Poker Jargon

Every game has its own rules, its own lingo, and its own nuances. Let us now study the jargon evolved over the years while playing the game Poker.

Action: It means the amount of betting that is going on at a given table. There may be good or not so good ‘actions’ at a table triggering players to either stay or leave the table.

Aggressive Play: In order to make other players to be jittery and apprehensive, an “aggressive” player bets early and high as well.

Bluff: You have a hand, which is not all that good. In order to make other players think that you really have good cards, you ‘bluff’ by betting high, even though you know your cards do not entail such high bidding.

Conservative Play: If you always choose to bet the minimum and are prone to ‘fold’ i.e., abandon ship early, you are branded as a conservative player. The disadvantage here is that when a branded conservative player bids high, other players who know you to be a conservative player, will fold, leaving very little stakes at the pot. On the other side of the ledger, a conservative player loses very little.

Tell: A ‘Tell’ can be defined as a distinctive trait or mannerism which surfaces involuntarily making the other watchful players to guess the real strength of your cards! In poker you should be devoid of ‘Tell’. Also you should be able to discern ‘Tell’ from other competing players.

Drawing: The dealer always fixes how many cards players will be permitted to draw from the remainder of the pack placed in the middle of the table. If the dealer says “one of two, one of one” means that every participant will be permitted in the first draw two cards and one in the second draw.

Wild Cards: A wild card is one, which can be used to complete a sequence or make two’s into three’s, or three’s into two’s depending upon your hand and its rank. More the wild cards merrier the game will be. If the dealer says 5&6 are wild, it means all 5’s and 6’s can be matched with other cards to get the logical rank your cards my fetch you.

by Alex