B
b and m cardroom
b and m club
b dealer
B game
b&m cardroom
b&m club
ba poker
baby
2. (adj) Small. "I need a baby
card." "I have a baby
pair."
13. (adj) In
lowball,
smooth. A baby 8 would be an 8-5 or 8-4. The term is usually applied to an 8 or worse. (That is, while you might hear the terms baby 8 and baby 9 in a
lowball game, you probably won't hear baby 6 or baby 7.)
1
back
back door
back in
back into
1. (v) When you
make a
hand other than the
one you were originally drawing to, you are said to have backed into it. For example, if your first four
cards in a
seven card stud hand are AA44, and you
end up making a
flush, you backed into the
flush3
back peek
back seat
back to back
1. (adv phrase) Serially, or
in a row. "I drew
two cards and caught kings back to back."
1
backdoor
backdoor flush
backdoor straight
backed up
2. (adj phrase) Paired. "I have backed up kings" means the same as the preceding.
1
backer
1. (n) Someone who finances another
player.
See bankroll (definition 2). "How you gonna get into the
tournament? I thought you were broke." "I have a backer."
1
backing
1. (n) The cash supplied by a
backer. "How you gonna get into the
tournament? I thought you were broke." "I have backing."
1
backline
1. (v)
Make an agreement between
two or more players to accumulate chips in the following manner.
One of the players usually maintains the backline. Whenever he or the
player with whom he has made the arrangement wins a
pot, a certain portion of the chips in that
pot are
put on the backline, that is, in a
pool for later distribution. That amount could be
one chip for each
pot. It could be some specified larger amount, perhaps five or 10 chips. In a
limit game, it could also be
one chip for each
bet in the
pot, or
one for each
bet won by the
winner of the
pot. For example, in a $10-
limit game, if
two players are backlining
one chip per
bet, and
one of them wins a $100
pot (that is, the
pot contains 10 bets), $10 goes on the backline. If they are backlining
one chip per
bet won, and both of them (only) are in the
pot, only $5 goes on the backline (because the
winner of the
pot profited by $50, or five bets). At some prearranged
time, the players
split the backline. That is the
point of this arrangement, that when
one of the players is
running bad, he makes some money
off his "
partner's"
good fortune. If the
player who maintains the backline runs
out of his own chips,
there may be some argument about whether those chips are playable, or if the other
player runs
out of chips, he may want to get his share of the backline. For the reason that arguments sometimes arise from this sort of arrangement, many
clubs do not permit backlining. In such
clubs, some obstinate players do it anyway, but surreptitiously. It's best when backlining that all parties involved in the agreement maintain sufficient chips to avoid
running out in
one pot or having to use the backline chips to
bet with. A
sharp tight player tries to
make a backlining arrangement with a
loose player. The
loose player may lose money overall, but he wins more pots (because he plays more pots), and so the backline accumulates. The
loose player doesn't mind contributing when he's winning, and when he's losing, and his "
partner" is
lucky, he gets
something from it. He just doesn't realize that he's taking the
worst of it in yet another situation. Also
see save,
save bets,
scoot.
12. (n) The chips accumulated by backlining. The name probably comes from where the chips are kept. The backline is usually a
stack of chips
behind the
player's own playing capital. Sometimes the backline is kept on the wooden rim, if the
table has
one.
1
backraise
2. (v)
Make a small
raise to prevent further or larger raises, when the number of raises in a
betting interval is limited. Usually permitted only in
home games, in which the rule that a
raise must equal in
size the previous
bet or
raise does not hold.
1
backs
1. (n) The reverse sides of the
cards, as opposed to the sides that
show their ranks and suits. Opposite of faces (
see face).
1
bad
1. (adj)
rough (definition 1); usually followed by the
rank of the
hand, as a bad eight.
1
bad beat
1. (adj) To have a
hand that is a
large underdog beat a heavily favored
hand. It is generally used to imply that the
winner of the
pot had no business being in the
pot at all, and it was the wildest of
luck that he managed to
catch the
one card in the
deck that would win the
pot. We won't give any examples; you will hear plenty of them during your
poker career.
22. (adj) Different people seem to feel differently about what counts as a bad beat.
One thing is certain: you have to lose the
hand. What makes the
beat bad? Maybe
one or all of the following: you lose in a situation where you're a very
big favorite; you lose with a
hand you couldn't possibly have been expected to
fold; you lose so improbably you feel compelled to
tell the story multiple times; you lose to a
player who couldn't have
beat you without misplaying the
hand (but who was astoundingly
lucky); you lose in a way that seemed inconceivable until you saw it happen; or more than
two experienced players at your
table say, "ouch."
Here's an example.
Say you're playing hold'em, you hold AA, the
flop comes A55, and someone
holding 98,
suited with
one of the fives, catches
two perfect cards for a
straight flush, you have suffered a very painful bad beat. The guy
holding 55 is in a similar
position, only more so.
The phrase "bad beat" is heard often in the phrase "bad beat stories," because many
poker players, especially (but not exclusively) occasional or inexperienced players, love to
tell stories about how rotten their
luck was. Some people don't mind listening, or
even enjoy these stories. Other people (especially jaded
poker veterans who are pretty sure they've heard and seen it all) would sooner
sit through eight hours of root canal surgery than listen to
one bad beat story. Don't
take it personally.
Another phrase you'll hear is "
bad beat jackpot." Some games have
jackpots for particular types of
bad beats.
After that bad beat I
put on him, he went
on tilt for about six months.
33. (n phrase) The situation in which a
strong hand is beaten by a
longshot or improbable
hand, particularly when the holder of the eventual
winning hand should never have been in the
pot in the first place (if playing correctly, at least by the reckoning of the
loser of the
pot).
1
bad beat jackpot
bad beat story
1. (n phrase) A story told by someone who lost a
pot, often a
big one, in a
bad beat. Usually no
one but the teller is interested in hearing the story. The analog in the fishing world is the
one that got away.
1
bait
baker
balanced games
1. (n phrase) The philosophy in some public
cardroom that keeps
two games of the same type at the same
limit balanced with respect to the empty seats. Rather than
one full game, and
one short game,
two games at the same
limit would have the same number of empty seats. The rules that govern when and how players
can move between such games vary from
cardroom to
cardroom. For example, if a
cardroom has
two 20-40
hold 'em games, and 14 players, rather than
seat nine players at
one game and five at the other, the
floor personnel ensure that the games
stay at seven and seven. If
one more
player comes in, the games would become eight and seven. Whatever is considered the
main game--sometimes the more desirable
game in terms of
action; sometimes the
game that started first--gets the extra
player when
there are an odd number of players. The reason to have balanced games is so the
cardroom doesn't lose players who might not otherwise hang around to
play in a
short game. What often results is
two short games
full of disgruntled players. Compare with forced-
move game.
1
banana
bank
banker
1. (n) The
player who sells and buys the chips, usually in a
private game. This function is often fulfilled by the host of the
game.
12. (n) The
player against whom all other players
play in California games, analogous to the
house in a
casino.
1
bankroll
1. (n) The total amount of money
one is willing (and
able) to
put at risk. Many players keep
poker bankrolls separate from their other finances. An adequate playing bankroll for a particular
game (assuming
positive expectation) is an amount
large enough to survive the expected swings due to
variance. For a
negative expectation game, an adequate bankroll is
one which doesn't
run out before you die.
Some players also
limit their risk on a per-
session basis, in effect playing with a
session bankroll. Whether a bankroll is for
poker in general, for
poker this week, or for
poker today, depends on how you
manage your money.
To bankroll someone is to provide some or all of the money they use to
gamble. In effect, you assume part of the risk in
return for part of the profit
32. (n) Playing capital. Sometimes expressed as BR.
1
bar
1. (vt) Officially exclude someone from playing in a particular establishment. "I hear Sin City barred Frankie for
holding out."
1
Barbara Hutton
BARGE
barn
barnburner
base dealer
baseball
baseball poker
basement
Baskin Robbins
bay and a gray
BB
1. (n) Shorthand, particularly in e-
mail and Internet postings, for
big blind.
1
BBRB
bean
bear
beat
beat the board
beat your neighbor
bedsprings
Bee deck
beer hand
beggar
behind
1. (adj) Before the last
cards have been dealt, you either have the
best hand or you don't. If you don't, you're said to be behind.
See also
chase.
Even though I was probably behind, I decided to
raise because I had a lot of
outs.
32. (adv) Losing. "Are you behind or
ahead?"
13. (adv) With regard to a reference
position at the
table, acting after (usually immediately after). If the
deal is
one position to your left, you are behind the
deal. If a
player is sitting to your left, he acts behind you.
1
behind a log
belly buster
belly buster straight
belly card
belly hit
belly straight
belly stripper
belly up
1. (v phrase) Usually followed by to the
bar. "I'm going to belly up to the
bar" means "I'm going
to go to the
bar."
13. (adv) Playing carefully, as opposed to recklessly. "I don't lose as much when I
play belly-up, but I don't have any fun, either."
1
bend
1. (v)
Mark a
card by creasing or folding slightly.
1
bent
2. (adj) Pertaining to a
card, having such a marking.
Can also refer to a
card being innocently or accidentally folded. "Give us a new
deck; we've got a bent
card."
1
berries
1. (n) The
nuts; usually preceded by the.
1
berry patch
best flush
best hand
1. (n) A cheating technique, necessarily involving signals, in which only the best hand among
two or more
partners is played in any
one pot, thereby saving the others money when that
hand is
beat, and reducing the difficulties of figuring
out who gets how much at
split time. For example, Slim and Shorty are playing best-
hand in a
lowball game. Slim is
under the gun with a
pat 7-6-3-2-A, and is about to
open, when he sees Shorty signaling that he has a
pat 6-5-4-3-2. Slim very carefully
discards his
hand. (He does not
throw the
cards wildly into the
discards; they might
bounce and accidentally
turn over. Slim would have a difficult
time explaining to the other players why he wasn't
even opening the
pot with such a
good hand.) Shorty plays the
hand, and likely wins it. If he loses, however, he doesn't cause Slim also to lose money to the holder of the
winning hand, thereby saving the cheating team half of what they would have lost. Best-
hand is
one of the most difficult scams to detect, because the players are not raising for each other, nor are they performing any physical manipulations upon the
cards.
Even with careful observation, best-
hand could easily be confused with the legitimate situation of players staying
out of each other's way.
1
best of it
2. (n phrase) An
edge gained by cheating; often preceded by taking or
take. "He's never in
a game unless he's taking the best of it."
1
bet
1. (v) To bet is to
put money into the
pot, usually by opening as later
action in a
round is a
raise or a re-
raise. As a noun, a bet
can be the money added to the
pot by a
player on
one turn, or the amount required in order to
call. It
can also be used to mean "
turn to
act," and lastly, especially when used in the plural, it
can be used to mean the number of bets and raises.
Who bet? (meaning who opened)
That's his bet. (meaning that
there is the money he wagered)
What's the bet? (meaning how much to
call)
Your bet. (meaning your
turn)
Let's
make it
two bets. (meaning I
raise)
33. (n) The
action required of a person whose
turn it is to bet. "Whose bet is it?"
1
bet after the declare
bet blind
bet blind raise blind
bet dark
bet for value
bet into
bet or fold
bet out of turn
1. (v phrase)
Put money in the
pot before it is
one's
turn to do so, that is, before other players who are supposed to
act first have had a
chance to indicate what they are going to do. In most cardrooms, acting
out of turn is not binding. A
player who puts money in the
pot out of turn is usually permitted to withdraw that money, and is usually required to do so. Betting
out of turn is often an
honest mistake, particularly from a beginner or someone who doesn't pay enough attention to what is going on; sometimes, though, it is an
angle intended to influence the
action of others.
1
bet the farm
bet the limit
bet the pot
bet the raise
bet the ranch
bet through
1. (v) When a
player bets first in a situation in which
two or more
active players remain, he is said to be betting through the players between him and the last
player. Sometimes
come through.
1
betting interval
betting level
1. (n phrase) The
limit at which a
tournament is currently being played at a particular
time. For example, a
hold 'em tournament might start at a betting level of 20-40, and then after 20 minutes, increase to a betting level of 40-80.
1
betting limit
betting round
Betty Hutton
bicycle
Bicycle cards
bicycle wheel
bid
big
1. (adj) Pertaining to $1000. "I lost six big" means "I lost $6000."
1
big apple
1. (n)
Big game, often the biggest
game in a particular
club. "I lost $1000 in the big apple today." Also,
apple.
1
big bet
3. (n phrase) In a double-
limit game, a
bet at the larger
bet size. For example, in 10-20, small bets are $10 and
big bets are $20.
1
big bet game
big bet poker
1. (n)
Pot-
limit and no-
limit poker are sometimes referred to as big bet poker (as contrasted with
limit games of any
size). The "
big" in a sense refers to the
size of bets relative to the
pot, irrespective of the amount of money involved.
3
big bill
big blind
big bobtail
big casino
big cat
big dime
1. (n) $10,000; usually heard only among sports bettors.
1
big dog
big full
big game
1. (n phrase) The biggest
game in the
house; usually preceded by the.
1
big hand
big limit
1. (n)
One of the largest games played in a particular establishment or area. "He plays only big limit."
1
big nickel
big one
1. (n) $100 or $1000, or a
bill of that
size. "How'd you do today?" "Lost a big one." (You
can usually
tell by the
size of
game the
player habitually plays how much he means.) 2.
big game. "Got your name
up for the big one?"
1
big player
big slick
1. (n) A nickname for AK (
suited or not). Its origins are unknown (to me, anyway).
22. (n) An
ace and a
king as your
hole cards in hold'em.
I had big slick eight times last night, and didn't win
one pot with it.
3
big squeeze
big tiger
big wrap
bike
bill
1. (n) A $100 bill. When you cash
out just
over $100, the cashier might ask, "Do you want a bill?" The cashier wants to know if you would prefer five twenties, or a single $100 bill.
12. (n) $100. "How'd you do?" "I lost a bill today."
1
bird dog
1. (n phrase) Someone who
checks out the
action at a
club (usually implying that he was sent by a rival
club). For example,
Big George wanders into the Pasatiempo
Club about 10 p.m., hangs
on the rail for awhile, and then leaves, without putting his name
down for any of the games. The
manager of the Pasatiempo knows that
Big George is heading
back to the Garden
Snake Club to report that the Pasatiempo has 15
full tables, and several names
on the board. The
manager says to the owner, "Did you
see that bird dog
Big George in here just now?" "Yeah, don't mind seeing him in here when we've got a
full house." (The owner would mind if half the tables were empty, because he wouldn't want that information to get
back to the owner of the rival Garden
Snake Club.)
12. (n phrase) Someone who hustles players from
one club into another. (Doing so is strictly against all
cardroom etiquette, and is likely to get the perpetrator barred if he's caught.)
1
bitch
bite
black
1. (adj) Black is the most common color for $100 chips. If someone tells you they saw someone betting black at a blackjack
table, it means they were betting at least $100 a
hand.
See also
white,
red, and and
green.
3
black chip
1. (n) A $100
chip, in many cardrooms and casinos.
1
black chip game
Black Maria
blank
1. (adj) A
board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the
hand. If the
flop is As-Jd-Ts, then a
turn card of 2h would be considered a blank. On the other
hand, the 2s would not be.
22. (adj) Any
card that doesn't
look like it's going to
help anyone.
I was pretty sure she was on some sort of
draw, so I didn't mind betting into her when the
river was a blank.
33. (n) A
card of no
value to a
hand. The term is usually used in
stud and
hold 'em. For example, in hold `em, with a
flop of A J T, a
turn card of 3 would be considered a blank. The 2 or Q would not be.
1
blaze
1. (n) A
hand consisting of five
face cards. It has no ranking in
cardroom poker, though sometimes does in private games. The term is often used by
lowball players to embellish their
hard-
luck stories. "That guy just got his
second bicycle, and what'd I get? Another blaze."
1
bleed
1. (v) Win a lot of money a little at a
time, from either
a game or a particular
player.
1
blind
2. (n) A
blind bet, or blind, is a
forced bet that must be posted before you
see any
cards. Blinds are an alternative to antes for getting money in the
pot initially. Blinds are more often used in
flop games like hold'em and
omaha than in
stud and
draw games. Typically in hold'em the
two players to the left of the
dealer button are forced to place blind bets. In
limit play, the
small blind (to the
dealer's left) is typically half the
size of a
small bet, and the
big blind (to the
small blind's left) is a
full small bet. Betting then starts with the
player to the left of the
big blind (who is considered
under the gun), who must at least
call the
big blind to
stay in. When you
sit down at a new
table, it's
good to
wait until it's your
turn to blind before playing a
hand.
See also
live blind,
structure, and
straddle.
"
Big blind" and "
small blind" are also used to refer to the players who posted these bets.
I didn't get a playable
hand for
over three hours, but I lost $135 in blinds.
I tried to
steal the blinds with a late-
position raise, but the
big blind raised me
back.
35. (v)
Put in
one of the blinds. "It's your
turn to blind the
pot." "It's your
turn to blind."
1
blind and straddle game
blind bet
1. (n phrase) A
bet made (presumably) without looking at
one's
cards.
1
blind game
blind off
blind open
blind raise
blind robber
blind stealer
blind stud
1. (n) A
home game, also called
Mike or
racehorse, played as five-, six-, or seven-
card stud, with the exception that all
cards are dealt
face down. For example, in the seven-
card stud variant, each
player receives
three cards face down, followed by a
round of betting, another
card face down, another
round of betting, a fifth
card face down, another
round of betting, a
sixth card face down, another
round of betting, and a final
card face down, with a final
round of betting. The
game generates a lot of
action, but is more of a
gamble--and thus presents less opportunity to the skillful, analytical
player--than the "normal"
stud versions with their several
rounds of
face-up
cards.
1
blind tiger
blinded off
1. (adv phrase) Pertaining to the situation described under
blind off.
1
blister
blistering
blivit
1. (n) A totally worthless
hand. When caught bluffing, a
player might
announce, "I've got a blivit."
1
block
1. (n) A worthless watch. This has
cardroom relevance, because you will often encounter a
broker trying to
sell you a
hoop or a block.
1
block system
blockout work
blocky
blood game
blood poker
blook
blooker
1. (n) The
joker. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in
home games and not much in cardrooms. Sometimes called
blook.
1
blow
1. (vt) Lose a
pot. "I blew that
pot."
12. (vi) Lose. "How you doing?" "Blowing." "
On the nose he never blows."
1
blow back
1. (v phrase) Lose
one's profit, often due to having
stuck around too long.
1
blue
bluff
1. (v) A
bet with a
weak hand (typically a
busted hand), usually intended to get other players to
fold. A bluffing
player usually has little or no
chance of winning a
showdown, but may suspect that other players will
fold if they have not made
strong hands either. In
limit play, bluffing is more often a
good idea against
weak,
tight players, who may
fold even if they think they have a
chance of winning. Bluffing is a
bad idea against players who
call too often, because it's unlikely to scare them
out of the
pot. Bluffing is also a much more significant factor in
pot-
limit and no-
limit play, where the bluffer
can make calling an expensive
proposition.
See also semi-bluff,
represent,
speeding,
table cop, and advertising.
32. (v)
Bet a
weak hand with the hope of driving the other players
out. Sometimes done with the intention of losing (and thus being forced to
show the
hand), which makes it a form of advertising.
See advertise13. (n) The
act of bluffing. "That was a
good bluff." For both meanings, also called
snow.
1
bluff catcher
1. (n) A
hand with which a
player feels he must
call,
even in a situation in which he is likely to lose. If a
player stands
pat in
draw, and you
call with
three aces, you
can say, "I had a bluff catcher." Some players (sometimes facetiously) refer to a
good hand as a bluff catcher, often when they just
call with the
hand in preference to raising, probably because they're afraid of being reraised. For example, in
lowball, Susie bets after having drawn
two cards.
Tight John flat calls (
see flat call) her (that is, he does not
raise) with 7-5-3-2-A. Most players would consider that a raising
hand after the
draw.
John does not want to be accused of playing
tight, so he says, "I've got a bluff catcher," as he shows
down his
cards. (And further reinforces his image. No
one would
call him with less than a 6-4 if he ever raised after the
draw.)
1
board
3. (n) A
list of players' names or initials, those who want seating in or changes to particular games. In many
clubs,
there really is a blackboard or other
large writing surface at the
front or
side of the
room with lists of names.
1
board man
1. (n phrase) The
casino employee (it could be a person of the female persuasion) who writes names or initials on theboard, and calls players as their seats
open up. Also, boardman,
board person. (Why isn't
there a
board woman? Who knows?)
1
boardlock
boat
1. (n) Another name for a
full house. I've also heard "
full boat," but I think it sounds idiotic so I'm not giving it a separate entry.
3
bobtail
bobtail flush
bobtail straight
bone
bonus
book
2. (n) "The book" is a mythical
set of instructions supposedly containing the
poker wisdom of the ages. A
player speaks of "playing by the book," by which he means he is playing a
hand the way he thinks it is supposed to be played; such players usually think "playing by the book" is equivalent to playing
tight. Actually,
there is no book.
1
book of rules
boost
border work
boss hand
2. (n) Any excellent
hand.
1
bot
1. (n)
Short for "robot". In a
poker context, a program that plays
poker online with no (or minimal) human intervention.
2
bottom
1. (n)
Card dealt from the bottom of the
deck.
1
bottom deal
bottom dealer
bottom pair
1. (n) A
pair with the lowest
card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the
flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair.
2
bottoms
bouillot
bounce
1. (n)
gamble (definition 1). "He has a lot of bounce."
1
bounty
1. (n) Some tournaments offer small amounts of cash - bounties - to anyone who knocks
out another
player in the
tournament. This is typically in
low buy-in tournaments, and the
size of the bounty is usually fairly small (since as many bounties as the number of entrants might be awarded).
32. (n) A
premium paid in some tournaments for busting another
player. Sometimes a bounty is given for knocking anyone else
out; sometimes particular players (for example, winners of previous tournaments; well-known players) have bounties on them.
1
bounty tournament
box
1. (n) A (usually empty)
rack (of chips). "
Time to cash
out. Bring me
three boxes."
14. (n) By extension, the
house dealer's location when
dealing, usually heard as part of the phrase in the box, which literally means engaged in
dealing.
1
box man
boxed
boxed card
boy
bracelet
1. (n) The gold bracelet awarded (along with the prize money) to the
winner of
one of the events of the
World Poker Tour. By extension (metonymy), the wearer of such a bracelet. For example, you might hear someone
say at a
tournament, "
There were five bracelets at my
table."
1
bragg
Brass Brazilians
1. (n) The
nuts; usually preceded by the.
1
break
1. (vt) Win all of somebody's chips. "Who broke Smiley?"
12. (vt)
Miss. "I broke the
hand when I caught a 10." That implies that the 10 was not the
card the
player wanted to
draw.
13. (vt)
Throw away part of a
lowball hand (presumably with the intention of making a better
hand, because as it stands the
hand is probably not a
winner). "I knew he had me
beat, so I broke the 8, and came
back on a 6, and
beat a
slick 7 for him."
14. (vt) Remove some chips from your
stack, usually followed by [
one's]
stack or chips. In some
clubs, if you break your
stack when it is your
time to
bet, that is considered a
bet, and you must follow through, that is,
complete the bet. This is to prevent an
angle shooter from putting chips into the
pot to gauge another's reaction and then withdrawing the chips without betting; in some
clubs a
bet is not considered complete until the
player has released the chips from his
hand.
1
break a game
1. (v phrase) Perform the
action of stopping
a game from being played, when, for example, only a few players remain--not enough for a
full game--after other players have
quit. Such
action is generally performed by a
floorperson. Sometimes break a game up.
1
break even
1. (n phrase)
End up, after a playing
session, neither winning nor losing, often implying after having been losing.
1
break for action
1. (v phrase) In
lowball,
throw away part of a
good hand to get a
play from someone who would otherwise
fold. "
Come on,
call the
raise, and I'll break for action." The preceding might be heard in a no-
limit lowball game in the following situation.
One player has raised. The
opener does not want to
call because he needs
two cards, which is not a
good gamble against what might well be a
pat hand. The
raiser wants a
call from the other because he has the potential of winning a very
large pot as opposed to just a small
pot if the other folds, so he tries to entice the
opener, implying that if the
opener draws
two, he will
break his
pat hand and
draw one. (The implication is only that he has a
pat hand, not that he will
draw. Once a
player offers this sort of
proposition, it is not proper
cardroom etiquette to renege on it. While most cardrooms do not enforce propositions, the other players will consider a
player who offers a
proposition and does not follow through a poor sport and not believe him when he has a legitimate offer, nor will they ever give him any
action.)
1
break off
breaking hand
breastworks
brelan
brick
1. (n) A
blank, or (especially in
low or
high-
low games) a
card that counterfeits
one's
hand. "Brick" is more often heard in
seven card stud, while "
blank" is more appropriate to hold'em, probably because a brick is a personal thing, while a
blank is a community thing.
3
brick and mortar
1. (n) A "real"
casino or
cardroom with a building, tables, dealers, etc. This is in contrast to an online
poker site.
2
brick and mortar club
bridge
1. (n) A
crimp, particularly
one readily visible.
1
bridge order
brief
1. (n) A tiny "
ledge" shuffled into a
deck by a cheater so that his accomplice
can cut it at the prearranged location; a
card offset by a barely perceptible fraction of an inch but
able to be found by touch when
cut. A brief
can be
felt but not easily seen; a
good cutter can feel a 1/32-inch brief. Sometimes called
jog,
needle, or
step.
1
bring in
2. (v phrase)
Open (a
pot). "Who brought it in?" means "Who opened?" In a no-
limit game, followed by for and an amount means
open for that amount, as, "I'll
bring it in for $40" means "I'll
open for $40," and implies that the
bet is more than the minimum.
13. (n) The amount required to
open a
pot. "What's the bring-in" is asked by a
player who wants to know how much is the minimum he
can bet, or how much is the required amount to
open the
pot.
14. (n) The
player who opened the betting.
1
bring in a deck
bring in bet
Bring it
bring it in
broadway
Broderick Crawford
2. (n) In
hold 'em, starting
cards of a 10 and a 4. The term came from the 50s television
show "Highway Patrol," starring Broderick Crawford, who always said "10-4" into his police radio; 10-4 is part of the police "10-code," and signifies affirmation or confirmation.
1
broken game
1. (n phrase)
A game that just broke up, as, for example, when only a few players remain--not enough for a
full game--after other players have
quit. Some cardrooms allow a
player entering another
game after having last played in a broken game to be dealt in without having to
post,
kill,
wait for the blind, or otherwise
put up money to receive a
hand.
1
broker
1. (n) Someone with no money of his own who hangs around a
cardroom waiting for a
sucker to
put him into
a game--by staking him or lending money that likely will not be returned--or hoping for
one of his few friends to
make a score and give him part of it; a deadbeat, or a
cardroom bum.
1
Brunson
brush
brush man
brush off
1. (v) Give a
thief a secret
sign to leave; usually
brush someone
off. This is usually done by a
houseman who privately (in such a way as not to embarrass the
thief and not to alert the unknowing customers that some of the patrons may not be strictly on the up-and-up) requests a
player to leave. The request is often in the form of a
finger run unobtrusively up the offender's spine. It
can be a literal brushing
motion (hence the name) of
one hand down the other arm, starting below the elbow, across the other
hand, which is
palm down, to the fingertips. It
can also be a brushing
motion of
one hand across the upper lip.
12. (n) The
act of giving a
thief a secret
sign to leave. "I gave him the
brush-
off and he left right away."
See brush off.
1
brush person
1. (n phrase) A
casino employee who works in the
cardroom, usually just
outside it, whose job is somewhat akin to that of a sideshow barker or a nightclub greeter, in that this person tries to attract prospective players into the
cardroom. The brush person talks to
casino patrons who may be lingering on the
edge of the
cardroom area, perhaps wondering what is going on and maybe needing only a bit of explanation or other coercion to actually
sit down in
a game. "Are you a
poker player? Oh, just
home games? Well, feel free to watch our games, and ask me if you have any questions." "Oh, you do
play? But you haven't played here? What do you usually
play? Oh,
seven stud? We have several
seven stud games, with limits from 2/4
all the way up to 300/600. What
size game were you interested in?" The name
brush comes from the employee's job, when no prospective players are in
sight, of brushing
off a
table that has just become empty, that is, cleaning the
table up for the next
game.
1
bubble
buck
1. (n) A
marker used in games with a
house dealer to indicate the
deal position. Once upon a
time, an actual buck knife was used as the
marker, hence the name. Usually found now as part of the phrase
pass the buck, that is, refuse to
deal when it is
one's
turn to
deal, passing the
deck instead to the next
player to the left. The phrase has passed into general usage meaning
shift responsibility to someone else, and has found a place in most collections of famous quotations and sayings with Harry Truman's well-known slogan, "The buck stops here."
1
buck the odds
bug
2. (n) The
joker when used as a "partially
wild card" in
high draw poker and
ace-to-five lowball. In
high, it is
good for aces, straights, and flushes. It makes a third (or fourth)
ace, but does not
improve any other
pair. In a
deck with the bug, a
rank of
hand exists higher than any
straight flush:
five aces. Examples:
Two aces,
two 3s, and the bug
make a
full house,
aces full of 3s.
Two kings,
two 3s, and the bug
make two pair, kings and 3s, with an
ace kicker. 3 4 6 7 plus the bug, bug makes a 7-
high straight, with the bug representing a 5. 4 5 6 7 plus the bug makes an 8-
high straight, with the bug representing an 8. With four to a
flush plus the bug, the bug always makes the
flush as
good as it could be. In 5 7 J Q plus the bug, the bug is the A, and makes an
ace-
queen flush,
even if someone else has the "real"
ace of
diamonds. (In fact, it is
possible for
two players both to have
ace-high flushes in the same
suit,
something not
possible in a
deck with no
wild cards.) If the
flush already has an
ace, the bug becomes the next lowest
card. In A 9 7 2 plus the bug, the bug is the K. In A K Q 2 plus the bug, the bug is the J. In 9 T J Q plus the bug, the bug is the K, and makes a
king-
high straight flush. In
lowball, the bug is the lowest unmatched
card in a
hand. Examples: in 6 5 3 2 plus the bug, the bug is an
ace. In 4 3 2 A plus the bug, the bug is a 5. In the
high use, sometimes called
snoozer.
1
Buick
build a game around
bull
bull the game
bullet
bullets
Bully Johnson
bum
1. (adj) In
lowball, when referring to the
rank of a
hand, not
good; usually followed by a
rank. "I have a bum 8" means a
rough 8, presumably 8-7-6.
1
bump
2. (n, v)
raise. This term is used only by those who have played a lot in
home games and not much in cardrooms.
1
bump heads
1. (v phrase)
Two players fight it
out for a
pot, and both get all their chips in the
pot.
12. (v phrase) The situation in which
two players seem to going up against each other a lot. After
John has just played his
third hand against Sue with no other participants in the
pot, he might
say to her, "Are we bumping heads?"
1
bundle
buried
2. (adj) Losing heavily. "How ya doin'?" "I'm buried."
1
buried pair
burn
burn and turn
burn card
bury
1. (v, n)
burn. Sometimes a distinction is made between bury and
burn. If the distinction is made, in a bury the
card is placed
in the middle of the undealt portion of the
deck.
1
bushes
bust
2. (n) A
hand drawn to and missed.
13. (n) Any worthless
hand.
14. (vt) Win all of someone's chips. Usually you bust someone.
1
bust out
bust out joint
busted
1. (adv) Having no money or chips.
1
busted flush
busted hand
busted straight
button
button charge
buy
3. (v) To buy a
pot is to
make a
bet large enough that other players would be extremely unlikely to
call.
To buy the
button in
flop games is to
raise before the
flop in order to induce the players with better
position than yourself to
fold. If everyone closer to the
button folds, you've bought the
button. Obviously this works better the closer to the
button you start
out.
3
buy in
1. (n) An amount of money you pay to enter a
tournament. Often expressed as
two numbers, such as $100+9, meaning that it costs $109 to enter the
tournament; $100 goes into the prize fund and $9 goes to the
house.
22. (n) The amount of money with which you enter
a game is your
buy-in. In a
ring game, this is (hopefully) the amount you get in chips. Most ring games have a minimum
buy-in that's typically less than you'll realistically need. In a
tournament, your
buy-in is the amount it costs you to get your initial bunch of
tourney chips. As a verb, to buy in is to
make your initial purchase of chips.
I wanted to
play in the bigger
game, but the
buy-in was too
high.
33. (v phrase) Get into a
poker game or start a playing
session by the
act of buying chips. "How much did you buy in for?" means "How many chips did you purchase when you sat
down to
play?"
15. (n) The amount of chips with which
one started a
poker playing
session. "He won $500 on a $10
buy-in."
1
buy short
buy the pot
By me