.
Under the gun (UTG): The first player to act pre-flop, immediately left of the big blind. The worst position at the table.
Value bet: A bet made hoping a worse hand will call — distinct from a bluff.
Wheel: The lowest possible straight: A-2-3-4-5. The ace plays low.

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