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Starting Hand
A starting hand is the first cards you are dealt before any voluntary betting. In Hold'em, it is two hole cards, in Omaha four, in five-card draw five, and in seven-card stud two down and one up.
Stay
To stay is to remain in a game or hand by calling, rather than raising. A player who stays pays the bet to see the next card.
Steal
A steal is a raise, usually before the flop and from a late position, with the intention of making the others fold and winning the blinds. The hand used for the raise does not need to be strong.
Steal Position
Steal position is the next to last or the last position at the table, where players have the best chance to steal the blinds. In modern language, it is the cutoff and the button.
Steal Raise
A steal raise is a raise from late position, made to reduce the number of opponents or to win the pot without a fight. It is usually made with a hand that is not very strong.
Steal the Antes
To steal the antes is to win a small pot that contains only the antes, by betting with a weak hand and making the other players fold. It is the version of the steal in games with antes.
Steal the Blinds
To steal the blinds is to raise before the flop with a weak hand, in the hope that all other players fold and you win the small and big blind without a fight.
Steam
Steam is another word for tilt: a state of anger or frustration after a loss in which a player makes poor decisions. A player in this state is said to be steaming.
Steamrolling
Steamrolling means re-raising so that other players must call two bets instead of one. It is an aggressive way to put pressure on the opponents.
Steel The Blinds
To steel the blinds means to win only the blinds by bluffing, usually by raising from late position so that the blinds fold. It is another way of saying 'steal the blinds'.
Steel Wheel
A steel wheel is a straight flush from ace to five, A-2-3-4-5 of one suit. It is the lowest straight flush but still beats four of a kind.
Stop and Go
A stop and go is a play in which a player calls a raise before the flop and then bets the flop himself, out of position, instead of checking to the raiser. It is also used for calling and then pushing all in after the flop in tournaments.
Straddle
A straddle is an optional extra blind bet posted before the cards are dealt, usually by the player under the gun, normally twice the big blind. It raises the stakes for the hand, and the straddler often acts last before the flop.
Straight
A straight is a hand with five cards in sequence, of more than one suit. The highest straight is ace to ten, called Broadway, and the lowest is ace to five, the wheel.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is a hand made of five cards in sequence, all of the same suit. It is the second-best hand in poker, after the royal flush, which is the highest straight flush.
Stranger
A stranger is a new or unfamiliar card in a hand after the draw. It is a card that you have just drawn and that was not in your hand before.
Strategic Bluff
A strategic bluff is a bluff made with a longer-term goal. For example, a player bluffs to give the impression that he is loose.
Streak
A streak is a run of winning or losing hands. A winning streak is also called a heater, and a losing one is a cold streak.
Street
A street is a round of betting in a hand, or the card dealt for that round. In Hold'em the streets are the preflop, flop, turn and river. In seven-card stud they are third street to seventh street.
String Bet
A string bet is a bet or raise in which a player does not put all the chips in the pot in one motion, or does not say the amount first. Rooms forbid string bets because they can be used to see the other player's reaction.
String Raise
A string raise is a raise made in more than one motion, without saying 'raise' first. It is not allowed in most live games. It is the raising version of a string bet.
Strip poker
Strip poker is a game of poker in which players take off clothes as they lose. It is usually played as five-card draw, at home, among adults who agree to play.
Structure
Structure is the set of limits and rules of a game: the blinds and antes, the bet sizes, and in a tournament the schedule of blind levels. A tournament structure tells you how fast the blinds rise and how deep the stacks stay.
Stub
The stub is the part of the deck that has not been dealt. It is the cards that remain after the cards for the players and the board are dealt.
Stuck
Stuck means that a player is losing in a game. 'I'm stuck $300' means that he has lost $300 in the session.
Stud
Stud is a family of poker games in which each player gets a mix of face-down and face-up cards, and there are no community cards. The most popular version is seven-card stud.
Stud Games
Stud games are games in which players get some cards face down and some face up. The most common stud game is seven-card stud.
Suck Out
A suck out is when a player who is behind wins by catching a lucky card. The player who gets the card has 'sucked out' on the other.
Sucker
A sucker is a player at the table who is weak and inexperienced, so that others expect to win his money. It is another word for a mark or a fish.
Suicide King
The suicide king is the king of hearts. It got the name because in the picture, the king seems to be stabbing himself in the head with his sword.
Suit
A suit is one of the four groups of cards in a deck: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Each suit has 13 cards.
Suited
Suited means that cards are of the same suit. A suited starting hand has two hole cards of one suit, for example ace and jack of hearts. Being suited gives extra chances to make a flush.
Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are two cards of consecutive rank in the same suit, such as queen-jack of hearts or seven-six of clubs. They can make straights and flushes, so they play well in big multiway pots.
Suited Gappers
Suited gappers are two cards of the same suit that are not consecutive, but close enough to make a straight on the flop. For example, J-9 of one suit.
Super‑Bluff
A super-bluff is a bluff made against a player who has a very good hand, and that wins the hand. It is bluffing a strong player and making him fold.
Swap
A swap is an agreement between players in a tournament to exchange a percentage of each other's winnings. It reduces variance, because both players share in the other's success.