Poker
Qualifier
A qualifier is the minimum hand required to win a share of the pot in some games, most commonly the low half in high-low split games. It can also mean a player who has qualified for a tournament.
Quart
A quart is a four-card straight flush, four cards in sequence of the same suit.
Quartered
Quartered means that you win only a quarter of the pot in a hi-lo game, because you tie for one half of the pot with another player. For example, if you and another player share the nut low, each of you takes a quarter, while the high hand takes half.
Quint
A quint is a straight flush, five cards in sequence of the same suit. The word is old slang.
Quint Major
A quint major is a royal straight flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. It is the best possible hand.
Quitting Time
Quitting time is an agreed time to end a poker game, also called a curfew. When the time comes, the game stops, often after the current hand or round.
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of players needed to start a poker game. If there are too few players, the game does not begin.
Rabbit Hunting
Rabbit hunting is looking through the undealt cards of the deck after a hand has ended, to see which cards would have come. Most casinos do not allow it.
Race
A race is a situation in which two players are all in with hands whose chances are close to even, such as a pair against two overcards. It is also called a coin flip.
Rack
A rack is a plastic tray that holds 100 poker chips in five stacks of 20. The word also means 100 chips of the same value.
Rag
A rag is a low-valued card that is presumably worthless. A hand made of rags, such as seven-two, is one of the worst hands to be dealt.
Ragged
A ragged flop is a flop that does not seem to help anybody much, with unconnected cards of different suits, such as J-6-2.
Rail
The rail is the edge of a poker table or the area where spectators stand to watch the game. If a player is knocked out, he goes to the rail.
Railbird
A railbird is a spectator who watches a poker game from the rail. Some railbirds are fans, and others are waiting for a seat or looking for a chance to play.
Rainbow
A rainbow is a flop, or a board, whose cards are all of different suits. No flush draw is possible on a rainbow flop, except a backdoor draw.
Raise
To raise is to increase the size of an existing bet in the same betting round. A raise is made after someone has bet, and it forces the others to put in more chips to stay in the hand.
Raise Blind
To raise blind is to raise without looking at your cards. In some games, it is a bet made in the dark, before the cards are seen.
Rake
The rake is the commission that a casino or poker room takes from each pot in a cash game. In tournaments, the equivalent is the entry fee. It is how the house makes its money.
Rakeback
Rakeback is a rebate of part of the rake that a player has paid to an online poker site. It is often given by affiliates or through loyalty programs, and it reduces the cost of playing.
Range
A range is the set of all hands that a player could have in a given situation. Instead of guessing one exact hand, good players think about the group of hands that fit their opponent's actions.
Range Advantage
Range advantage is a situation in which one player's overall range is stronger than the other's on a particular board. The player with it can bet more often and apply more pressure.
Rank
Rank is the value of a card or a hand compared with others. Among cards, the ace is the highest and the deuce the lowest. Among hands, a royal flush is the highest and high card the lowest.
Rap
A rap is a knock on the table by a player to show that he checks. It is a way to check without speaking.
Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch is a nickname for a starting hand of three and eight, 3-8. The name refers to the actress Raquel Welch.
Rathole
To rathole is to take chips off the table during a cash game, or to leave after a winning session and return with only a small buy-in. In many places, it is against the rules.
Ratholing
Ratholing is taking chips or money off the table during a cash game. It is not allowed in most public card rooms and is bad etiquette in home games. It is also called going south.
Razz
Razz is a form of seven-card stud in which the lowest hand wins. Aces are low, and straights and flushes do not count against you, so the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5, called the wheel.
Re-buy
A re-buy is the amount of money that a player pays to add a fixed number of chips to his stack in a tournament. It is the same as a rebuy.
Re‑draw
A re-draw is a situation in which a player already has a strong hand but can still improve it on a later betting round. For example, a set with a flush draw has a re-draw to a flush.
Re‑Entry
Re-entry is a tournament structure that lets a player who was eliminated pay the buy-in again and enter as a new player. Some events allow several re-entries.
Re‑raise
A re-raise is a second raise in a round of betting, made after an initial raise. Before the flop, it is also called a three-bet.
Read
A read is a specific conclusion about an opponent's hand or behavior, based on his actions, timing and mannerisms. 'Reading' is the skill of doing this.