Common Terms Used in Wining at Poker

Knowing the terms in poker is part of winning the game. So here's a list of common poker terms used by poker champs.

The term "all in" is when a poker player wins not one but two pots of bets. This happens when a poker player taps out all his betting chips and two more poker players still have hands to play with the tapped out player. A separate pot is made, making a total of two pots. The new pot is for the poker players who have not yet tapped out.

A "betting round" in poker is when the betting round starts, often with the lowest hand going to the highest hand. But the usual practice is that in poker, betting starts with the person to the left of the dealer and goes in a clockwise direction. The betting continues until the poker players call or fold.

To "declare" in poker is to tell everyone that a player is after a high or a low hand, or both hands. This is done in the following manner: if a player aims for a low card he puts no chips in hand. If a player has one chip in hand, the player is aiming for a high card. If two chips are in hand, the player is after both hands. Then, all at the same time, the players reveal what chips they have in hand. Thus, the poker players "declare" their need for cards.

"Down" in poker means the face of the card is facing down so that nobody sees it. This is also referred to in poker as "in the hole." An "exchange" in poker is to replace some cards in hand with a new one coming from the top card of the deck. "High/low" in high/low poker means the highest and lowest hand in poker, both winners, split the pot winnings. It is even possible to win all the pot winnings for oneself---if one's hand has both highest and lowest hand, and if one has declare the intention to go after a high/low pot winning. To "roll" in poker is to turn a down card up to reveal its face. A "rank" in poker is the card value, high or low, from ace to ace. There are 13 ranks---ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, and king.

Basic poker terms seem difficult terms at first glance, but they are easy to understand when studied.