I wait
ice
1. (n) A
cold deck. So called because, after
cards are dealt for awhile, they warm a bit to the touch, while a
cold deck actually feels cool, or, by extension, like ice.
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idiot end
IGHN
ignorant end
immortal
1. (n) An unbeatable
hand, based on circumstances. For example, in seven-
card stud,
on the river (the last
card, dealt
face down) you have four aces, and no
one shows
two cards to a
straight flush, so no
one can have you
beat. You have an immortal. Also, any
perfect hand, as a
royal flush in
high poker, or a
wheel in
low poker. This term is frequently found in
poker literature, particularly that of years gone by, but is not at all common in cardrooms. Also called
immortal hand,
immortals,
mortal nuts. Also
see lock,
nuts.
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immortal hand
immortal nuts
immortals
imperfect deck
2. (n) A
deck with too few, too many, or duplicated
cards.
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implicit collusion
1. (n) A situation
can arise in which the
leader in a
pot would prefer that
one or more of his opponents
fold because, while he has a
positive expectation on his
bet, he is not a
favorite against the field. In implicit collusion, all opponents
come to an independent agreement--that is, without consulting among each other--to all
play in such a way as to minimize the
chance of the
player with the
best hand winning the
pot. For example, in a
hold 'em tournament, a small
stack may
go all in and get called by
one or more players with larger stacks. Those players collectively have a better
chance of beating the all-in
player than any does individually, and they may
check down the
hand till the
end, that is, with no
one making a
bet that might drive anyone else
out. The all-in
player may have the
best hand and be the
favorite against any
one of the others, but collectively, the remaining players have a better
chance against the all-in
player, and if they all understand--
even though
nothing is ever said to that effect--that all will
check the
hand down, that is implicit collusion. In another example, a
bluff may have a
high chance of success against any
one opponent, but against multiple opponents have no
chance at all. In
low-
limit games, with their many players remaining at the
end, a
bluff against the field has almost no
chance of succeeding. Again, this involves implicit collusion among the players. They may not be aware of the situation, but it does exist. Similar situations arise in other games.
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implied odds
2. (n) Implied odds are similar to
pot odds, except that the money in the
pot is not actually
there yet. In an extreme
case, if you're first to
call a
bet, and you know for a certainty that the eight players to
act after you will all
call (and not
raise), you have great implied odds. Similarly if you know that several players in the
hand will pay you
off when you
make your
flush - you
can act as though the
pot were larger. In general, implied odds is just a way of referring to
odds that require some estimation
33. (n) The ratio of what you should win (including money likely to be
bet in subsequent
rounds) on a particular
hand to what the current
bet costs. Sometimes called effective
odds. Also
see expectation.
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improve
improvement
1. (n) Betterment of a
hand.
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in
1. (adv) How many chips a
player has bought altogether. "How much you in?" might be an attempt by another
player to find
out whether that
large stack of chips you have is winnings or all your own money. Also,
in for.
12. (adv) Taking part in a
pot. "You in?" means "Are you partaking in this sporting venture?"
13. (adv) Having anted. In this context, "You in?" means "Did you
ante?" (and implies that you didn't).
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in a row
1. (n) Descriptive of or a name for a
straight.
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in action
1. (adv) Describing a
pot in contention.
13. (adv) Having money, said of a
player who has sufficient wherewithal to
play the games of his choice. To
say that
John is in action means that he is not broke and implies that being broke is not unusual for
John.
14. (adv) Playing or
able to
play. "He's in action" means "He's in
a game." "He's not in action" means "He's not in
a game," and is usually extended to mean that he is not currently playing
poker because he has insufficient capital.
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in for
1. (adv) The total
action (definition 3) to which
one player is entitled, usually when
side pots are involved. "How much is he in for?" implies that
one who is
all in is entitled to only a certain portion of the
pot.
12. (adv)
All in, and thus entitled to only part of the
pot. "I'm in for the antes" means I
can win only the antes if I win; "I'm in for
one bet" means I get an amount equal to
one bet from each
player if I win.
13. (adv) How much a
player is in (definition 1). "How much you in for?"
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in front
1. (adv) Winning; sometimes followed by an amount. "You
stuck?" "Nah, I'm in front." "I'm in front a
dime."
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in the air
in the blind
2. (adv) Being in
one of the
blind (definition 1) positions.
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in the bushes
in the chips
2. (adv) The state of having lots of money. Also termed
in action. The phrase has passed into general usage.
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in the dark
in the door
1. (adv) In the door
position. "He's got a five in the door."
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in the gut
in the hole
2. (adv)
Stuck, that is, losing. "How much are you in the hole?"
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in the middle
1. (adv) Pertaining to a situation in which
one player finds himself between
two others who are raising frequently, or, in a no-
limit game, heavily. He is not necessarily physically between these
two; he is logically, however, as far as the betting goes. Also called
whipsawed (
see whipsaw).
12. (adv) In a
three-
blind traveling blind game, pertaining to a situation in which a
player can receive his first
hand, if he is too late to get the
big blind, in the middle
position. To do so is to
take it in the middle,
take the middle blind, or
come in in the middle. (Some
clubs do not let a new
player, that is, new to the particular
game, be dealt in until it is his
turn to
put in the blind, supposedly to prevent his getting any "free" hands.) Also, if a
seated player has missed the
blind in a particular
round, he
can receive his next
hand only
in the blind position. In such a
case, a
player must
come in on the blind,
come in in the middle, or, if not in the
big blind position,
overblind to receive a
hand.
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in the money
in the pocket
in the weeds
in the woods
in turn
1. (adv) Playing when
one is required (and allowed to), according to the rules of the
game. That usually means waiting to
act until the
player before
one has completed her
action. Also
see out of turn.
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index
inside
inside straight
inside straight draw
inside wrap
1. (n) In
Omaha, a situation in which your four downcards consist of
three cards each separated by
one rank, which combine with
two cards of the
flop to form five consecutive
cards, so that many
cards on the turn or
river give you a
straight. For example, your downcards are 8-6-4-A, and the
flop is 5-7-K. You
can make a
straight with any of 17
cards, any 8, 6, or 4,
three each of which remain, or any 9 or 3, of which four of each remain. Compare with
full wrap and
wraparound.
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insurance
1. (n) In
big bet poker, it is
possible to reach a situation in which you are uncomfortable with the amount of money you have invested in a
pot. To reduce
variance, players will sometimes
take insurance against an unfortunate outcome, essentially selling the actual outcome of the
hand for its mathematical
equity (at a slight discount). For example, if you hold a
flush against a
player who has
three of a kind, your
equity in the
pot is a
percentage of the
pot equal to the probability that the other
player will not
fill up. If the
pot is
large, and you don't want to risk coming away with
nothing, you might
take insurance from somebody who has more money and would be glad to have the overlay.
32. (n) A
side bet between
two players, or between
one player and an outsider (often known as an
insurance man) who makes a business of this sort of thing, against a particular
hand losing, usually made at a
point before the fall of the final
card or
cards. For example, in a
hold 'em game,
one player is
all in on
fourth street for his entire
bankroll. If he loses, he has to leave this wonderful
game, and probably go
back to playing small
limit. He has
pocket aces, with another
ace on the board.
There are also
two spades,
one of them the
ace,
on the board, and his opponent has turned up his
two spades in the hole. Our hero
can lose only if a
spade comes
on the end that does not
pair one of the other
cards on the board. The
odds against this
can be worked
out. The holder of the
pair of aces
can contract for insurance. If he loses the
pot, the person with whom he arranged the insurance pays him some amount, usually equal to the
value of the
pot; if he wins, he pays that person some amount that, based on the
odds against his losing, allows that person to
make a profit. The more desperate the person who makes the
insurance bet, the worse the terms exacted by the seller of the insurance.
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insurance bet
insurance man
international signals
1. (n) A
set of signals supposedly universally recognized by all thieves, allowing thieves who don't
even know each other to communicate their desire to fleece the suckers, indicate their need for particular
cards, and so on. These signals are of no use in games with sophisticated players, who are clever enough to
catch on to what is going on, and are unnecessary with "dummies," because they
can be
beat by
good playing. Some thieves still are not clever enough to understand these concepts, however, and you may
see them in some games, particularly those in which the
management does not give its players much
protection.
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investment
1. (n) How much of a particular
pot you
put in. Everything beyond that is your profit (if you win the
pot).
13. (n) How much
one is in in a particular
game.
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investment odds
iron duke
ironclad hand
irregular hand
irregularity
isolate
1. (adj) To
raise with the intention of thinning the field to yourself and a single other
player is to isolate that
player.
I raised to isolate him, but ended up getting
three callers
32. (v) To
bet in such a way as to
end up heads-up against a particular
player; usually followed by the name or description of the
player. Every
time the
live one opened,
John raised to isolate the
player.
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it
1. (n) Yes, "it" is
poker terminology. "It" usually refers to the largest amount anyone has yet
bet in a
round. If someone opens for $5, and the next
player raises $10, they're "making it $15." With the exception of all-in players, if a
player wants to
see the next
round, eventually they have to match whatever "it" is. "It"
can also mean the amount required to
call. So if someone bets $5 and
two other players each
raise $5 in the same
betting round, they may ask "what's it to me?" The correct answer is, "Pay attention."
3
itemer
iteming
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