Poker Terminology – Common Phrases & Meanings

Ever wonder about the meaning of that poker term that keeps cropping up? Wonder no more thanks to 888poker’s comprehensive poker glossary! Here we break down all of the important poker terms in depth. We’ve also gone the extra mile to include expert strategy advice along with many of the poker terms. 
 

This page shows the overview of the entire poker glossary. Feel free to use this page as a base for identifying and navigating to the most important poker terms. Alternatively, the related topics at the bottom of each page can be used to jump directly between glossary entries. 

A

Ace High – A made hand without at least a pair where the high card is an Ace.

Action – Can refer to any of the available options such as bet, raise, call, check, fold etc. See this glossary entry for a breakdown. 

Aces Up – Two pair, one of which is Aces.

Add-On – An amount that can be added to our stack of tournament chips for a set fee during a designated break.

A-Game – Refers to playing poker with an optimal mindset or mental state. Also referred to as playing poker “in the zone”.

Alias – Refers to a player’s online screenname. Players who predominantly play online are often known by their alias/screename.

All-in – Refers to the act of putting all of one’s chips in the middle. See the glossary entry for a description of when this would be a correct option.

Angle – “Angle shooting” refers to manipulation of the rules to gain an unfair advantage.  See the glossary entry for examples of common angles.

Ante – A forced mandatory payment made by all players at the table before any cards are dealt. Tournaments often make use of antes in the later stages.

Any Two – Expression in Hold’em used to indicate an action that can be taken regardless of the hole cards – “I would 3bet any two cards in that spot”.

Any Two Cards – An expression used to convey that the 2 hole cards don’t matter in a certain Hold’em situation.