by Alissa King

Created on: July 25, 2007   Last Updated: July 18, 2011

Poker jargon is kind of fun to sling around. Once you've been around the game awhile, some of the vocabulary become second nature, such as 'hole-card' 'flop' and 'river'. These are terms intrinsic to the game as it plays out. You'll hear these words repeated by players and announcers alike.

Other terms have a more slang origin, such as 'tilt'. Being on tilt means that the world is falling down for a player. When things go downhill, and they are losing, some players will react and overplay, often losing much more in a big way. A player on tilt can have their chip stack reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.

Once you've mastered your poker face, you can start playing around with the lingo, talking a good game just like the fellows on World Series of Poker. Here's a few of the more common terms.

Ante- A chip contributed by each player around the table to get money into the pot before the round starts.

Blinds- The big blind and the small blind are required bets of a set amount, made by players to the left of the dealer button. The big blind sets the amount each player must call in order to enter into the first round of the game. The blinds alternate to the next player after a completed hand.

Button- A disc that symbolizes the dealer chair. In most casino games, there is an employee who deals the cards for each round. The button acts as a marker in this case, to delineate who is on the blind.

Burn- A card that is discarded from the top of the deck before dealing.

Call- Players must call a big blind, a raise or a bet in order to stay in the round. When a player calls, they place money in the center of the felt to match the bet made by other players.

Chips- Chips are the currency used in poker. Chips come in different colors that denote a specific money value. A player's chip stack shows the amount of money a player has at any given time.

Connectors- Two cards that are in sequence, like 8,9.

Draw- Playing a hand of low value that has potential to become a straight or a flush.

Flop- The first three community cards dealt face up in Texas Hold 'em or Omaha.

Fold- To close out of a hand, placing your cards in the center so that all the players know that you are no longer in the round. Folding means you are no longer a contender for the pot, and so you do not need to match any subsequent bets made.

Heads-up- A game of poker or a round of poker played one on one between two players.

Kicker- The secondary card in a hand, that can determine the winner in the case of two

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