Poker Glossary
Glossary / A–Z
A reference for every hand

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1,166 terms found

Jackpot Poker

Jackpot poker is a poker game where there is a large prize pool, the jackpot, or a draw game where you need a pair of jacks or better to open. The name has two meanings, so check which one is meant.

Jacks to Open

Jacks to open is a form of draw poker in which a player needs a pair of jacks or better to open the betting. It is also called jackpots.

Jacks‑or‑Better

Jacks-or-Better is a popular video poker game in which the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks. A hand weaker than jacks does not win.

Jackson Five

Jackson Five is a nickname for a starting hand of jack and five. The name refers to the music group The Jackson 5.

Jagging

Jagging is a cheater's technique of marking cards with a fingernail or a device. The marks let the cheater recognize cards from the back.

Jake

Jake is slang for a jack, the card between the ten and the queen.

Jam

To jam is to move all your chips into the pot, also called shoving. A jam is an all-in bet or raise. Players often say that they 'jammed' a hand.

Jammed Pot

A jammed pot is a pot that has been raised the maximum number of times. In limit games, the raises are capped, so a jammed pot is a pot where nobody can raise any more.

Jesse James

Jesse James is a nickname for a starting hand of four and five, 4-5. The name comes from the outlaw Jesse James, who was reportedly killed by a .45.

Jinx

A jinx is a curse of bad luck. Players say a person or an action jinxes a result when they believe it brings misfortune.

Jog

A jog is an unevenly stacked deck used by a cheater to mark where his partner should cut. The card sticks out a little so the cut can be made at that place. It is also called a step.

John

John is slang for a jack. A pair of johns is a pair of jacks.

John Juanda

John Juanda is a nickname for a pair of jacks, J-J. The name refers to the professional player John Juanda.

Joker

A joker is a card that works as a wild card in some games. It can stand for any card its holder wants, or only for certain cards, depending on the rules.

Joker Poker

Joker Poker is a video poker game in which a joker is added to the deck and acts as a wild card. The joker can stand for any card to make the best possible hand.

Jonah

A Jonah is an unlucky player, one who seems to bring bad luck to himself or to the game. The word is used mostly as a joke.

Kansas City Lowball

Kansas City lowball is a form of lowball in which the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of different suits. Aces are high, and straights and flushes count against you. It is also called deuce-to-seven lowball.

Katie or Katy

Katie or Katy is a nickname for a starting hand of king and ten, K-T. The name comes from the sound of the letters K and T.

Keep Them Honest

To keep them honest is to call a bet, usually at the end of a hand, so that your opponent cannot bluff you every time. You call to make him show a real hand sometimes.

Key Card

A key card is a card that gives you a big draw or makes your hand. When it comes, it changes the strength of your holding.

Key Hand

A key hand is the one hand in a session or tournament that becomes a turning point for a player, for better or worse.

Kibitzer

A kibitzer is a spectator who watches a game and comments on it, usually without being asked.

Kick It

To kick it means to raise. You kick it when you make a larger bet after someone has bet.

Kicker

A kicker is the side card in your hand that is not part of the made hand, but is used to break ties between hands of the same rank. For example, with ace-king against ace-queen on an ace-high board, the king kicker wins.

Kill

A kill, or kill blind, is an oversized blind, usually twice the big blind, which also doubles the betting limits. A half-kill raises the blind and limits by 50 percent. A kill can be voluntary or mandatory.

Kill Button

A kill button is a button used in a lowball game to show a player who has won two pots in a row and must kill the pot. It marks who has the kill action.

Kill Pot

A kill pot is a pot in which the stakes are raised because a player won the previous pot, or won two in a row. The player who wins posts an extra blind, called the kill blind, which makes the game larger for the next hand.

King Crab

King Crab is a nickname for a starting hand of king and three, K-3. The name comes from the shape of the three, which looks like a crab on its side.

Knave

Knave is an old name for the jack. In some card games the jack is called the knave.

Knock

A knock is the same as a check: a player decides not to bet and passes the action to the next player. It can be done only if no one has bet in the current round.

Knockout Tournament

A knockout tournament is a tournament in which part of the buy-in becomes a bounty on each player. When you eliminate a player, you win their bounty in cash. Also called a bounty tournament.

Kojack

Kojack is a nickname for king-jack, K-J, of any suits. It is the same as Kojak.

Kojak

Kojak is a nickname for a hand with king and jack, K-J. It is named after the TV detective.

Komodo Dragoned

Komodo dragoned means that a player's hand is defeated because an opponent completes a straight or flush on the river. It is a slang term for a bad beat.

Ladies

Ladies is a nickname for a pair of queens. It comes from the queens being the 'ladies' of the deck. The phrase is used for pocket queens, as in 'I looked down at ladies'.

LAG (Loose‑Aggressive)

LAG means loose-aggressive: a style in which a player plays many starting hands and makes many raises, hoping to outplay his opponents.

Last Longer

A last longer is a side bet among players on who will last the longest in a tournament. The winner is the player who is eliminated last.

Late Position

Late position means the last seats to act in a betting round, usually the button and the cutoff. These positions are advantageous, since the players see how the others act first.

Lay Down Your Hand

To lay down your hand is to fold. The word is often used for folding a strong hand when you think you are beaten.

Lay Odds

To lay odds is to give favorable odds to an opponent. You risk more than you can win.