If you’ve spent any time watching poker on TV, browsing online forums, or reading up on the game, it’s easy to be mystified. That’s because poker players have their own dialect. In fact, when you consider all the poker terminology, terms, and slang, you might think you were studying a foreign language altogether.

Although learning a new language can be intimidating, there’s no need to worry about trying to make sense of all the poker puns, pot slang, and common poker terms on your own. Fortunately, you don’t have to download a clunky translator app, enroll in an expensive college course, or sign up for a premium Duolingo subscription to master poker lingo and all the nuances. Instead, we’ll walk you through the intricacies of key poker terms, so you can better understand the game. Before long you’ll be speaking like a bona fide poker pro.

Don’t forget that poker is supposed to be fun, so you won’t find any tests or quizzes here. Just read our simple to understand reference and bookmark it for easy access as you play. By keeping this guide handy, you’ll become the master of poker slang without even realizing it.

It’s okay to jump right in. Your firm grasp of gambling lingo and other card game terms and phrases awaits.

Before you get intimately acquainted with advanced poker terminology, you’ll need a firm handle on the fundamentals.

While you will find the basics below, now is a great time to consult our game guides, especially if you aren’t entirely familiar with the rules of Texas Hold’em and other popular poker variants.

Before you play your first hand, you need to be able to answer the question “What is ante in poker?” Fortunately, it’s a simple concept. A poker ante is a mandatory amount of money that all players must put into the pot before the start of the hand.

Since antes are paid by everyone, all players will have a stake in the pot and an incentive to play the hand before any cards are dealt. Even when you aren’t playing poker, you might hear the term ante up, meaning step up. Of course, in the case of poker it means throwing your money into the pot.

Not all poker variants make use of an ante. Poker games like Texas Hold’em use a system of blinds instead. When you take a seat at a Texas Hold’em table, the player to the left of the dealer will need to pay a small blind before the hand starts, while the player seated to the left of the small blind will need to pay a big blind. The big blind is twice as large as the small blind and these terms can refer to the bets themselves or the players who occupy the positions at the table. Of course, the dealer, big blind, and small blind rotate with each hand.

What’s great about blinds is that position matters. You’ll have an advantage if you aren’t one of the blinds, since you’ll be able to see your cards before having to spend any money. When playing no limit poker, a $0.25/$0.50 game would have a $0.25 small blind and $0.50 big blind. In limit poker the small blind is typically half of the minimum bet, for example $0.20 in a $0.40/$0.80 limit game.

Whether you play Omaha or Texas Hold’em, the three community cards that are dealt face up following the first round of betting make up the flop. All three cards are dealt simultaneously and can be used by active players as part of their hands.

The turn is the fourth community card in flop games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha. The turn is also known as fourth street. Players use both poker terms to refer to the card dealt and the related betting round.

The poker river refers to the fifth and final community card, as well as the betting round that goes along with it. The river card in stud games is the last card each player gets.

You might come across the bet slang float the turn, which describes a player who calls with a bad hand at the turn because they plan on bluffing at the river.

And what does call mean in poker? Call in poker is matching a bet in the current round to remain in the hand. You can compare this to the poker check, which is the act of not betting while still remaining in the hand. Once a player bets in the round, he or she can no longer check.

While the term bet is self-explanatory—it means to wager by placing your cash or chips in the pot—not all lingo is that obvious. Did you know betting in the dark means to bet the blind, betting down the felt means wagering all your chips, and betting the farm means to make a massive bet?

Most people know that all in poker involves betting all your remaining chips, but does the term color up poker ring a bell? It’s the process of exchanging smaller denomination chips for larger ones. If you’ve ever visited a casino, you know that each chip value has a corresponding color. It’s just like banknotes in most countries outside of the USA.

As far as betting in poker goes, a raise is a wager that ups the size of a current bet. When a player raises, opponents will need to place additional chips into the pot if they want to remain in the hand. That includes the original bettor.

You already know that a call is the action of matching another player’s bet during the current betting round so you can remain in the hand. The answer to the question what is cold call in poker should be obvious. It’s means calling when you don’t already have an investment in the pot through a bet or blind.

What is a straddle in poker terms? It’s an optional raise before the cards are dealt that’s equal to twice the big blind. A straddle bet is made by the player who is under the gun.

And what is under the gun in poker? It’s simply the player seated to the left of the big blind. The benefit of straddling is that it gives the straddler the last action in the first betting round.

When betting in poker, you should be aware that the pot is the sum of all the wagers players make during a single hand or game, depending on the variant played. When you win a hand at a cash game table, you’ll win the cash in the pot.

Yet if you play in a poker tournament, you’ll still win the pot by winning the hand. The difference is the amount those poker pot chips are ultimately worth depends on the payout structure of the tourney and your place when it is all said and done.

What is a string bet? String bets are bets or raises where you do not put all your chips into the pot in a single motion. These bets can confuse or exploit other players and are generally considered illegal. Given the safeguards that exist in poker software, it’s technically impossible to place a string bet in online poker.

What is 3 bet in poker? Simply put, it’s raising a raise, which is the third bet. In case there’s any confusion, the first bet would be the actual bet and the second bet is the raise, making the re-raise the third bet.

What does table stakes mean? It’s merely a rule that prevents players from wagering cash that they didn’t have at the table before the start of that particular hand. If you’re familiar with the cliché movie scene where a player throws in the deed to his house, keys to his classic car, or an IOU into the pot, you can see the value in table stakes.

With table stakes, you’ll always know the maximum damage when the hand begins, but you won’t be able to buy your way back into the hand if you run out of chips.

If you’ve ever wondered what is a bomb pot in poker, you can probably guess that they’re explosive. A bomb pot is a hand that forces all players to pay extra blinds before any cards are dealt, giving every player a stake in the pot before the flop. And since there is no betting until the flop, everyone gets to see it. After the flop, the game plays out as it normally would.

Overall, bomb pots deliver bigger pots and way more action, regardless of the stakes. Bomb pots are growing in popularity, especially online. You can find them at all Winning Poker Network sites and other leading cardrooms.

Remember, it’s entirely possible to succeed at poker without mastering every bet slang meaning, especially if you play online. As long as you understand the rules and strategy, you’re golden. Still, if you want to elevate your game or just get the most out of your poker experience, it’s worth taking the time to learn to speak the language of the world’s greatest card game.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with basic poker lingo, you can practice by using it in your live game. Of course, most top online poker sites let you chat while you play, so you can test out card game terms the next time you hit the tables.

Even if you’ve only skimmed this guide, chances are you’ve absorbed at least a few relevant poker slang terms. And as you play, you might be surprised just how rapidly your knowledge of the game and grasp of poker terms grow.

If you want to learn even more poker terminology, check out our complete glossary. It’s a comprehensive poker slang dictionary packed with all the terms you’ll need to know now and well into the future. Whether you are a total novice or a pro who needs to brush up on new and old poker sayings, we have you covered.