Poker Glossary: Hand and Card Related Terms

Owing to its popularity and variedness, Poker has acquired a rather large vocabulary all its own. In this short article, we show you some Poker terms. There is not enough space to list all Poker-related terms, so only hand- and card-related words are given in this glossary.

ACE FULL - is when there are three Aces in a Full House.

AMERICAN AIRLINES - is when you are dealt two Aces at the start of a game.

BELLY BUSTER is when you try to complete an "inside straight" in Poker. Ex: Try to get 6 when you already have a 5, 7, 8 and 9.

COMMUNITY CARDS - are the cards dealt face up and shared by all players. (So don't get excited if you see a 3 of Kind on the board - everyone else has it.)

COWBOYS - refers to a K-pair in Poker.

DEAD MAN'S HAND refers to a hand with two pairs in it and one unmatched card. Ex: a 7-pair and a J-pair.

DEUCES - when you have two 2's.

FACE CARD any of the court cards: J, Q or K.

FLUSH - In Poker, a five-card hand of one suit. Ex: 4, 8, 10, Q and A of Hearts.

FULL HOUSE - A five-card hand made up of a Pair and a 3 of a Kind.

KEY CARD - is a card that can complete a player's hand. Ex: 8, 3, 3 and 3 need another 3 for a 4 of a Kind or an 8 for a Full House.

KICKER - the card used as a tiebreaker between players' hands in some Poker games.

LADIES - a pair of Queens.

OFFSUIT means cards are not of the same suit. Ex: K of Diamonds and 10 of Spades.

OUTS - cards left in the deck that can make a player's hand.

OVERPAIR - in some Poker games, refers to hole cards (also called starting/draw cards or pocket pair) that are higher than the community cards.

PAIR - Two cards of the same kind, the lowest Poker hand of all. Ex: two Aces.

POCKET CARDS - are a player's starting cards, or the cards they are first dealt. Also called draw cards or hole cards.

QUADS - Same as a 4 of a Kind. Ex: all four Jacks.

ROYAL FLUSH - the highest and rarest of all hands in Poker. It can only be 10, J, Q, K and A of one suit.

SPEED LIMIT - refers to a pair of 5's.

STRAIGHT - A five-card hand in order. Ex: 7, 8, 9, 10 and Jack.

STRAIGHT FLUSH - Sometimes you not only get cards in sequence, they also happen to be of one suit. Ex: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Clubs.

UP CARD - refers to a card in Poker that is dealt face up for all to see.

And yes, a "Poker face" means to show no facial expression, but we thought you already knew that… ;)