Poker Glossary

All-In
A player who runs out of chips during the course of a hand is said to be ‘all-in.’ He may be entitled only to win the portion of the pot that existed at the time he went all-in.

Betting Limits
The amount a player may bet or raise on any turn is set by the betting limits of the game. For example, a 3-6 table requires bets or raises to be $3 for the first 2 rounds of betting, and $6 for the last 2 rounds of betting. Likewise, a 4-8 table requires bets or raises to be $4 and $8 for the first 2 and last 2 rounds respectively.

Betting Round
One round of betting. There are 4 betting rounds in a given hand: before the flop, after the flop, after the turn, and after the river.

Big Blind
The big blind is made by the player immediately to the left of the small blind, and is equal to the minimum bet. For example, the big blind in a 3-6 game is $3, and in a 4-8 game, $4.

Blinds
The blinds are required bets made by the 2 people to the left of the dealer button before any cards are dealt, and serve to get money into the pot initially.

Burn Cards
In a live game, the dealer is required to deal 1 card (the burn card) off the top of the deck face down into the muck immediately prior to dealing the flop, the turn card, and the river card.

Buy-in
When a player first sits down at the table and buys chips, it is called a ‘buy-in.’ The minimum buy-in for Skybook Poker is 10 times the small bet or small blind in Pot/No limit. For example, in a 3-6 game, the minimum buy-in is $30. After a player has bought his initial chips and wishes to buy more, he can then purchase any quantity of chips provided it is $10 or greater. However if a player goes all-in and runs out of chips, they must purchase a full minimum buy-in amount.

Call
Once a bet has been made in a given round, if a player matches the bet (i.e. does not raise or fold), it is a ‘call.’

Check
If there has not been a bet made in a given hand, a player can ‘check’, which means he is not betting and is letting his turn pass without increasing the amount in the pot.

Chips
Circular color-coded discs used for betting, chips are available in denominations of $1, $3, $5, $25, $100, $500.

Fold
If a player elects to fold, he withdraws from the hand and forfeits all bets he has placed up to that point in the hand.

Hand
One complete game beginning with the posting of the blinds and concluding with 1 or more players winning the pot.

Main Pot and Side Pots
If a player runs out of chips in the course of a hand, (i.e. he goes ‘all-in’) the pot is split into a ‘main pot’ (the pot that existed up to the point any players went all in), and a ‘side pot’ (the portion of the pot the all-in player cannot win).

Muck Cards
All discarded cards lying face down in front of the dealer, consisting of all folded cards and ‘burn cards.’

Pot
The total number of chips that are bet in a given round and any prior rounds. Once betting in a round is complete, the total chips bet are moved into a pile near the center of the table.

Raise
Once a bet has been made in a given round, any subsequent increases to the amount bet are called a ‘raise.’ If the bet is increased after it has been raised, it is called a ‘re-raise.’

Rake
The house charges a commission -- the ‘rake’ -- as a percentage of the total pot won at the end of most hands. This represents the only source of revenue for the house, since all winnings go to the players. The rake amount is never more than $3 and is determined by the number of players at the table, and the amount in the total pot.

Small Blind
The small blind is made by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button and is equal to half of the minimum bet, rounded down to the nearest dollar. For example, the small blind in a 3-6 game is $1, and in a 4-8 game, $2.

Sit Out
Sitting out is the act of choosing not to participate in a hand of poker while remaining seated at the table. Players who sit out and miss the blinds must post both blinds to rejoin the game. Players missing 2 rounds of the blind (2 circuits of the Dealer button) are removed from the table to free their seats for other players.

Split Pot
If 2 or more players have the same hand at the showdown, the pot is split equally between them. If the pot cannot be split equally, the odd dollar is paid to the player next in line for the blinds.

Table Stakes
A common poker convention followed in most card rooms - including Skybook Poker – is a player can only play with the chips he has at the beginning of the hand. In other words, a player is not allowed to buy more chips during the course of a hand or remove chips from the table during or between hands, unless he exits the game. (A player similarly may not exit and quickly return with fewer chips.)