A bet that must be posted by the player two seats to the left of the button. It is equal to the amount of the smaller betting limit in a game, for example, in a 10-20 game, the big blind would be $10.

Blind:

Forced bets placed in the pot by the first two players in front of the dealer button, in Hold'em and Omaha. See "small blind" and "big blind."

Bluff:

To bet when you hold a weak hand, hoping that the intimidation factor of your bet can win the hand.

Bring-in:

In Stud, a bet that must be made on the very first betting round. Usually the player showing the lowest card is forced to make a bet; in some games, the player showing the highest card is forced. The bring-in applies only on the very first betting round, though. On all further rounds, the player showing the highest hand on board has the OPTION to bet first, but need not.

Call:

To match a bet that has been made.

Check:

To possess the option to bet, but decline. A player cannot check once someone else has bet; at that point, the player must call, raise, or fold. But if no one has yet bet, a player can check, allowing the betting option to pass to the next player.

Check-raise:

To check, indicating weakness, with the intention of raising after someone else bets.
Check-raises are allowed in all casino poker games; in some home games, they are frowned upon.

Fifth Street:

The fifth community card in Hold'em or Omaha (in these games, 5th street is more often called "the river."). Also sometimes used to refer to the fifth card received in 7 Card Stud.

Flop:

In Hold'em or Omaha, the first three community cards, turned up all at once.

Fold:

To drop out of a hand.

Fourth Street:

The fourth community card in Hold'em or Omaha (in these games, 4th street is more often called "the turn."). Also sometimes used to refer to the fourth card received in 7 Card Stud.

Hole cards:

Cards that are face down and cannot be seen by the other players.

Kicker:

Two meanings.

1) A single card kept along with a pair, in Draw, in an attempt to make two pair. For example, someone might keep 3-3-K, drawing two cards, in the hope that he might get either a three (for trips) or a King (making two pair, Kings-up).

2) The highest single card held by two players in Hold'em who each hold the same pair. For example, if the board in Hold'em is A-10-8-5-2, and Player One holds A-J as his hand, and Player Two holds A-Q, each player has a pair of Aces, but Player Two has a better kicker and would win the hand.

Narrowing the Field:

To bet or raise in the hopes that you will drive out some players whose hands are currently worse than yours, but who might improve if allowed to stay in.

Nuts, The:

The best possible hand. This phrase is almost always used in the context of a particular hand (otherwise "the nuts" would just be a term for a royal flush). For example, in Hold'em, a player holding 8-9 would hold "the nuts" if the flop came 6-7-10. At that moment, the 6-7-8-9-10 straight is the best possible hand. However, if the Turn card were a Jack, and the River a Queen, a player holding A-K would then have the nuts-a 10-J-Q-K-A straight.

Pot:

The money in the center of the table, being contested by the players still remaining in the hand.

Rake:

The amount of money the casino takes from the pot to make money from the poker game. In low limit games, the casino usually rakes some percentage of the pot, usually a maximum of 10% of the pot. In higher limit games, the casino makes money either by charging players an hourly fee to play, or by collecting a fee each time a player holds the button.

River:

In Hold'em or Omaha, the fifth and final community card. Also sometimes called fifth street.

Rock:

A player known to be very conservative, who usually bets or raises only when he has a very powerful hand.

Small Blind:

A bet that must be posted by the player one seat to the left of the button. It is usually equal to one half of the smaller betting limit in a game, for example, in a 10-20 game, the small blind would be $5. Occasionally, the small blind is some other fraction of the big blind.

Poker hand rankings

Poker Hand Rankings

Royal flush
Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit.
Straight flush
Straight with all five cards in the same suit.
Four of a kind
It consists of the four cards of any one rank together with any fifth card
Full house
It consists of any three of one kind and any pair of another kind, such as It is referred to by the three-of-a-kind it contains
Flush
It consists of any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
Straight
Consists of any five cards of two or more suits in sequence of rank, with the ace ranking either high in sequence or low in the sequence. One does not need to have an ace to have a straight, of course: any five cards in a row will do.
Three of a kind
Are any three cards of the same rank plus two other cards which do not constitute a pair and do not include the fourth card of the same rank; would be referred to as "three nines." Or "trip nines."
Two Pair
Two sets of cards of the same rank, for example two queens and two sixes.
Pair
any two cards of the same rank, together with three other cards which do not combine with the other two to form any of the higher-ranking hands above: is a pair of kings.
High card
The highest ranked card is an Ace, and the ranking runs from the Ace down all the way to 2.