List of Poker Terms & Definitions

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Your Ultimate Poker Glossary

Sasa, mambo? Whether you’re logging into an online poker table or joining a home game, knowing your poker terms inside out is shwari. Here’s a poker glossary packed with the lingo you need to stay on top of your game:

• Ante – A small forced bet everyone throws in before the dealer shuffles.
• All-In – Betting your entire stack of chips on one hand.
• Action – All the betting, raising and calling that goes down during a hand.
• Bad beat – When a monster hand gets crushed by an unlikely draw.
• Bankroll – The KSh you set aside just for poker, often loaded via M-Pesa or Airtel Money (e.g. KSh 10,000).
• Bet – Wagering chips or KSh on your hand.
• Big blind – A forced bet made by the player to the left of the small blind in certain types of poker games.
• Blind – A forced bet by one or two players before cards hit the table.
• Bluff – Making a bet or raise with a weak hand to scare opponents into folding.
• Board – The community cards everyone can use.
• Button – That little disc showing who’s dealer this hand.
• Call – Matching the current bet.
• Check – Passing your turn to bet without folding.
• Check-raise – Checking first, then raising when someone else bets.
• Community cards – Shared cards on the board in Hold’em or Omaha.
• Draw – Discarding and picking up new cards to improve your hand.
• Drop – Folding your hand; achana na mimi.
• Early position – Acting near the start of the betting round.
• Edge – A small advantage you have over opponents.
• Exposed card – A card accidentally shown during play.
• Flop – The first three community cards dealt face-up, like in Texas Hold’em.
• Fold – Giving up your hand and exiting the round.
• Full house – Three of a kind plus a pair.
• Flush – Five cards of the same suit.
• Gutshot – A straight draw needing one specific middle card.
• Heads Up – A showdown between just two players.
• Hole cards – The face-down cards dealt to each player.
• Jam – Going all-in in one move.
• Jackpot – A bonus payout for a rare hand like a royal flush.
• Kicker – A side card used to break ties.
• Knockout tournament – Each player has a bounty; knock ‘em out to claim it.
• Laydown – Folding a strong hand after a hefty bet.
• Limit – Fixed bet sizes and capped raises per round.
• Lowball – The lowest hand wins, e.g. 2-7 Triple Draw.
• Main pot – The primary pot when one or more players are all-in.
• Monster – A very strong hand (think full house or better).
• No-Limit – Bet any amount (up to your stack) at any time.
• Nuts – The best possible hand right now.
• Nut low – The best low hand in high-low split games.
• Nine-handed – A table with nine players.
• Offsuit – Two cards of different suits.
• Open-ended straight draw – Needing one of two cards to complete a straight.
• Out – A card that can win you the pot.
• Overlay – An overlay tournament where the prize pool tops the buy-ins.
• Overpair – A pocket pair higher than any board card.
• Pair – Two cards of the same rank.
• Pocket cards – Your two private cards in Texas Hold’em.
• Pot – All the KSh or chips wagered so far.
• Pot-limit – You can bet up to the current pot size.
• Position – Your seat relative to the dealer; huge for reads and poker strategies.
• Preflop – The betting round before any community cards.
• Raise – Increasing the bet you’re called to match.
• Rebuy – Buying back into a tourney after you bust.
• River – The fifth and last community card.
• Round of betting – One full cycle of bets.
• Royal flush – The top hand: A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit.
• Showdown – Revealing cards to see who wins.
• Small blind – The bet to the dealer’s left in Hold’em/Omaha.
• Split pot – When two or more hands tie and share the pot.
• Straddle – A voluntary double-big-blind bet before cards.
• Straight – Five cards in sequence.
• Trips – Three of a kind using one hole card and two on the board.
• Turn – The fourth community card, dealt after the flop.
• Table stakes – You can only bet chips on the table at hand start.
• Under the gun – First to act preflop, right of the big blind.
• Underdog – The hand or player not favoured to win.
• Upcard – A face-up card in stud games.
• Value bet – Betting with a strong hand to extract max value.
• Wheel – The lowest straight, A-2-3-4-5.

Level Up Your Poker Game

Ready to put these poker terms and poker strategies to work in your next online poker session? Poker is fully legal and regulated in Kenya by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), so you can play with peace of mind. Manage your bankroll with M-Pesa or Airtel Money—starting at around KSh 10,000 is a solid move—stay aware of position, bluff smart, and never go full jam without a plan. For help with responsible play, call 0800 722 200 or visit Responsible Gaming KE. When you compare sites on CasinoRank, you’re getting a fair shot at finding the best tables, bonuses and security features. Achana na mimi—keep learning, keep practising, and you’ll be flipping aces like a pro in no time!

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