Poker terms texas holdem game

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However, there are 1,326 different starting poker hands in Texas Holdem, and even 270,725 poker hand variations in Pot Limit Omaha. While there are many different starting hands options in various games, the winning hand is determined by poker hand rankings consisting only of 10 options. Texas Hold'em This is also the name for Hold'em, the most popular form of poker. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. Texas Hold’em Poker Rules This is a short guide for beginners on playing the popular poker variant No Limit Texas Hold’em. We will look at the following: 1. The betting options 2. The positions 3. The flow of action 4. The hand rankings 5. Eginner’s terminology We’ll also discuss our top 10 poker terms that every player. Texas Hold’em Poker is a community card game that can be played anywhere from 2-10 players. One player acts as dealer. This position is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand.

Glossary of Texas Hold’em Poker Terms Sitting down to play Texas Hold’em for the first time can be a bewildering experience, what with players casually talking about spiking a double belly-buster to sink a sucker’s set.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular live and online casino games for poker players.

One big reason is that if you know what you are doing, the game will feature one of the lowest house edges of any casino game.

Half the battle is just knowing the basic rules of Texas Hold’em, particularly the hand rankings which are common in most poker games.

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About Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Ultimate Texas Hold’em was developed by Roger Stone of Shuffle Master and similar formats are also known under other names including Heads Up Hold’em distributed by Galaxy Gaming.

If you have learned the basic rules of Texas Hold’em, you will quickly pick up on how to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em with the hand rankings and each player holding two hole cards being the same in both games.

As this is a casino, the house will have an edge. Players should experience plenty of winning sessions, but unlike regular Texas Hold’em, players are competing against the house and not a player.

What you might not know about Ultimate Texas Hold’em is that if it is played correctly it has one of the lowest house edges among any casino game at around 2%.

Reasons to play Unlimited Texas Hold’em

  • Low house edge of around 2% when following basic strategy
  • Fun to play alone or with friends
  • Similar to Texas Hold’em
  • Can play for just a few minutes
  • Potential to win big

Read on to learn more about the rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em and how to optimize your play to reduce the house edge to almost nothing.

How to Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Usually, you can play Ultimate Texas Hold’em at a casino with up to six players and a dealer (also known as the house).

The game utilizes a standard 52 card deck. Although online, you will find many heads-up games where you will compete one-on-one against the house.

Each player must post an ante and a blind before each hand begins. You will see posted minimums and maximums. Keep in mind that your bet must be the same for both of these and that it will also serve as a base for other bets as the hand progresses.

Therefore, we recommend when first getting your feet wet to bet as small as possible to further the power of your bankroll. You can always adjust with higher bets once you feel comfortable that you have optimized your game.

There are also optional side bets which can vary from casino to casino including the Trips bet you can place before the hand is dealt which we will get into later.

Two cards are dealt to each player and the dealer after the initial Ante and Blind bets are placed.

Remember, hand rankings are the exact same as Texas Hold’em.

Check out our detailed description of how to play Texas Hold’em to brush up on Hold’em hand rankings.

You can decide to bet three times or four times the Ante and place the bet into the Play box or check before the flop comes.

A flop is then dealt and you will have an option whether to bet two times the Ante bet or check once again.

The turn and river are dealt one after the other and you will have one last option on whether to place a bet equal to the Ante in the Play box or to fold the hand.

There is a bit of basic strategy that you should either memorize or have a chart with you while playing to best optimize when to bet in the Play box, when to check, and when to fold.

Players that folded after the river was dealt will automatically lose their Ante and Blind bet.

Those remaining in the hand will turn over their cards as will the dealer. If you have a better Texas Hold’em hand than the dealer you win the Play bet for the same amount as bet.

The Blind bet can also only be won if you have won the hand. Assuming this is the case, it is paid out on a sliding scale and can be worth as much as 50 to 1 for a straight flush. However, if you don’t have a straight or better, you will simply just get your bet back as a push.

Here is a look at the potential different payouts of the Blind bet which can vary slightly from casino to casino.

HandPayout
Royal flush500 to 1
Straight flush50 to 1
Four of a kind10 to 1
Full House3 to 1
Flush3 to 2
Straight1 to 1
All OtherPush

The Ante bet is a bit trickier. If the dealer doesn’t qualify with at least a pair, you will get your Ante refunded as a push. This is the case whether you had a better hand or not, as long as you didn’t fold your hand.

If the dealer qualified with a pair or better, you will need to beat the dealer in order to win this even money bet.

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Best Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy

You should quickly get the hang of the rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em by reading the rules above and potentially watching a few hands being played.

However, we don’t recommend that you hop right into Ultimate Texas Hold’em until you learn some basic strategy as it could turn out to be a nightmare to play based on gut feeling.

For example, if you decide to blindly bet four times your bet in the Play box every hand, you will be subject to a house edge of around 14%. Likewise, if you aren’t betting at the right times, you will also increase the house edge.

You should always bet the maximum allowed in the Play box before the flop when you bet. The following chart should serve as a guide to when you should place a bet in the Play box and when you should fold preflop.

*AKQJT98765432*
ABBBBBBBBBBBBB
KBBBBBBBBBBSSS
QBBBBBBBSSCCCC
JBBBBBSSCCCCCC
TBBBBBCCCCCCCC
9BBBBCBCCCCCCC
8BBBSCCBCCCCCC
7BBSSCCCBCCCCC
6BBSCCCCCBCCCC
5BBCCCCCCCBCCC
4BSCCCCCCCCBCC
3BSCCCCCCCCCBC
2BSCCCCCCCCCCC
  • B = Bet four times in Play box
  • C = Check
  • S = Bet four time in Play box if suited, otherwise check

The strategy gets a little easier if you didn’t bet preflop. You should bet two times on the flop in the Play box if you have two pair or better, a hidden pair, or a flush draw with a hidden ten or better. A hidden pair means that there isn’t a pair on the board and you are using one or more of your hole cards to create that pair.

River strategy can be particularly tricky. It is easy to memorize what to do but not always easy to make the optimal play in real-time.

Place a bet of equal to your Ante bet if you have a hidden pair or better or the dealer has less than 21 outs to beat you. After some practice, determining how many outs the dealer has to beat you will become more second nature but take your time at first as it’s your money and the game typically doesn’t have a time limit with the exception of some multiplayer online games.

Side Bets

Side bets are usually a way for online and live casinos to extract a little extra money per hand, spin, or dice roll at extremely bad odds.

This isn’t necessarily the case in Ultimate Texas Hold’em with its optional Trips bets that you will see on just about every table.

It all comes down to the odds that they are paying on the Trips bet as it could be an under 1% advantage for the house under optimal conditions if you can find them.

Your Trips bet can be a different amount than your Ante and Blind bets and is only paid if you wound up with trips or better. In just about every case you are paid 3 to 1 for trips or a set and 50 to 1 if you nail down the elusive Royal Flush.

What you should be looking for if considering to place a Trips bet is a bet table similar to below which gives the house less than a 1% advantage.

Poker
HandPayout
Royal Flush50
Straight Flush40
Four of a Kind30
Full House9
Flush7
Straight4
Trips/Set3
All Others-1

Other payout tables might look similar with a Royal Flush paying 50 to 1 and trips paying 3 to 1. However, some smaller differences in the middle of the pay table can make a big difference.

For example, the pay table below would give the house a more than 6% advantage and should be avoided at all costs.

HandPayout
Royal Flush50
Straight Flush40
Four of a Kind20
Full House7
Flush6
Straight5
Trips/Set3
All Others-1

There are other side bets that online and live casinos make available including hole card bonuses and bad beat jackpots.

In general, any side bet that isn’t the Trips bet gives the house a huge house edge and therefore should be avoided.

One exception might be in the case of progressive jackpots where the jackpot is high enough to make the house edge low and, in some cases, even give the player an advantage. One pitfall even here is that the jackpots are few and far between and thus will likely cause you money unless you hit at least one jackpot in your lifetime.

Conclusion

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a fun online and live casino game that can be played whether you have a few spare minutes or want to grind a long session.

The rules are easy to learn and before long it is possible to master the strategy of the game to reduce the house edge to approximately 2% in the base game.

While it isn’t likely you will become a long-term winner in this game without a bit of luck, it is more likely than many other games to have winning sessions and go on runs to win a chunk of change.

The promotion presented on this page was available at the time of writing. With some Casino promotions changing on daily basis, we suggest you to check on the site if it still available. Also, please do not forget to read the terms and conditions in full before you accept a bonus.

If a player has an ace in their hand it’s known as having an ace in the hole.

Add On

In some tournaments, players can choose to add on. Usually, this occurs at the end of the rebuy period. Players will receive a set amount of extra tournament chips for a fee.

The amount of money in a hand or on the table in total is known as action. In poker, this also means when it’s a player’s turn the action is on them.

Air

A hand which has no real value.

In no limit games all in refers to a player betting all of their remaining chips. You can do this verbally or by placing all of your chips in the middle.

American Airlines

A slang term for pocket aces.

An extra forced bet all players must make before the cards are dealt. This is in addition to the blinds and creates a larger pot to ensure more action.

Angle Shooting

Making a questionable play against the rules in order to get more information. This is considered cheating.

The turn and river cards. Generally, this term is used to describe making a strong hand like a backdoor flush.

Bad Beat

When a player with a weak hand ends up beating a player with a statistically stronger hand.

Money that a player has set aside to play poker with.

Bet

The initial chips that are used in a poker game after a new card or cards are dealt is known as a bet. Before the flop is dealt, the small and big blinds are the first bets.

Making a bet with the hope that certain cards will fall on later streets to make a strong hand.

Big Blind

The large forced blind bet. This is made by the player two spots to the left of the dealer button.

A card that is dealt usually on the turn or river and due to its rank it won’t impact the current hands that active players have.

Blinds

To ensure action in every single hand the two players to the left of the dealer have to make forced bets. These are known as the blinds.

Representing a hand that you don’t have by betting and acting in a certain way with the intention of getting the other player or players to fold.

Board

The cards that are dealt face up on the poker table are known as the board. These include the flop, turn, and river.

Slang for a full house.

Broadway

A straight from ten to ace is known as Broadway.

Slang for two aces.

Burn Card

Prior to dealing the flop, turn, and river the dealer must burn a card and place it in the muck. This is done to ensure there is no card stacking and cheating.

In a tournament when you lose all your chips you bust out.

Button or Dealer Button

A white disc that designates a player as being in the dealer position for that hand. In a home game, this person will also deal the cards that hand. This position is the best at the poker table as you act last.

When you enter a poker cash game or tournament you must pay cash to buy in.

Call

Matching another player’s bet and calling it in order to progress the hand.

Someone that always calls bets at the poker table and never, or rarely, bets or raises.

Case Card

The final card of a certain rank in the deck. The fourth six or the fourth king are examples.

Not betting and passing the play along to the next player on the left is a check. Players can do this by saying check or patting the felt with their hand

Check Raise

Checking to another player then raising their bet is a check raise. It’s considered a strong move to make and represents a strong hand.

Small plastic or clay discs that have a cash value and are used in poker games. In tournaments, fake cash value chips are used that are different than normal casino chips.

Chop

If two player’s showdown and they have the same hand, then they will chop the pot in half and get an equal amount each. It’s essentially a draw.

When two players are all in and both have close to a 50% chance of winning. It’s sometimes also called a race and occurs a lot when one player has a pocket pair and another has high suited connectors.

Community Cards

The same as the board. The collection of cards dealt on the table face up is known as community cards because everyone can use them in their hand.

Two cards that are in sequential order are connectors, such as 9 and 10.

Continuation Bet

A standard move in poker where a preflop bettor or raiser will bet again on the flop. Also called a C bet.

When two or more players are dealt extremely strong hands initially which usually results in all in bets and calls.

Cowboys

Two kings.

The position to the right of the dealer in poker.

Dealer

A dealer can mean two things in poker. It’s the actual person who deals the cards, and also a position on the poker table. In a home game, the dealer position will also be the person who deals the cards. In a casino, the dealer is the casino employee who deals the cards and the dealer position is purely for controlling positions in relation to the current hand.

A two.

Doyle Brunson

One of the best no limit Texas hold’em players of all time. The Doyle Brunson is also the 10, 2 hand as he won two world series of poker championships in a row with this hand.

When you need one or more cards to make a five-card poker hand you’re drawing.

Drawing Dead

Having absolutely no way of winning a poker hand no matter what cards come on the turn or river.

Poker Terms Texas Holdem Tournaments

A pair of twos.

Expected value or EV

A rating on whether a certain way of playing a hand will result in winning or losing in the long run. Usually, this is represented as positive or negative, or +EV and -EV. To be a winning poker player you’ll need to make +EV plays most of the time.

When everyone or almost everyone at the table enters a pot pre-flop.

Fish

An inexperienced and weak player.

Calling a bet with no real hand and hoping to bluff for the win later on.

Flop

Three cards that are dealt face up on the table after all the pre-flop betting has occurred.

A five card hand of all the same suit.

Fold

Exiting a hand and mucking your cards is a fold.

The amount of money or equity a player can get by making a bet and getting their opponent to fold.

Four of a Kind

Four cards of the same rank.

The turn card which is the fourth dealt face up on the board.

Full House

Three of a kind and a pair.

Terms

When everyone checks and the turn or river is dealt it’s known as a free card.

Freeroll

A freeroll is a tournament that is free to enter and also a hand where you can only win or chop due to the position that you’re in. If both players have ace king and are all in pre-flop and three of the same suited cards are dealt on the flop, then one of the players is free rolling as they win if they complete the flush and chop the pot if they don’t.

A type of tournament with no rebuys.

Grinder

A player that plays standard poker for many hours on end to win small amounts consistently.

A straight draw that is completed by one of the internal cards. This means there are only four cards that can make the straight for the player. Usually, due to the low odds players won’t draw on a gut shot. This is also called an inside straight draw.

Hand

This can refer to three things in poker. The round of play is a hand, the player’s cards are a hand, and the final five card ranking the player has is a hand.

When playing online poker, the client can be set up to track every hand. This can then be studied by the player when they’re reviewing how they played.

Heads Up

In a tournament when two players are left. Also, when only two people are left in a standard poker hand.

A player is on a heater when they’re hitting lots of strong hands and winning a lot of pots.

Hijack

The position to the right of the cut off and two spots to the right of the dealer.

Players two cards that are dealt to them face down by the dealer at the start of the poker hand.

Hooks

A pair of jacks.

Odds that include the amount of money you could make if you hit a particular hand later on. Implied odds can be a powerful tool when deciding if a play has a +EV or -EV.

In Position

Acting after another player is known as being in position due to the fact you get all information on other players before you make your own move. It’s always good to be in position in poker.

An unused card in a poker hand that can be used to determine which player wins when two players have the same hand. You can also use multiple kickers in a two or three card hand to work out who wins.

Late Position

One of the last people to act in a poker hand.

Another term used for a fold.

Limp

Just calling a blind pre-flop to enter the hand.

A player that plays lots of hands and bets a lot is a loose player.

Made Hand

A strong hand that is complete.

In between early and late positions.

Muck

Another term used for a fold. It’s also used for the pile of all the cards that have been folded and burnt in a hand.

You can bet any amount you like in no limit Texas hold’em.

Nuts

Holding the best possible hand as determined by what cards are face up on the board.

Cards of different suits.

Odds

The percentage likelihood of a certain outcome. Also, can be represented as a ratio.

Four cards in sequential order where a fifth card at either end will make a straight.

Option

When no raise has occurred pre flop the big blind position has the option to check or bet.

A complete rotation of the dealer button around the table.

Outs

The specific number of cards in the deck that can make a hand for a player.

Having to act before your opponent.

Over Bet

A large bet that is usually more than is currently in the pot.

Two cards of the same rank.

Play the Board

Using all five cards on the board as your hand and not using your hole cards at all.

When the first two cards that are dealt to the player are a pair.

Pocket Cards

The two face down cards that are initially dealt to the players.

Where the player is sitting at the table in relation to the dealer button.

Pot

All of the money that is in play in the middle of the table in a particular hand.

The comparison between the money currently in the pot and how much a player has to put in the pot to make a call. Pot odds can help players in determining whether to call or not with a certain hand.

Pot Committed

When there is so much money in the pot that a player can’t fold.

The initial round of betting and action before the flop is dealt.

Protect

A bet to try and get other players to fold so that you’re playing against as few other hands as possible.

Slang for four of a kind.

Rags

Bad cards that don’t help at all and can’t make a good hand.

Cards of all different suits.

Raise

Betting more on top of another bet.

The way casinos make money is cash games is by taking a rake. This is a certain percentage amount of the pot that they take out for themselves. It’s usually capped so too much money isn’t taken from larger pots.

Re-Buy

Some tournaments will allow players to re-buy back in once they lose all of their chips. Usually, you can re-buy in these tournaments until the first break.

A poker cash game.

River

The final card that is dealt face-up on the board. It’s also called fifth street.

A straight from ten to the ace of all the same suit. This is the highest ranked hand in poker.

Runner

The turn or river card is a runner when both or either of them is used to make a hand for a player.

A card that is dealt on the board that can ruin a made hand. It will usually be a higher ranked card.

Semi Bluff

Game

Making a bet with a strong drawing hand.

Three of a kind, with two of them in a player’s hole cards.

Shark

A strong poker player.

A table with only a few players on it.

Showdown

Revealing cards to see who is the winner of the hand.

A separate pot that is generated when a player is all in midway through a hand, and there are other players still going.

Sit and Go

A tournament which starts once the required number of people have entered.

Trying to represent a weak hand by not betting or raising when you have a strong made hand.

Slow Roll

Acting slowly when your hand strength dictates otherwise. This is considered unethical in poker.

The player to the immediate left of the dealer has to bet the small blind. This is the smaller of the two forced bets.

Squeeze

An aggressive raise after players have already called a prior raise.

Your chips at the table.

Straddle

A bet that is made to the left of the big blind which is usually double the amount and is considered another blind bet.

Five cards in sequential order. The ace can be high or low.

Straight Flush

Five cards in sequential order of the same suit.

Another term for the cards dealt face up on the board. The turn is fourth street and the river fifth street.

Suck Out

Poker Terms Texas Holdem Game

A bad beat.

Two cards of the same suit.

Suited Connectors

Two cards of the same suit in sequential order.

Taking a long time to make a decision.

Tight Aggressive or TA

A common poker strategy where players are very tight with their starting hands and entering pots. When they do enter pots they bet and raise aggressively regardless of what comes on the board.

Poker Terms Texas Holdem Rules

Information given by a player either physically or verbally that tells others what their hand may be.

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank.

A player that doesn’t play many pots and doesn’t raise or bet often.

Tilt

When a player loses a lot of hands they may begin to play poorly which is known as going on tilt.

Asking for time to make a decision, or clicking the time button online to get more time to decide on what to do.

Top Two

The highest two pair that are available based on the community cards.

A type of poker where players buy in for tournament chips and play until there’s only one player left who is the winner.

Trips

A poker slang term for three of a kind.

A type of tournament where blinds go up a lot quicker and players have a limited amount of time to act.

Turn

The fourth card dealt on the board. Also known as fourth street.

The first player to act based on their position at the table in relation to the dealer button.

Underdog

The player that is statistically meant to lose the poker hand.

A smaller bet placed on the river which is meant to entice the player to call so that your stronger hand gets paid off.

VPIP

Voluntarily put money in the pot is a measure of how often a player enters a pot when they aren’t in the small or big blind.

If everyone folds pre-flop, then the big blind gets a walk and wins the small blind.

Poker Terms Texas Holdem

Wheel

Poker Terms Texas Holdem Odds

A straight from ace to five.

  • PokerStars has an extensive dictionary of poker terms.
  • Predictem also has a nice section.