Poker Glossary

To trap in poker means to play a monster holding passively in the hopes that our opponent will either attempt to run a big bluff or value bet too wide. It’s very similar to other concepts such as slowplaying and sandbagging.

A tournament is a type of poker format where players are eliminated (knocked out from the tournament) when they run out of chips. Prizes are awarded based on order of knockouts, with the last remaining player typically being awarded the top prize. Unlike cash games, tournament players cannot rebuy chips (unless it’s a rebuy tournament) and they are not free to leave or join tables whenever they feel like it.

Tracking Software is the name given to computer programmes that track our results when playing poker online. There are several available types of tracking software that professional poker players make use of (depending on preference). Tracking software typically offers a range of extra features such as the ability to see various stats associated with our game play and view our played hands in a replayer

Time Bank in poker refers to the amount of extra time that can be given to a player when making a difficult decision. The concept originated with online poker where a button labelled ‘time bank’ could be clicked to extend a player’s remaining time for that hand. Making use of one’s time bank is commonly referred to as ‘tanking’.

Tilt is the term used to describe being angry while at the poker table. A tilted player often makes questionable decisions since intense emotion has the ability to shut down the more rational side of our brain. Although primarily associated with anger, bad decisions made as a result of other emotions such as fear, boredom and tiredness may also be described as tilt. The expression “on tilt” is frequently used to indicate that a player is tilted.

Tie in poker means that two (or more) hands are identical at showdown (including kickers). When hands are tied it means they split the pot equally at showdown (known as a ‘split pot’).

Three of a Kind is made when we hold three cards of identical rank. The strength of our three of a kind is determined by it’s rank value where Aces are high. This leaves room for two kickers in regular poker variants that use 5-card hands. Three of a Kind beats two-pair but loses to a straight. Three of a Kind is also frequently referred to as a ‘set’ (when made with a pocket-pair) or ‘trips’ (when two of the cards are on the board).

Three-bet (or 3bet)is the third bet (or second raise) in a betting sequence. There is a bet (1bet), a raise (2bet), and a re-raise which is the 3bet. It’s worth remembering that in games with blinds, the first bet on the first betting round is always the blind post, which is why a re-raise against a open-raise is known as a 3bet and not a 2bet.

Texture in poker typically refers to the relationship between visible cards, especially community cards in Hold’em and Omaha variants. For example, a flop of King Seven Two rainbow (all of different suits) is often described as flop with a drytexture due to the fact that there is no connectivity between the cards. The term texture may also be used to describe other sets of cards, such as the texture of a player’s upcards in Stud games.

A tell in poker is a piece of information that gives us additional clues about the type of hand our opponent is holding. For example, perhaps a player’s hands tremble when they pick up a big holding. Tells can cover a wide range of different areas including, timing, bet-sizing, verbalization, posture, eyes, hands, chip tricks and even use of a card protector. In the classic movie Rounders Teddy KGB has a (somewhat unbelievable) tell where he eats an Oreo every time he has a big hand.

To tank in poker means to spend time thinking about the best play in a hand. It is presumably a contraction of the words ‘time bank’, the option to request more time on a decision when playing online poker. A player can be described as ‘tanking’ or ‘going into the tank’ when they spend time pondering a decision rather than acting immediately.

TAG stands for ‘tight aggressive’ and is used to describe players with a tight aggressive play style. TAGs enter the pot only with strong hands and proceed by playing aggressively on the later betting rounds. The majority of winning poker players are TAGs earning it the title ‘king of all poker styles’ by many.

The table stakes rule prevents poker players from betting with more chips than they already have at the table. Before the table stakes rule, players might be able to force their opponents out of pots by betting more than their opponent could afford to lose. We could be playing a game for a few hundred bucks when our opponent suddenly throws his private yacht or Ferrari into the middle. With the table stakes rule, once a player is all in for his effective stack, he has the right to see a showdown without being forced to invest any additional chips.

Suited simply means that two of our cards are of the same suit. For example, the starting hand Ace of Spades, King of Spades in Hold’em is referred to as “Ace King suited” since both hole cards are of the same suit. PLO (Pot Limit Omaha) hands can be referred to as both suited and double-suited depending on whether there is one set or two sets of suited cards.

Stud refers to collection of poker variants that have similar characteristics. Stud games don’t use hole cards but rather a selection of upcards and downcards dealt to each player. Upcards are visible to the entire table while downcards are secret (like hole cards in Hold’em). The most popular Stud variant is Seven Card Stud which involves 5-betting rounds. Stud games are typically played in fixed limit format and don’t make use of a dealer button. The action order is instead determined by the strength of players’ upcards.