Quick reference
Hand rankings & glossary
Hand rankings
Strongest first. Suits are never ranked; equal hands split the pot.
- 1Royal flushA♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠Ace-high straight, all one suit.
- 2Straight flush9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥Five in sequence, all one suit.
- 3Four of a kindQ♣ Q♦ Q♥ Q♠ 4♦Four cards of the same rank.
- 4Full houseJ♠ J♥ J♦ 7♣ 7♠Three of a kind plus a pair.
- 5FlushA♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦Five of one suit, not in sequence.
- 6Straight10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣Five in sequence; A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest.
- 7Three of a kind7♠ 7♥ 7♦ K♣ 3♠Three cards of the same rank.
- 8Two pairK♥ K♣ 5♦ 5♠ 9♥Two different pairs.
- 9One pairA♥ A♣ 10♦ 6♠ 3♥Two cards of the same rank.
- 10High cardA♠ Q♦ 9♣ 6♥ 2♠None of the above; highest card plays.
Poker glossary
- Ante
- A small forced bet from every player (or the big blind) before the deal.
- Big blind ante
- One ante paid by the big blind for the whole table — the European tournament standard.
- Blinds
- Forced bets posted by the two players left of the button.
- Board
- The community cards: flop, turn and river.
- Bubble
- The last place before the prize money starts.
- Button
- The dealer position; acts last after the flop.
- Buy-in
- The price to enter a tournament or sit at a cash game.
- Check-raise
- Checking, then raising after an opponent bets.
- Chop
- Splitting the pot or prize money.
- Cut-off
- The seat to the right of the button.
- Draw
- A hand that needs more cards to become strong, e.g. a flush draw.
- Equity
- Your share of the pot on average if all cards were dealt out.
- Final table
- The last table of a tournament.
- Flop
- The first three community cards.
- Freezeout
- A tournament with no re-entries.
- Gutshot
- A straight draw needing one inside card (four outs).
- Heads-up
- Play between only two players.
- ICM
- Independent Chip Model — converts tournament chips to prize money value.
- Kicker
- A side card that decides between equal hands.
- Late registration
- The period after the start when you can still enter.
- Limp
- Calling the big blind before the flop instead of raising.
- Muck
- Discarding your hand; also the pile of discarded cards.
- Nuts
- The best possible hand at that moment.
- Outs
- Unseen cards that would improve your hand to the likely winner.
- Pot odds
- The price of a call compared with the size of the pot.
- Rake
- The fee the house takes from each cash-game pot.
- Re-entry
- Buying in again after being knocked out.
- River
- The fifth and final community card.
- Satellite
- A cheaper tournament whose prizes are seats in a bigger one.
- Side pot
- A separate pot that an all-in player cannot win.
- Straddle
- An optional blind raise before the cards are dealt (cash games).
- Tilt
- Playing badly because of frustration.
- Turn
- The fourth community card.
- UTG
- Under the gun — first to act before the flop.