Poker Betting Terms

Action

This refers to poker betting action. The term action includes betting, calling, raising and folding in a game, as well as a players opportunity to act in one of those manners.

Action Only

A bet that is less than a full bet that other players can call but not raise on.

Add-on

This is used to describe the act of buying more chips prior to going out in order to increase your stack of chips for a live game, and in a rebuy poker tournament situation this option is offered to all players at the same time, and is most often only offered once when the buy in period is coming to an end.

Ante

An equal amount each player must put into the pot in order to begin the pot and have the right to play in the game for it. This is an involuntary bet which is typically not used in Texas Hold'Em.

All In

When a player bets or calls their entire stack of chips in a single game it is called going all in.

Backraise

A raise made by a player that called earlier in the betting round.

Bet

Any money that's wagered during a game of poker.

Blind

This is an involuntary bet made by one or more players prior to the cards being dealt.

Bluff

The act of implying you have a strong hand by raising or betting in order to get other players to fold when you actually have a weak hand is called bluffing in poker.

Bring In

Another name for the first or opening bet of a round. In stud poker the bring in is involuntarily assigned to the person with the lowest upcard.

Call

The act of meeting another player's raise or bet, to see the bet.

Cap

The cap is the allotted number of raises that are permitted in a betting round, which is typically 3 or 4 raises. It can also refer strictly to the last raise of a betting round. The cap is waived if it is down to just two players.

Check

The action of essentially betting nothing, by neither raising nor having to call a raise, but having the option to do so later on in the betting round.

Check Raise

The act of checking and then raising after another player raises within a single round of betting. Some consider this unethical but it can be a useful tactic.

Chop

To split the pot, or in a blind betting structure a chop occurs when no one calls or raises in the first round of betting and the players who put in the blind bets agree to take back their blinds.

Cold Call

A cold call is a call that encompasses the amount of more than one bet in a single motion.

Extra Blind

This is a blind that isn't part of the small or big blind but rather a blind paid when a player switches seats at the table, enters the game or comes back to a game.

Jam

The act of going all-in in a no-limit betting structure game.

Limp

This is another term for calling rather than raising.

Live Blind

A live blind is a blind bet in which the player making the blind bet has the option of raising at the end of the betting round when the action comes back to them.

Match the Pot

This is to bet an amount that equals that of the pot.

Open

This refers to the first one to bet.

Overcall

Also known as coldcall or flat call, an overcall is to call after other players have already called.

Position Bet

A bet made based on a players position at the poker table rather than their hand.

Post

Post is a blind bet that a player must make because there is a blind betting structure with no antes, they have just entered the game, or they have changed positions at the table.

Pot Committed

This is a situation in which the pot has reached such a high number of chips a player literally has to call the rest of their chips to stay in the game because their stack is so low.

Pot Limit

This is a type of betting structure in which the bet or raise maximum a player can make is the amount that is currently in the pot.

Smooth Call

A smooth call is simply a call, but it can be done as a cautionary act even if a player has good cards, or whenever a player has a good hand and is slow playing so as to not scare other players away from betting more.

Stop and Go

This is a betting term in which a player calls and raises going back and forth or in other words stops raising, then raises and so on. More specifically it refers to calling a raise then on the next cards goes straight for the raise.

Straddle Bet (Texas Hold'Em)

A straddle bet is when any player puts in an optional blind bet, in addition to the other blind bets, at twice the amount of the big blind. This essentially makes other players have to put in an additional bet in order to play the game. It also gives the player with the straddle bet the advantage of being last to bet again before the flop.

String Bet

A string bet is one in which the player calls and raises but not in one consecutive motion of getting the chips for both the call and the raise in the pot at the same time. In other words, he puts his chips in to call then goes for more chips without stating the intention of raising or the amount. The action is frowned upon and the raise can be determined null if the player doesn't first state they're intention to call and raise.

To Go

It's the amount needed for a player to call and continue on in the current hand.

Walk

This is when no one bets on the big blind and all the players fold.

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