S
S & M
1. (n) Referring to the writings of
poker theoreticians
David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth. In a seven-
card stud context, often refers to Seven-
Card Stud for Advanced Players, and in a
hold 'em context, to
Texas Hold 'em For Advanced Players. "
Playing S & M" means playing according to the precepts of these books.
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S.H.O.E
saddle
sail for
1. (v) Lose. "How much did he sail for?"
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sailboats
1. (n)
Two or more 4s. (That's what they
look like.)
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salmon
salt away
saltiness
salty
San Jose to Gilroy
sand
sandbag
1. (v) Sandbagging means concealing your strength for the purpose of increasing your profit. In
poker, this usually means slowplaying in the early betting
rounds in order to extract more profit on the later
rounds. Especially when called "sandbagging," this practice sometimes has the negative connotation -- usually among occasional or less serious players -- of being a hostile or marginally unethical way to
play. Experienced players regard it as just another part of the
game, a vital strategic
tool. The same is true for
check-raising, which bears some resemblance to slowplaying.
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sandbagger
sandpaper
sandwich
sandwiched
Santa Barbara
1. (n) In
hold 'em, A-K as
one's first
two cards. Derives from a destructive oil spill
off the Santa Barbara coast, the name arising from the more well-known name for the
hand,
big slick.
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satelite
satellite
satellite tournament
sauter la coupe
Savannah
save
2. (v) In a
tournament,
make an agreement near the
end to allocate some of the prize money for first place to lower places. For example, if first place is worth $2000 and
second $1000,
two players might agree to save $200 and
play for the rest. This way,
second place would be worth $1200 and first $1800. In another example,
nine players might be at the
final table in a $100-
buy-in
tournament that pays only the
top six places. They might agree before starting final-
table play to save $100 for places seven through
nine, the amount to
come out of first place or perhaps first and
second. That way, everyone who made it to the
final table would be guaranteed
something. Compare with
split.
13. (n) The agreement described in definition 2. "I broke
even on the
tournament because the players agreed to a save at the
final table."
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save bets
1. (v)
Make a similar agreement to that described under
save (definition 1), except that players involved in such an agreement
return all of what the others have invested in the
pot. For example, if you and I are saving bets, and you win a
pot in which we both
play, you
return to me everything I
put in the
pot, and vice versa. In such cases, you and I
make money if we are both in a
pot only if someone else is in. This procedure is not permitted in most cardrooms, because it looks like a form of
collusion to the other players. Also
push bets Also
see backline.
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sawbuck
1. (n) $10 or a $10
bill.
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sawdust joint
1. (n) A
cardroom or
casino that caters to a
low-
class crowd, sometimes implying a place whose denizens include thieves. Comes from a
time when taverns had hardwood floors and sawdust sprinkled on the
floor to absorb spilled drinks.
12. (n) Any gambling
house of less-than-opulent surroundings, as opposed to a
carpet joint.
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sawski
sax
say
SB
1. (n) Shorthand, particularly in e-
mail and Internet postings, for
small blind.
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SBB
scam
1. (n) A cheating agreement between
two or more players;
collusion.
12. (n) Less frequently, any marginally dishonest scheme. For example, buying cheap clothes from a factory that specializes in making knockoff copies of designer clothes and then selling them as first-
class items that were supposedly part of a hijacked truck shipment, because people think they're getting a great
deal if they
buy something for seemingly less than it's worth because it's apparently "
hot," is the "
hot clothing scam."
13. (vi) Use a scam. "They got barred from the
club after the
manager discovered they were scamming."
14. (vt) Use a scam on someone or
something. "They were scamming the
game."
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scammer
scare card
1. (n) A
card that may well
turn the
best hand into
trash. If you have Tc-8c and the
flop comes Qd-Jd-9s, you almost assuredly have the
best hand. However, a
turn card of Td would be very scary because it would almost guarantee that you are now beaten.
2
scared money
1. (n) Money a
player is afraid to lose (and thus probably will).
There's a
cardroom saying, "Scared money never wins."
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Scarne cut
1. (n) A form of
cut in which the
cutter holds the
cards in
one hand, removes the
bottom half with the other and places them atop the remaining half, pulls a
packet from the center and places those
cards on top of the remaining
cards. This
cut is named after
John Scarne, who lectured and wrote about gambling thieves, and introduced this form of
cut as a means of foiling cheaters who had stacked the
deck. The Scarne cut is not permitted in most public cardrooms, where the
deck must not be lifted from the
table and must be
cut with
one hand. Sometimes called
whorehouse cut.
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schmengie
2. (n) The
act of performing the preceding. "Did you
see that schmengie?"
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school
1. (n) People assembled to
play poker, or a group from whom players are drawn. This is mostly British usage. Also called
poker school.
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scoop
scoop hand
scoop the kitty
scoop the pool
scooper
scooping hand
scoot
1. (v) Scooting is the practice of passing chips to another
player after winning a
pot. Typically, scooting
partners will agree to "scoot" each other a predetermined number of chips after winning each
pot. This is at least technically illegal at most
table stakes games, but single chips
can often be scooted anyway.
32. (n)
Pass chips between players, considered against the rules in some
clubs. For example,
John goes broke, and says to Sue, in the same
game, "Could you lend me $20 to
stay in the
game?" Sue takes $20
off her
stack, and passes them
over to
John. This is called scooting, and is considered illegal,
even though it may not be specifically mentioned in the rules, because Sue has taken money
off her own
stack, which goes
counter to the rules governing
table stakes. The term came from
scoot partner.
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scoot partner
scootermockins
3. (n) Sometimes, any chips.
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score
1. (n) Win. "He made a
good score."
12. (v) Win. "I scored last night." 3. Win
big. 4. Win by cheating.
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score a big touch
1. (v) Win
big, usually dishonestly.
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scored pair
Scotch straight
Scourge of Scotland
scramble
scratch paper
screen out
1. (v)
Make a diversion, to
draw attention away from a
thief who is in the process of performing a cheating maneuver. Also called
shade.
12. (n) A diversion made (by another
player) to
draw attention away from a
thief who is in the process of performing a cheating maneuver.
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screwed down
Screwy Louie
sctive hand
seat
seat charge
seat man
seat position
seated
2. (adj) Pertaining to a
player in
a game (as opposed to someone who is either not yet playing, or who is away from the
table). In describing the disposition of a
jackpot, you may
see the wording, "When a
jackpot is won, 50% goes to the holder of the losing
hand, 25% to the holder of the
winning hand, and the remaining 25% to seated players."
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seating list
1. (n) In most cardrooms, if
there is no
seat available for you when you arrive, you
can put your name on a
list to be
seated when a
seat opens up. Typically, games are listed across the
top of a
board, and names are written below each
game so that players are
seated for games in the order in which they arrive.
See also
table change.
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seating position
second
1. (n) The second
card from the
top of the
deck, when referring to being dealt by a cheating
dealer; often plural. "He dealt himself a second." "They barred him for
dealing seconds."
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second best
2. (n) The
cards that constitute the
hand in this situation. "
Three kings was second best."
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second button
second deal
second dealer
second dealing
second hand
second nuts
second pair
second position
second story
second story man
seconds
seconds dealer
see
1. (vt)
Call. "I'll see you." "I'll see that
bet." The term is used more often in private and
home games than in cardrooms and casinos, and seems very popular in
Hollywood's portrayals of
poker. Often part of the phrase see [a]
bet.
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see a bet
seed
1. (n) An
ace. Also called
bullet (and several other names).
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sell
2. (v)
Make a
bet on the
best hand that convinces
one or more opponents to
call or
raise. In a no-
limit game, for a
call, the
bet must not be too
large for the situation, lest all opponents
fold, nor too small, because then it does not extract the most chips from the opponents; for a
raise, it must appear small for the situation, as if to
protect a marginal
hand, but not so small as to be suspicious. Sometimes part of the phrase
sell a hand.
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sell a hand
semi bluff
1. (v) A powerful concept first discussed by
David Sklansky. It is a
bet or
raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some
outs if it is. A semi-
bluff may be correct when betting for
value is not correct, a pure
bluff is not correct, but the combination of the
two may be a
positive expectation play. Example: you have Ks-Qs, and the
flop is Th-5s-Jc. If you
bet now, it's a semi-
bluff. You probably don't have the
best hand, and you'd like to
see your opponents
fold immediately. Nevertheless, if you do get callers, you could still
improve to the
best hand.
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semibluff
1. (n) A
bet made on a
hand that is probably not the best at the
time of the
bet, but that has a possibility of improving to the best (has
one or more
outs). If the
bet gets everyone else to
fold, it succeeds as a
bluff; if it does not, the
hand might still
improve (in
draw) on the
draw or (in
stud and
hold 'em) on succeeding
cards. This term was first popularized in the writings of noted
poker author and theorist
David Sklansky. Compare with
complete bet.
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senate dealer
1. (n) A professional
dealer, in particular,
one who does not participate in the
game.
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send
send around
send in
Send it
send it around
send it in
sequence
sequence flush
sequential declaration
sergeant from K company
sergeants from K company
1. (n)
Two or more kings.
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serious poker
1. (adj) Serious poker players like to distinguish the
game they
play from the average weekly
penny poker game. Although these things tend to be relative (a 10-20 hold'em
game might not seem so serious to someone used to playing 150-300), some particular features common to
home games tend to
make the
game less "serious." Most irksome to the serious
player is probably a proliferation of zany, poorly thought-
out games, often involving
wild cards, and sometimes having little in common with other
poker games. While some serious players like the challenge of having to develop a strategy on-
line for
a game that was just invented, many feel it just increases the
luck factor. Less serious games also tend to involve very
low stakes, because they are played for fun, and not
out of either a
deep interest in
poker or in making money at it.
Hey Bob, wanna
play poker with the guys tomorrow?
Sorry, Ted, I only
play serious poker. Also you irritate me.
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serve
1. (v)
Deal (
cards), particularly when done as a living.
1
session
2. (n) With respect to a group, the period of
time for which the
game lasts, from the
deal of the first
hand until it breaks
up for lack of players, or due to a prearranged ending
time. For both meanings, sometimes called
poker session.
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set
set all in
set of fours
set over set
1. (n) In
hold 'em,
one player's
set (definition 1) against another's. If you start with a
pair of nines and I have a
pair of sevens, and the
board comes 9-7-2-3-8, that is a situation of set over set.
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set over set over set
1. (n) In
hold 'em,
three players each having a
set. If you start with a
pair of nines, I have a
pair of sevens,
John has a
pair of deuces, and the
board comes 9-7-2-3-8, that is a situation of set over set over set.
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set someone all in
set someone in
set up
2. (v) Prepare a victim for being cheated.
13. (adj) Having
check cashing privileges (or sometimes just credit) in a particular establishment. "Are you set up in the
cage?"
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settle up
settlement
1. (n) The period of
time at the
end of a
poker game (usually private) at which losers pay their losses and winners collect their winnings; cashing in of chips.
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setup
1. (n) A
box containing
two decks of plastic
cards. You sometimes hear players ask for "a new setup." This means they want not just a new
deck, but
two fresh decks, because in
a game that uses plastic
cards, often the decks are rotated and not replaced until a specific period of
time ends, or until requested (or when the
cards become damaged).
12. (n) The
act of setting up. "He fell for the setup, and so the next
time I drew
two cards, he called all his chips with
two little
pair. Of course, that's when I showed him
three aces."
See set up (definition 1).
13. (n) Preparation of a victim for being cheated.
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seven card flip
seven card stud
seven rule
seven stud
seven stud/8
seven toed Pete
seven twenty seven
1. (n) A
stud game (sort of), played only in
home games, in which each
player is dealt a
downcard, followed by a
round of betting, and then
one or more
cards face up. Aces have a
value of 1 or 11,
face cards a
value of , and all other
cards have
face value. This is a
split-
pot game, with the object being to
end up with a total closest to 7 or 27. On each
round, players
can either receive a further
upcard, or refuse further
cards. After any
round in which no
player takes a
card, the players
declare which "way" they are going (7 or 27, sometimes called
high or
low), and
there is a
showdown. (Sometimes
there is
one more
round of betting before the
showdown.) In some versions, once a
player refuses upcards a certain number of times (
say,
three), that
player can no longer request further
cards. The purpose of this rule is that when a
player is in a "
lock" (cannot lose) situation, that is, when he is the only
one going
low, and
there are more than
one player going
high, and who have
quit asking for upcards, the
player with the
lock can prolong the betting by drawing
cards to a
point at which he cannot
hit without destroying his
lock. In some games, being on
one side or the other of 7 or 27 (when no
one has exactly that total) wins
over the other
side. For example, in some games, 6 loses to 7, while in others, the reverse is true. The
best hand is some combination that adds
up to 7, and includes
two aces, so that the
hand also adds
up to 27. This is a potential
scooping hand, but a
hand with which a
player must be careful at
declare time in
a game in which the rules dictate that a
player who declares for both ways must clearly win both ways (that is, cannot tie for either). While this is not really a
poker game, it is very popular in some
home games (because it has many of the elements of
poker, including bluffing).
Two-twenty-
two and
three-thirty-
three are similar games.
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seven/8
sevens rule
1. (n) In
ace-to-five, the rule that states that you must
bet a 7 or better (that is, a no-
pair hand topped by a 7, 6, or 5) after the
draw. Many years ago, in a very few
clubs, failing to
bet a 7 could cost you the entire
pot; nowadays, it costs you only the
action (betting) after the
draw. In such a
case, if a
player passes a 7, and then calls with it, if the
player who
bet has worse than the passed
hand, the bettor gets his money
back, and the
player who passed the 7 wins what was in the
pot before the
draw; if the
player who
bet has better than the passed
hand, the bettor of course wins the whole
pot, that is, the
bet after the
draw along with the remainder of the
pot. The purpose of the rule is to
speed up the
game (by preventing players from passing
good hands, and then waiting for the
action to get
back to them so they
can raise).
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seventh street
sex
1. (n) 6 (the
card, or the
lowball hand). Heard in a
cardroom: He: "Do you like sex?" She: "Sure, sex-four, sex-five..."
1
shade
shade work
shade worker
shading
shake shake
shark
sharker
sharp
sharp top
1. (n) A four or an
ace. Some lexicographers use the term only for an
ace.
1
sharper
shave
shaved
1. (adv) Pertaining to the situation in which a
hand is beaten by
one only slightly better. Also called edged, edged
out, or
topped out.
1
shears
shed
sheet
sheet player
shelf
1. (n) Where a
stake player's chips are kept when he is between playing sessions, usually a space under the control of the cashier, often just to
one side of the
window (to the
cage). From this comes the expression
on the shelf.
1
shift
shift cards
shift the cut
Shifting Sands
shill
2. (n) Someone who plays for the
house, to
help start games or keep
short or shaky games going, to keep the
live players (that is, those who are not shills) from leaving. A shill is different from a
stake, because a shill keeps no part of the winnings, and is usually in the employ of the
house or
casino. Shills often have to
play according to
shill rules. Shills are not common in California cardrooms, where the function is more likely to be filled by employees helping get
a game started, basically just filling seats till more
live players
come in. Also,
game starter,
house player,
percentage player. An old term for shill is
seat-man. Also
see proposition player.
14. (vi)
Act in the role of a shill. "I usually
deal for 40 minutes, and then shill till my next
down."
15. (vt)
Act in the role of a shill; usually followed by a or the
game. "We usually have dealers shill the games while they're waiting
to go on duty."
1
shill rules
shiner
Shirley
1. (n) A timid
player; always preceded by
play like. If someone says to you, "You
play like Shirley," he is accusing you of having no
gamble.
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shoe clerk
shoot an angle
shoot it up
shoot the moon
1. (v)
scoop (definitions 1 and 2). In both cases, this phrase is usually heard in
home games, and not public cardrooms. The term is sometimes shortened to simply
moon.
1
shoot the pot
shoot the pot up
shootout
shootout tournament
shop
short
3. (adv) Be unable to pay
time due to having insufficient chips (in respect to a certain
cutoff point established by the
house, usually equal to only a few chips, as for example less than $4 in
a game with a $20
buy-in).
1
short buy
1. (n) A
buy-in of less than the minimum required for the
game. Compare with
full buy.
1
short call
short card
short cards
2. (n) An obsolete name for
poker.
1
short chipped
short flush
1. (n) four-
card flush, so termed mainly in European countries.
1
short game
2. (n)
Two-handed
game. Many cardrooms have among their rules
one that reads, "No
short games." They do not want players to
play head up.
1
short handed
short handed game
short money
2. (n) Having not enough money to survive the ordinary fluctuations of a particular
game. "The
game's terrific, but Jim's not going to last unless he gets real
lucky; he's playing on short money."
1
short pair
short stack
1. (n) A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the
table. If you have $10
in front of you, and everybody else at the
table has
over $100, you are playing on a short stack.
22. (n) A short stack is a
stack that's too small to cover the likely betting in a
hand. A
player who has such a
stack is said to be
short-stacked. This has advantages (e.g., that you cannot be pressured to
fold) and disadvantages (e.g., that you cannot get maximum
value from your winning hands). Asking whether or not this is a
good thing
over all is a
good way to start an argument.
The phrase "short stack"
can also refer to the players at a
table (especially in no-
limit or
pot-
limit play, often in a
tournament) who have the least money
in front of them.
After building up a
big chip lead in the
tourney, I proceeded to
beat up on the
short stacks.
33. (n) Half a
stack, or 10 chips.
1
short stacked
1. (adj) Being
low on chips.
1
short straight
1. (n) four-
card straight, so termed mainly in European countries.
1
short studs
1. (n) The British name for five-
card stud and its variants.
1
short the pot
shorthanded
1. (adj)
A game is said to be shorthanded when it falls below a certain number of players. Most
poker tables accomodate
nine or ten players. Five players is clearly shorthanded,
nine players is clearly not. Since many people are uncomfortable playing shorthanded, some cardrooms
make special provisions for shorthanded tables - reducing the blinds or the
rake, or providing shills or props. Since the number of players at a
table has a significant impact on strategy, learning to
play well shorthanded is an important skill. This is especially true in tournaments, where shorthanded
play is much more common (if you last long enough).
3
shorts
shot
4. (n) Any cheating
move. "He has to get a little booze in him before he takes a shot."
1
shot taker
shotgun
1. (n) A form of
draw poker, found exclusively in
home games, in which each
player receives
three cards face down, followed by a
round of betting, a fourth
card, again followed by a
round of betting, a fifth
card, a further
round of betting, and a
draw, followed (naturally) by another
round of betting. A particularly insidious variant, called double-barreled shotgun, is a cross between
draw and
stud, and has eight (or
nine)
rounds of betting.
1
shove 'em
shove 'em along
show
show cards
show down
show five cards
show one show all
1. (v) Most cardrooms have a rule, generally referred to as "show one show all," that if a
player shows their
cards to anyone at the
table they
can be asked to
show everyone else (
even if they would ordinarily not be required to
show their
hand). This usually comes up at the
end of a
hand that did not reach
showdown (e.g., if a
player shows a friend a successful
bluff). Obviously
showing one's
hand to someone else who has
cards is illegal for more reasons.
3
show one, show all
1. (v) The unwritten rule in most cardrooms that if you
show your
cards (when you have
bet and not been called) privately to
one player, any other
player can request to
see the
hand,
even if those
cards would not otherwise constitute a
called hand. When the situation arises, generally someone who did not
see the
hand chants, "Show one, show all," makes a fuss, and either the
dealer turns
over the
hand in question (sometimes first killing the
hand;
see kill, definition 2), or calls a
floorman to
make a
decision.
Showing your
cards to
one player and not the others, or to half the
table and not the rest, is considered
bad form
even if not against the rules.
1
show openers
1. (v) In
a game with minimum
opening requirements, such as
jacks or better, prove that you had
openers when you opened a
pot. If you opened the
pot and then
bet after the
draw and are not called, or if you
fold, you must show openers. You do so by
showing only as much of the
hand as it takes. That is, if you opened with
three jacks, you need
show only
two of them, but if you opened with a
pat straight, you must
show the entire
hand. If you opened with a
full house,
10s full of 3s, you need
show only the
three 10s; with
7s full of jacks, you need
show only the
two jacks.
1
show tickets
showdown
2. (v) When all the betting's done, if more than
one player is still in the
pot, showdown is the process of figuring
out who wins. Usually the last
player to
open or
raise is required to
show their
cards first, and anyone else
can try to
muck their
cards if they decide they've lost. However, in most cardrooms any
player who reaches showdown (or calls the final
bet)
can be asked to
show their
cards. When used to describe the process, showdown is
one word. When used to describe what each
player does at that
point, it's usually
two words.
Only
one hand made it to showdown in the entire hour.
I was embarassed to
show down such ugly
cards.
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showing
shuck
shuffle
1. (v) Before each
hand, the
dealer shuffles the
cards - mixes them up in order to
make their order as unpredictable as
possible. Most cardrooms have fairly specific requirements for how the
cards are to be shuffled.
3
shuffle in
shuffle in a brief
shuffle the spots off
shuffler
1. (n) The person who shuffles the
cards just prior to
dealing. The term usually refers to someone other than the
dealer, when the
dealer does not perform the shuffling. Sometimes in
home games, the
player to the right of the
dealer (the person who actually distributes the
cards) shuffles the
cards, offers them to the person on his right for a
cut, and then hands the
deck over to the person on his left for
dealing.
See still pack.
1
shut out
shy
2. (adv) Not having anted. "Who's shy?" means "Who forgot to
ante?" Also called
light,
short.
1
shylock
2. (v) Lend money at usurious rates.
1
sickening
sickle
1. (adj) Having the four lowest
cards to a
wheel; preceded by the
rank of the
top card. (The term is usually reserved for 10s and worse.) For example, a
jack-sickle is J-4-3-2-A.
1
side
side action
side arms
side bet
2. (n) A
bet made privately among
two or more players on the outcome of the next
hand, usually made by players not involved in the
pot; the side bet is not part of the
pot. Most
clubs do not permit
side bets.
1
side card
2. (n) The
card that decides the
winner between
two otherwise tied
two-
pair hands (sometimes the
one or more
cards--in which
case the term is pluralized--needed to resolve a tie between
two one-
pair hands). For example, in the
two hands A A K K Q and A A K K J, the first wins because its side card, Q, is higher than the side card, J, of the
second. Sometimes called
kicker in this sense.
1
side cards
side game
side money
side partner
side pot
1. (n) A
pot created in which a
player has no interest because he has
run out of chips. Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carl calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that either Al or Beth
can win, but not Carl. Carl, however,
can still win all the money in the original or "center"
pot.
22. (n)
See main pot and all-in. If you still don't know what a side pot is, we
can't
help you.
33. (n) An auxiliary
pot generated when
one or more players
run out of chips, and which those who ran
out cannot win. This
can lead to a situation in which the holder of the
second-best (or worse)
hand can win more money in a
pot than the holder of the
best hand.
1
side strippers
Siegfried and Roy
sight
1. (n) A situation in which
one player runs
out of chips (that is, goes
all in), and claims sight, that is, the right to a
showdown for the amount of chips he has
put in the
pot thus far. This is an old term rarely used nowadays.
See also
side pot.
1
sign
sign off
sign off a hand
sign up
sign up board
sign up for
1. (v) Get
on the board (definition 1) for a particular
game. "Did you sign up for the 15-30?"
1
sign up list
signal
silent partner
1. (n) A noncheating, innocent
player to whom a
thief gives several winning hands, usually in small pots, to divert attention from himself. This is a specialized usage of the more general term for a business
partner who takes no
active part in the business, and, in many cases, is unknown to the public.
1
silent prop
1. (n) A
proposition player who does not openly acknowledge his role by the wearing of a badge. In many cardrooms, particularly in California, a
proposition player must conspicuously display a badge indicating that he or she works for the
cardroom.
1
simoleon
simultaneous declaration
single blind game
single handed poker
single limit
2. (adj) Pertaining to single limit, in a phrase such as single-
limit lowball.
1
single o
1. (n) A
thief or cheater who works alone.
1
single table satellite
sir
1. (adj) "Sir" is
one of those confusing terms that
can have a completely different meaning at the
poker table than elsewhere. If someone says "nice
hand, sir," after you win a
big pot, what they are really saying is, "congratulations on winning money through your own stupidity, you clueless moron." The word "sir," when uttered in this context, somehow absorbs all the venomous thoughts the person is feeling, although if you listen carefully you
can often hear them rattling around in
there. Note that people at the
poker table do sometimes use the word in its less colloquial sense, simply as a polite expression of mild respect. It's
up to you to
figure out who means what.
To the best of my recollection, I've never heard "ma'am" used in this way, although I'm sure it
can be.
3
sit
sit in
1. (v) Join
a game. "May I sit in?" is a request from an onlooker to get into
a game.
1
sitter
six card option
six card stud
1. (n) A form of
stud, in which each
player receives
two cards face down and
one face up, followed by a
round of betting, with a
round of betting after each successive
upcard, until six
cards have been dealt. Sometimes the
game is played with each
player receiving
one card face down and
one face up, followed by a
round of betting, with a
round of betting after each successive
upcard, till the fifth
card, then a
sixth card dealt
face down, with a further
round of betting. At the
showdown, a
player uses the best five of the six
cards. A form of
razz (
lowball stud) used to be played with six
cards, but seven is now more common.
1
six tits
1. (n)
Three queens. This usage is considered vulgar.
1
sixth
sixth street
size
1. (v) In a
big bet game, perform a
dealer's method of equalizing
two wagers. When
one player puts
out a
large stack of chips, and another
player calls by placing in the
pot more chips than are required for the
call (and either does not
say the magic word "
Raise" or obviously does not have enough chips to constitute a
raise), the
dealer may not count the first
player's chips, but merely places the
second stack of chips next to the first, and removes enough chips from the
second stack until the
two stacks are equal in height. This method originated with dealers in
casino percentage games (such as 21 or craps), who paid
off winning bets this way, so that watchers (security personnel, perhaps occupying the "eye in the sky") could clearly
see that the payoff was correct.
1
sizz
skating
1. (v) Bluffing. "I think you're skating, but I'm gonna let you
slide."
1
skeet
skeet flush
skin
skin game
skin out
skin the deck
skin the hand
skinner
skinning
1. (n) Removing
cards from a new
deck, altering some or all of the
cards (by marking), returning the
cards to the
deck, and resealing the
deck.
1
skip straight
skipper
sky's the limit
sleeve
sleeve holdout
sleeve machine
slick
1. (adj)
smooth. 8-4-3-2-A and 8-5-3-2-A are slick 8s, while any 8-7 is
rough.
12. (v) A cheating preparation,
make the
backs of some
cards more slippery so that they
slide more easily.
13. (n) The
act of slicking
cards; usually preceded by the.
1
slick ace deck
slide
slip
1. (v)
Pass, with the implication of sandbagging (
see sandbag); often followed by it. If a
player says, "I'll
slip it," he's trying to give the impression that he passed a
good hand, probably because in reality he passed a medium
hand with which he doesn't want to have to
call a
bet.
1
slip a hand
1. (v)
sandbag. "You slipped me a
hand didn't you?, but I'm not going to fall into your
trap."
1
slip it
slip the cards
slip the cut
slip the deck
slippery Anne
slippery sandbag
slow
1. (adv) When you
play passively, you are playing slow.
See speed.
3
slow action
slow down bet
slow game
slow pace
slow play
slow roll
slowball
slowplay
slowroll
1. (v) To reveal
one's
hand slowly at
showdown,
one card at a
time, is to slowroll anyone else who thinks the
pot might be theirs. This is usually only done with a
winning hand, for the purpose of irritating other players (well, some people do it innocently).
3
slug
1. (n) A clump of
cards, usually implying that they have been deliberately arranged and shuffled into
position by a
cheat.
1
slug the deck
small bet
2. (n) In a double-
limit game, a
bet at the smaller
bet size. For example, in 10-20, small bets are $10 and
big bets are $20.
1
small blind
small game
small nickel
small one
3. (n) $100 in chips. For all meanings, sometimes called
big one. Small one is often used when
big one is used for $1000.
1
small play
small table
smear
Smoke on the water
1. (n) A phrase used to describe a
raise. If you hear this phrase, it usually comes after another
player has raised. May derive from
steam, a former synonym for
raise.
1
smooth
2. (adj) In
lowball, pertaining to a
hand whose
second highest
card is (if
possible) several notches below its
top card, as opposed to
rough. For example, 8-4-3-2-A and 8-5-3-2-A are smooth 8s, while any 8-7 is
rough.
There is some question about which category 8-6s fit into. Also called
slick.
1
smooth call
3. (v) Only or just
call a prior
bet, that is, without raising. "He
smooth called" means that all he did was
call (and implies that he should have raised).
14. (v)
Call with the intention of reraising if anyone else raises; that is,
slow-
play by calling. Compare with
check-
raise.
1
snake
snakebit
1. (n) Having
bad luck. "How ya doin'?" "Terrible. I've been snakebit for a week.
Can't
make a
hand when it counts."
1
snap off
2. (v)
Catch someone bluffing.
1
snapped off
1. (adv) Caught bluffing.
1
snatch
snatch game
1. (n) A less-common name for
rake game. Sometimes snatch game implies
a game in which the
dealer takes more than he is supposed to, or takes all that he
can get away with, whereas
rake game is just the generic term for that method of making its money by the
house.
1
sneak
snoozer
snow
snow hand
snow job
snow the cards
snowball
1. (n) A worthless
hand.
1
snowmen
1. (n)
Two or more 8s. (That's what they
look like.)
1
social game
society
society chips
Sock it up
soft
2. (adj) In
lowball, pertaining to a
limit game played at slighter higher than its normal
stakes. For example, a soft 8 starts
out as a $6-
limit game, and then the players agree to slightly increase the
size of the
game by adding $1 to the
big blind. Instead of
three blinds at $1-$2-$3, it becomes $1-$2-$4 and $8-
limit. This is not the same as a
straight 8, whose blinds are $2-$2-$4. Similarly, a nominal $8-
limit game might become a soft 10, with blinds of $2-$2-$5, instead of the usual $2-$3-$5. The
point of all this is to
play at the next higher level without having to pay the
time for that
size game.
13. (adj) Easy to
beat. "Get in; it's a soft
game."
14. (adj) Pertaining to currency. For example, when requesting
change in currency (as opposed to chips), a request made by a
dealer to a
floorman for "$20 chips, $80 soft" indicates a
player has a $100
bill and wants only $20 of it in chips.
See hard.
15. (adv) Without putting pressure on. "He always plays her soft" means that when he gets in a
pot with this particular young
lady, he does not
bluff her, nor does he try to
push her around with
aggressive betting.
1
soft break
1. (n) The changing of currency, usually for part cash and part chips.
See the example under
soft (definition 4). Also
see hard.
1
soft play
1. (adv)
To go easy on another
player at the
table (e.g., not betting or raising against him). Suppose you and your brother are the last
two people left in a
hand.
On the river, you have the
nuts, but he bets. If you don't
raise, you are "
soft-playing" him. Please note that
soft-playing is prohibited in tournaments and
can result in penalties,
up to and including forfeiture of winnings.
32. (v)
Put no pressure on, as described under
soft 1
soft play a hand
soft play someone
1. (v)
Put no pressure on a person, as described under
soft (definition 5).
1
Sökö
solid
something
1. (n) In a no-
limit game, a (usually) substantial
bet. "You passed? I'm going to
bet something."
1
sore spot
sorts
1. (n) A
deck made up by taking portions from several decks, usually for the purpose of cheating. This is done to, for example,
take advantage of slight differences in patterns in different runs of
cards. The
diamonds on
one deck may
meet at the edges slightly differently from
one deck to another, but, to the untrained eye, the patterns would
look the same on the
backs of all the
cards.
1
soup
soup a hand
south
Southern Cross
1. (n) A form of
Cincinnati, in which each
player is dealt five
cards face down, and
nine cards are dealt
face down in the center (
widow), in the form of a cross, forming five vertical and five horizontal
cards, with each
player allowed to combine any or all of either the vertical or horizontal
cards together with his original
cards in forming a five-
card hand. The
widow cards are turned up
one at a
time, usually clockwise or counterclockwise from the
outside, working inward, with the center
card turned up last, each followed by a
betting round. Some
play that the center
card and others of the same
rank are
wild. In a variation, called
X marks the spot, the
widow consists of five
cards, forming
two rows of
three.
1
spade
spades
1. (n)
One of the four suits in a
deck of
cards, whose symbol is shaped like an inverted valentine with a stem (). Originally, spades may have represented the peasant
class, the
spade being an instrument used by farmers. In both the traditional and four-color
deck, they are
black.
1
spadoodles
speak
special hand
speed
2. (v)
Play recklessly (by betting and raising frequently and aggressively); so called because
one speeds by playing
fast.
14. (n) Excessive
gamble; often used in admiration. "She's got a lotta speed!"
1
speed hold 'em
speed table
speeder
speeding
1. (v) Someone who is caught bluffing is sometimes said to be caught speeding.
See speed and
table cop for more of this metaphor.
See bluff32. (v) Playing recklessly, making
large (in a no-
limit game) or frequent bets and bluffing a lot, that is, playing with considerable
speed. "Don't get caught speeding."
1
speedy
1. (adj) Describing
one who plays with a lot of
speed.
1
spider
spike
1. (v)
nail (definition 1).
14. (n) An imaginary object
conservative players supposedly use to keep their chips
out of action. "Yeah, he's got $1000
in front of him, but he's got a spike through $900 of it."
1
spit
spit card.
spit in the ocean
splash
splash around
splash the pot
1. (v) To toss chips directly into the
pot rather than
put them in a
stack in front of you. Don't do it.
22. (v) To
throw your chips into the
pot, instead of placing them
in front of you, is to splash the pot. Doing so
can make it difficult for the
dealer to determine if you've
bet the correct amount, or to keep track of the
action.
33. (v)
Throw chips messily into the
pot, possibly mixing them with chips already
there, as opposed to stacking them neatly at the
perimeter of the pot. Splashing the
pot is frowned on in most cardrooms, because it is
hard for the
house dealer--and other players--to determine exactly how much the
player has
bet.
1
split
2. (n) In a
tournament, an agreement made near the
end not to
play to the
end, with the money being divided in some
percentage arrangement according to the number of chips remaining to each participant in the agreement. Also called
deal.
13. (v) Agree to divide a
pot, without having a
showdown. Some cardrooms do not permit this, insisting that all hands played to the
end must have a
showdown.
14. (v)
Make an agreement to participate in a split, as described under definition 2.
1
split openers
split out
2. (n) Splitting
out (
see split out) a
stake, that is, giving him half his profits.
13. (n) The chips that
represent the half of the profits that the
stake gets to keep.
1
split pair
split pot
1. (n) A
pot that is shared by
two or more players because they have equivalent hands.
23. (n) A tie, that is, the situation in which
two (or more) players have identical hands, with the
pot divided between them.
1
split pot game
2. (n) Some other
game in which the
pot is
split between the holders of
two hands, as determined by other criteria, such as
Black Maria or seven-twenty-seven.
1
split someone out
split two pair
split week
spoke
sponsor
1. (n) Someone buying you a drink or meal. If someone offers you a drink at the
table, when you
call the cocktail waitress, you
can say, "Bring me a drink; I've got a sponsor."
13. (v) Pay someone's
buy-in to
a game or entry to a
tournament, in exchange for a portion of the profits, if any.
1
spot
2. (n) A
card; always preceded by its
rank. For example, a 4-spot is a 4.
1
spot card
1. (n) Any
card 2 through 10.
1
spots
spotted papers
spotter
1. (n) A
card 4 through 10. When
one of these
cards is
lying face down, and you lift the lower right corner, you
can see spots in the corner (as opposed to a no-spotter, which has no
spots in the corner, or a
liner, which is a
face card). Some
lowball players couple the knowledge that a
card could be
one of these (but that they don't know which
one) with
game theory to decide on whether or not to
bet. (Impartial observers might
say they're just playing games with themselves, but we don't
make judgments; we just define terms.)
1
spread
1. (n) When a
cardroom starts a
table for a particular
game, it is said to spread that
game. If you want to know what games are played in a particular place, you
can ask what they spread.
We don't spread
high only
stud.
32. (v) Start
a game. "Don't leave; we're about to spread a 20."
14. (n)
A game. If you phone your
local card emporium, and ask the
floorman how many games are going, he might
say, "I have five spreads."
1
spread a hand
spread limit
3. (n)
Poker in which the betting limits are somewhere between
single limit and
no limit. Bets have a range, from a minimum to a maximum. For example, in $2-$5 seven-
card stud, a
player can bet at any
time either $2, $3, $4, or $5. If 50-cent chips or coins are used, a
player can sometimes also
bet $2.50, $3.50, and so on. As in no-
limit games, a
raise must always at least equal the previous
bet or
raise (unless the
player making the
raise is going
all in, in which
case the interpretation varies from
club to
club). That is, if
one player bets $2 and the next
player raises $3, any other
player to
come into the
pot who wishes to
raise must
raise at least $3; a $2
raise is not permitted at this
point. Also called
modified limit.
1
spread the hand
spring
spring table
spur
square
square deal
square deck
square game
square the table
1. (v) A request to the
dealer to
make sure that all the players
sit in their proper positions, that is, with no
one off-center and crowding someone else (likely the
player making the request).
1
square up the table
1. (v) Ensure that all the players
sit in their proper positions, that is, with all centered and equally spaced.
1
squared deck
1. (n) A
deck arranged in a neat
pile, with no edges protruding, usually prior to cutting or
dealing.
1
squeeze
1. (v) In a
draw game,
look at one's
cards slowly; so called because players start with their
cards tightly squared together, such that they
can see only the first
card, and then slowly squeeze them apart, that is, separate them, causing each
card to reveal itself, slowly,
one at a
time, as if the viewer wishes to surprise himself with the
cards; this is often done agonizingly slowly, frequently when it is the squeezer's
turn to
act, as if the
player deliberately wants to annoy the others, while he pretends to be innocent of any knowledge of what effect his slowness is having. Sometimes called
sweat."Hey, don't squeeze the
spots off of `em; we're paying
time here."
13. (n) Looking at
one's
cards in the manner described under 1. "Whenever the
action is on Bess, she gives it the
slow squeeze."
1
squeeze bet
squeeze in
squeeze out
squeeze play
squeezers
1. (n) Special
cards with
suit and
rank printed at the corners, so these
can be seen by just barely squeezing
back the corners. (This is the ordinary
card format now, but many years ago,
cards had no markings in their corners.)
1
stack
1. (n) The amount of money you have
in front of you on the
poker table (i.e., stack of chips). Often used in the plural.
See also
short stack.
A stack
can also refer to a particular number of chips. Most
chip racks
take stacks of 20 chips. Many players like to keep their chips in stacks of particular numbers of chips. I favor 10-
chip stacks, but most players seem to opt for 20 to 30.
I was doing well earlier, but my stacks have been dwindling.
32. (n) All of your chips. "I'll
bet my stack."
13. (n)
One pile of chips, usually 20
high. "
Houseman, bring me another stack," means that the speaker wants another 20 chips.
14. (v) Arrange the
deck, that is, perform the cheating maneuver of prearranging the
cards, usually by false shuffling (
see false shuffle) or some other form of sleight-of-
hand, into a specific order such that specific hands go to predetermined players, usually a
good hand to the "
sucker" and a better
hand to the
deck stacker (
thief) or his
confederate; usually followed by the
deck.
15. (v) Arrange chips in neat piles
16. (v) Gather up chips after winning the
pot. "Lemme
cut the
cards. Curly's too busy stacking that last
pot."
1
stack off
2. (n) All of your chips. "Did he
bet?" "Yep, that was a
stack-
off."
13. (adj) Pertaining to such a
bet; usually followed by
bet. "Did he
bet?" "Yep, that was a
stack-
off bet."
1
stack poker
stack the deck
1. (v) Arrange the
deck by some sleight-of-
hand maneuver, as done by a
cheat, and described under
stack 1
stacked deal
stacked deck
stake
stake player
1. (n) A
player given
house chips to
play for the purpose of starting
a game that would otherwise be
short, or to keep
a game that is becoming
short from breaking up. A stake player keeps half his profits (after returning to the
house the amount given him when he was first
put in), usually at the
end of a
shift, but absorbs none of the losses. When he receives his share of the profits, this is the
split-
out. Sometimes shortened to just
stake. Compare with
shill.
1
stakes
1. (n) The
size of
a game, with respect to its betting increments or limits (or lack thereof). In a $2-
limit game, for example, the stakes are just that, $2. In a no-
limit game, the stakes are unlimited. In
anything in between, the stakes are usually described by the minimum and maximum bets, sometimes by the amount required for a
buy-in.
1
stakes play
stakes player
stamped cards
stand
stand pat
stand up
standard deck
1. (n) The 52-
card deck, consisting of four suits (
spades ,
hearts ,
diamonds ,
clubs ) of 13
cards each (A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K).
1
standard signals
standoff
star
start the action
starter
starting hand
starting requirement
stash
1. (n) A
bankroll (often hidden away, though generally readily accessible) for emergency situations.
1
stay
1. (v)
Call a
bet, sometimes with the connotation of doing so as an
underdog. "A hundred to me? I'll stay."
1
stay in
stayer
2. (n) A
hand worth calling with, but not raising or initiating any betting.
1
steal
2. (n) Win (a
pot) by bluffing.
1
steal a hand
steal a pot.
1. (n) Win (a
pot) by bluffing.
1
steal position
steal the antes
1. (v) Win just the antes by bluffing; get everyone to
fold, usually by opening in
late position when no
one else appears to be interested in the
pot, before
there is any real
action, and thus win the antes.
1
steal the blinds
steam
3. (v)
raise; no longer frequently used. "He steamed it."
14. (n)
Raise; no longer frequently used. "He
put some steam on the
pot."
1
steam bet
steam kill
steamer
steaming
steel wheel
steer
1. (v)
Hustle someone into another
game, often private.
1
steer game
steer joint
steer man
steer money
steerer
stenographer
step
step bet
step out there
1. (v)
gamble (definition 2). "You
can't just
sit and
wait for the
nuts. Sometime you have to step out there."
1
step the deck
steppin' out
Stew
stick
2. (n) A
player who makes a practice of not tipping the dealers.
1
still pack
1. (n) The alternate
deck, that is, the
one not currently being dealt, in
home games in which
two decks are used.
One deck is dealt while the other is being shuffled (by the
shuffler) for the next
deal.
1
stock
2. (vt)
stack (definition 3) a
deck, that is, prearrange the
cards for cheating purposes.
1
stone
1. (adj) Complete. "A stone beauty" means a
good hand.
1
Stonewall
Stonewall Jackson
Stoney
stop and go
store
stormy weather
straddle
4. (n)
overblind (definition 2). Someone might
say, "
John acts last; he has the straddle."
1
straddle game
straggler
straight
1. (n) A
hand composed of five
cards of consecutive ranks (aces count as
high or
low). A2345 is a five
high straight, or a straight to the five. 789TJ is a
jack high straight, or a straight to the
jack. TJQKA is an exercise for the
reader (but
see broadway). In comparing straights, the straight to the higher
card wins.
33. (adj) In
lowball, pertaining to a
hand whose
cards form a straight, or whose
top four do. That is, 8-7-6-5-4 is a straight 8, but the term sometimes applies also to a
hand like 8-7-6-5-2.
1
straight draw
straight flush
straight limit
straight poker
straight up
straightening
straighting
strange
strange money
stranger
strategic bluff
1. (n) A planned
bluff, as opposed to
one made on the
spur of the moment.
1
streak
street
string
string bet
1. (v) A
bet (more typically a
raise) in which a
player doesn't get all the chips required for the
raise into the
pot in
one motion. Unless he verbally declared the
raise, he
can be forced to withdraw it and just
call. This prevents the unethical
play of putting
out enough chips to
call, seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising.
22. (adj) Most cardrooms (and serious
home games) require you to
make your entire
bet at once. In other words, you
can't
raise by putting
out enough to
call and then reaching
back to your
stack for your
raise. As well, since verbal statements are considered binding at most
poker games, if you
say "I
call your
bet and
raise you ten more," you have called, since the
raise was added afterwards. To be on the safe
side, when you want to
raise it's best to
say "
raise" so that your
bet won't be mistaken. The reason for the string bet rule is to prevent players from strategically misleading other players about the
size of their
bet (
see angle). Note that movie and television depictions of
poker games are filled with egregious examples of
string bets.
33. (n) An illegal
bet, because it was not made
all in one motion. The concept of
string bets is complicated (and not just because it is interpreted differently from
club to
club). If you want to
raise a
bet, you are supposed to have as many chips as you need to cover the
bet plus your
raise in your
hand when you
put your
hand in the
pot, and then
release all of them before withdrawing your
hand. Similarly, if you wish to
bet more than the minimum in a no-
limit game, you are supposed to have as many chips as you wish to
bet in your
hand. Most
clubs permit you to
say the magic words, "I
raise" (or
something that means the same,
even something as nebulous as "Going up!," or, in the
case of a
bet, "I
bet" or
something interpretable as synonymous), and then
make one or more
trips back to your
stack for more chips. In the absence of the preceding conditions, you are likely to be guilty of making a string bet, the penalty for which is being permitted only to
call the preceding
bet, or
put in the
pot only as many chips as you currently have in your
hand (or, in the
case of a
bet in a no-
limit game,
bet only the minimum for the
game). Watch
out! The string bet situation
trips up more players than almost any other rule. The rationale
behind prohibiting
string bets is that, in former times, a
player might
put in part of his
bet, hesitate long enough to
see the reactions of other players, and then, based on those reactions, perhaps then increase the
bet.
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strip
strip poker
1. (n) A form of
poker, generally played in mixed company, in which players use articles of clothing to purchase chips. As players need more chips, they must remove clothing; sometimes (rarely) the winners
put those articles on. In some versions of the
game, in each
hand, all but the
winner of the
pot must remove
one article of clothing; the drawback to this is the lack of an
ante, unless players
ante with clothing, in which
case a disproportionate
value is placed on any
one article of clothing. This form of
poker is not really related to the true nature of
poker, whose goal is, for each
player, to win money; the underlying nature of strip poker is to get almost everyone naked.
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stripped deck
1. (n) A
deck with certain
cards removed for special games, such as for
Asian stud, a form of five-
card stud played with a 32-
card stripped deck, from which all
cards 2 through 6 have been removed. In some European countries, and Australia,
poker is sometimes played with a stripped deck from which the deuces and treys have been removed.
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stripped pack
stripper deck
strippers
stripping
strong
1. (adv) Quite dishonest. "I just looked in at the
lowball game. Jim's going really strong." This means that Jim is using some very dishonest cheating methods.
12. (adv) Heavily, when pertaining to the rate at which chips are raked from
a game. "What? You
take $2
out of every
pot,
even if no
one plays? That's pretty strong."
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strong hand
1. (n) A
hand that has a great likelihood of winning a
pot; the
nuts.
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strong work
1. (n)
Marked cards whose markings are obvious and easily seen
even by the untrained eye.
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stronger than the nuts
structure
1. (adj) The structure of
a game refers to the details about the betting, including antes, blinds, and the amount that may be
bet on any
round. In cardrooms, games are typically posted along with shorthand for the limits. For example, 5-10 hold'em is usually a
fixed limit game, played with $5 bets and raises pre-
flop and
on the flop, and $10 bets and raises
on the turn and the
river. This usually generalizes to any
game where the structure is X-2X. Games with more complicated structures sometimes spell it
out like this: 5-10-10-15.
Spread limit games are ones in which the betting in a given
round is constrained to a particular range. So a 1-4
spread limit game would allow a
bet from $1 to $4 on any
round (often constrained that a
bet or
raise must be at least the
size of the previous
action). Many different structures are
possible, and the sizes of antes and blinds vary from
game to
game. The structure of
a game has a substantial impact on appropriate strategy.
In connection with tournaments, structure
can also mean
anything having to do with the amount of money in
tournament chips players
can get, the
rebuy and add-on rules, and the way in which the blinds increase.
I was reluctant to dive right in because of the unfamiliar structure.
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structured
structured limit
struggle
strychnine
Stu
stub
stuck
1. (adj) Losing money, usually enough so you'd notice.
I was stuck about $200 after that
hand, but I couldn't
quit.
Even the best players in the world get stuck sometimes.
32. (adv) Losing. "How much you stuck?"
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stud
stud horse poker
1. (n) Supposedly an early form of
stud poker, but, in fact,
a game that no
one really knows how to
play. A portion of the California Constitution (Section 330) legislates against certain games of
chance by name, including roulette, blackjack,
something called lansquenet, and, notably,
stud-
horse poker.
Even though attorneys-general of the state had no idea what the
game was, they used that apparent ban for a long
time to prevent the playing of any form of
poker that was not
draw. Some historians think
stud-
horse poker was a variant of
three-
card monte, that is, a
sucker game in which the
sucker had no
chance. Eventually the government
quit prosecuting
clubs in which
hold 'em was played, because judges ruled it was not
stud. Once the "
door was opened," other games were permitted, including
stud, and
even games like super
pan 9, California aces, and 21st
Century Blackjack that clearly
bear little resemblance to
poker. And nobody knows yet what
stud-
horse poker is.
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stud player
1. (n) Someone who plays
stud poker (usually exclusively, or in preference to other forms of
poker).
1
stud poker
1. (n) A form of
poker in which
one or more
cards are dealt to each
player face down, followed by
one upcard, with a
betting round, more upcards, with a
betting round after each, and then, in seven-
card stud, a final
downcard, and a final
betting round. The forms are five-
card stud and seven-
card stud, and sometimes six-
card stud. In
home games, you
can find other variants.
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study
1. (v) Regard your
cards intently while trying to
make up your mind what to do next.
12. (v) Regard an opponent intently in an attempt to divine what
cards the opponent has. Compare with
read.
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substitute
substitution
substitution poker
subway dealer
suck
suck out
sucker
suction
suction bet
sudden death
suicide king
1. (n)
King of
hearts. (He's sticking a sword into his head.)
1
suit
suit mark
suit system
suited
2. (adj) Of the same
suit.
I almost never
play 98 unless it's suited.
3
suited connectors
summertime hand
sunning a deck
1. (n) A form of cheating, a method of marking certain
cards by leaving them in the sun for a period of
time, which causes their
backs either to lighten or
darken.
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super bluff
super full
supersatellite
survival mode
1. (n) In a
tournament, just trying to hang on till the limits go up, or avoid being
busted before someone else, for the sake of making it to the
final table or be among those who receive a payout. This is a nonaggressive strategy some use to try to be among the winners of a
tournament.
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svengali deck
1. (n) A machine-made
deck that contains
marked cards,
shaved cards,
cards made up of pieces of other
cards for certain effects, etc. Such decks are sold at magic supply outlets, supposedly for entertainment, and are indeed used by magicians to perform tricks, but they are also used by thieves to introduce into
card games. Svengali, a character in
George Du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby, was an evil hypnotist who enslaved the title character, a young woman.
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sweat
1. (v) To sweat someone is to watch them
play from the
rail, in order to lend your support.
33. (vt)
kibitz. "Aren't ya ready to leave yet?" "Hold on, I wanna sweat this
game a few more minutes."
14. (vi) Win by careful
play, avoiding taking risks. Compare with
grind out.
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sweat out
1. (v)
sweat "Will you hurry up? We're paying
time!" "Hold on, this is an important
pot; I gotta sweat out this
hand."
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sweater
1. (n)
kibitzer; sometimes in particular someone who, in a
tournament, stands
on the rail and closely follows the
play of
one particular
player, perhaps because of having a financial interest in, or being married to, the significant other of, or a friend of, that
player.
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sweep
sweeper
sweeping hand
sweeten
sweeten the pot
swing
swing hand
swing shift
swinger
switch
2. (n) The
act of so doing.
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switch man