Poker Terms Glossary
New to poker, or hosting friends who are? Here's a plain-English rundown of the terms you'll hear at a home game - all of it handled automatically when you play with Poker Chip.
The Basics
Buy-In
The amount of money or chips a player puts in to join the game. In a cash game, players can buy back in again after busting out.
Chip Stack
The total chips a player currently has in front of them - it goes up when they win a pot and down when they bet or lose one.
Dealer Button
A marker showing which player is the dealer for the current hand. It rotates one seat to the left after every hand, which also rotates the blinds.
Small Blind / Big Blind
Forced bets posted by the two players to the dealer's left before cards are dealt, to make sure there's always something in the pot to play for. The big blind is usually double the small blind.
Hand
One full round of play, from the deal through to a winner being decided - either at showdown or when everyone else folds.
Betting Rounds
Preflop
The first betting round, right after each player gets their hole cards and before any community cards are shown.
Flop
The first three community cards, dealt face-up after the preflop betting round ends.
Turn
The fourth community card, dealt after the flop betting round.
River
The fifth and final community card, dealt after the turn betting round - the last card to be revealed.
Showdown
When remaining players reveal their hands to determine the winner, after the final betting round on the river.
Betting Actions
Check
Passing the action to the next player without betting, only possible if no one has bet yet in that round.
Call
Matching the current bet to stay in the hand.
Raise
Increasing the size of the current bet, requiring other players to match the new amount to stay in.
Fold
Giving up your hand and any claim to the pot, usually because the bet is too big for your hand's chances.
All-In
Betting every chip you have left. If you're all-in for less than the full bet, a side pot is created for the remaining action.
The Pot
Pot
The total amount of chips bet during a hand, awarded to the winner (or split among winners) at showdown.
Side Pot
A separate pot created when a player goes all-in for less than the current bet - it keeps their winnings capped fairly while other players keep betting into a main pot.
Settlement
Working out, at the end of a cash game, how much real money each player owes or is owed based on their chip-in and chip-out amounts. See the free settlement calculator below.
Settling up a cash game? Try the free settlement calculator.
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