Villain
Villain is the name for the opponent in a hand that is being discussed. The player who tells the story is the hero. The word comes from hand histories posted on forums.
The simple explanation
When people describe a hand, they say 'Hero raises with ace-king and Villain calls'. It keeps the story clear, since it is obvious who is who. 'Villain' does not mean that the opponent is bad or evil.
A closer look
Some players prefer neutral words: the opponent, or his position such as 'the big blind'. The villain label also helps to separate facts from reads: Hero knows his own cards, and not the villain's. When describing a hand for review, give the villain's tendencies, stack size and position, since the right play depends on them.
A practical example
A forum post says: 'Hero has queens in the cutoff. Villain, a tight player in the big blind, check-raises the flop.'
Full explanation
Villain is the name for the opponent in a hand that is being discussed. The player who tells the story is the hero. The word comes from hand histories posted on forums.
Villain is the opponent from the hero’s point of view in a hand discussion.
It does not mean that the player is bad.
Posts usually give the villain’s position and stack.
Some people prefer ‘opponent’.