Learning to speak Texas Hold’em as well as you play it is all part of the fun and excitement of the world’s most popular poker game!
Some of the terms and slang used are self-explanatory, some humourous, others startlingly apt, but all very relevant to the game and your knowledge of it.
To help you along we have put together a comprehensive list of terms. Read them, memorise the ones you find worthy of repeat, and begin to speak Hold’em as well as you play it!
This is part 2 covering the letter B. The remainder of the alphabet will be gradually introduced to allow meanings to soak in.
Have fun reading!
B is for:
Backdoor:
• This is when you hit the required cards to make your hand on the turn and the river. Example: 1 Diamond is on the table, you have 2 in your hand and 2 more Diamonds show on the turn and river. Result: You have hit a ‘backdoor’ Flush
Bad Beat:
• A player who has an initial, substantial, statistical lead over their opponent but lose the hand after the Flop, Turn or River
Bad Beat Story:
• Tales often retold (and then retold again!) relating to a player’s disbelief that their hand was ‘surely’ unbeatable. They staked high in anticipation of collecting a big pot only to be ‘mugged’ by an opponent due to some incredible cards produced on the turn and the river.
Big Blind (BB):
• The size of wager the 2nd player to the dealers left has to bet. The amount placed depends upon the stakes of each game. The BB must be placed before action begins and is equivalent to 1 complete 1st round bet. The reason it is called a blind? Because the player concerned has to place the bet without seeing their cards first.
Blind:
• This is a generic term for either/or the Big Blind (BB) or the Small Blind (SB). You are one of these blinds when you are:
• Sitting immediately to the dealers left = SB
• Sitting immediately left of the SB = BB
Board:
• Refers to the community cards every player uses in combination with their pocket cards in order to form the best hand
Bubble:
• In a tournament this is the label you do not want! The Bubble refers to the top finisher out of the money. Example: There are 350 players
in a tournament and the top 35 are in for a payout. The player finishing 36th is known as “The Bubble”
Burn:
• The top card is discarded before each betting round. If there happens to be a distinguishing mark on the burn card it stays where it is in order to conceal the next card to be deal before it comes out. In this way, no information (intentional or unintentional) is evident to any player
Button:
• Nice place to ‘B!’. This donates the position of the dealer. In live games it is usually indicated by placing a plastic disk in front of the dealer. This moves clockwise from player to player each time the dealer shuffles for a new hand. The huge advantage being “on the button” has is that you get to act last in the betting of that particular game.
Buy-In:
• This is the cost you will pay to enter a tournament or the minimum amount you will need to sit down in a cash game at a certain table. It is usually 20 x’s the BB (Big Blind). Example: If you are at a $5/$10 table you will need $200 to take a seat.
That’s it for the letter ‘B’ in our 1st installment of “Texas Hold’em – The A-Z of Poker speak”. There is little doubt you will be familiar with some of the terms above, but hopefully you have added to your Texas Hold’em vocabulary with ones previously unheard of.
There’s lots more to come:
Do keep a close eye out as we build this extensive compendium on the A-Z of Hold’em jargon. It will add to your knowledge of common terms as well as the more obscure ones. What is more, you will be able to impart your knowledge to friends as well as foes!
Our next article covers the letter ‘C’ and includes ‘Cap’, ‘Case Card’, ‘Chop’, those potentially useful ‘Cowboys’ and one you want to come out on top of the pile in: ‘Cooler!’