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General poker terminologies that will help you understand the game better:
- Ante: A small, mandatory bet all players are required to post before a hand begins. This helps to build the pot at the start of a game.
- Blinds: Bets made by two players before cards are dealt to encourage action. Typically, there are two blinds: the small blind and the big blind, with the big blind being double the small blind.
- Call: To match the current bet in order to continue in the hand.
- Raise: To increase the size of the current bet, which other players must call to remain in the hand.
- Fold: To give up on the hand and forfeit any chance of winning the current pot.
- Check: To pass the action to the next player without making a bet, if no betting action has occurred prior.
- All-In: To bet all remaining chips. This action commits a player’s entire stack to the pot.
- Flop: The first three community cards dealt face up on the board, all at once.
- Turn (Fourth Street): The fourth community card dealt after the flop.
- River (Fifth Street): The fifth and final community card dealt after the turn.
- Showdown: The point at which all bets are complete and players reveal their hands to determine the winner.
- Button: A disk that indicates the dealer position for the hand. It moves clockwise from player to player with each new deal.
- Pot: The total amount of chips/money that players have bet during a single hand. The winner of the hand wins the pot.
- Kicker: An unpaired card used to determine the winner between similar hands. The higher the kicker, the stronger the hand.
- Community Cards: Cards placed face-up in the center of the table, which all players can use to make their best possible hand.
- Muck: To discard or throw away your hand. It also refers to the pile of discarded cards.
- Position: A player’s location relative to the button which affects when they must act in the betting rounds.
- Tight: A playing style characterized by playing fewer hands and not taking many risks.
- Loose: A playing style characterized by playing a wide variety of hands, often aggressively.
- Aggressive: A playing style that involves a lot of betting and opening pots. Aggressive players often raise and re-raise when entering a pot.
- Passive: A playing style marked by a tendency to check and call rather than bet and raise. Passive players rarely take the initiative in betting.
This glossary should provide you with a good foundation to understand the common terms used in poker, enhancing your gameplay and enjoyment of the game.
