Find your next term.
1,166 terms found
Shorthanded
Shorthanded describes a poker game with six or fewer players at the table. It is the opposite of a full ring game with nine or ten players.
Shot Clock
A shot clock is a timer that gives a player a limited time to act, usually 30 seconds per decision. Players also get extra time banks to use when needed.
Shove
To shove is to push all your chips into the pot, going all in. It is also called a jam or a push.
Show
To show is to expose your cards. At showdown, you show your hand to determine the winner.
Show Cards
Show cards are the exposed cards in stud, the cards that are dealt face up. Opponents can see them.
Showdown
The showdown is the final stage of a hand in which the remaining players show their cards to decide who has the best hand and wins the pot. It takes place after the last round of betting if more than one player is left.
Showdown Value
Showdown value is the ability of a hand to win at showdown without further betting or a bluff. A hand with showdown value is usually a pair or a medium-strength hand that may be best.
Shuffle
To shuffle is to mix the cards before a hand, so that their order is random. The dealer shuffles the deck before every deal.
Side Bet
A side bet is any bet made outside the pot. It is a bet between players that does not change the poker hand, or a bet on the side of the game.
Side Game
A side game is a cash game that runs at the same time as a large tournament. It is often filled with players who were eliminated from the tournament or who chose not to play it.
Side Pot
A side pot is a separate pot created when a player goes all in and other players keep betting. The all-in player can only win the main pot, and the side pot is contested only by the remaining players.
Single Raised Pot (SRP)
A single raised pot, SRP, is a pot in which one player raised before the flop and everyone else just called, without a re-raise. It is the most common kind of pot.
Sit and Go (SNG)
A sit and go, SNG, is a tournament that starts as soon as the required number of players have registered, without a fixed start time. Most sit and gos have one table of six, nine or ten players.
Sitting Out
Sitting out means leaving a table for a few hands without giving up your seat. In many rooms, a player who sits out for too long is removed from the table.
Sixth Street
Sixth street is the fourth up card in seven-card stud, the sixth card dealt to a player, and the round of betting that follows it. It is the fourth betting round.
Slow Play
A slow play is a way of playing a strong hand weakly, by checking or calling instead of betting or raising, to hide your strength and win more chips. It is the opposite of fast-playing.
Slow Roll
A slow roll is the act of delaying showing a winning hand at showdown, or pausing before a call with a very strong hand, to make the opponent think that he has won. It is considered very bad etiquette.
Small Ball
Small ball is a style of play in which a player keeps pots small, makes small bets and avoids big risks, relying on position and skill after the flop. It is usually applied in tournaments.
Small Blind (SB)
The small blind is a forced bet posted before the cards are dealt by the player sitting to the left of the dealer button. It is usually half the size of the big blind.
Smooth Call
A smooth call is a call in a spot where a raise was also possible, especially with a strong hand. The player calls quietly, instead of re-raising, to hide the strength of his hand. It is also known as flat calling.
Snap Call
A snap call is a call made immediately, without thinking. It usually shows that the caller has a very strong hand, or that he has already decided what to do.
Snapped Off
To get snapped off is to have a good hand beaten. A player whose strong hand loses to a better one has been snapped off.
Snow Job
A snow job is a successful bluff. The player has made opponents believe that he has a strong hand and wins the pot.
Snowmen
Snowmen is a nickname for a pair of eights, 8-8. The number 8 looks like a snowman.
Soft Seat
A soft seat is a seat or game that is favorable because of the lack of skill at the table. The other players are weak, so it is easy to make money.
Soft-Play
Soft-play is a form of collusion in which a player does not bet or raise as he normally would, to avoid winning money from a friend or partner. It is cheating and is forbidden in cardrooms.
Solid
A solid player is a player who makes good decisions based on logic and probability. He does not take unnecessary risks, plays conservatively when needed and follows a disciplined strategy.
Solver
A solver is a program that calculates the best strategy for a given poker situation. You give it the stacks, bet sizes and ranges, and it gives a solution that is close to game theory optimal play.
Solver Solution
A solver solution is the strategy that a solver gives for a situation you entered: what to do with each hand and how often. It shows the expected value of each action.
Speed Limit
Speed limit is a nickname for a pair of fives, 5-5. The name comes from the 55 mile-per-hour speed limit sign.
Spew
To spew is to give away chips by playing too many hands and betting or calling too much, usually while angry. A player who spews makes many bad plays in a row.
Splash Around
To splash around is to gamble more aggressively and recklessly than is wise. A player who splashes around plays too many hands and bets too much.
Splash the Pot
To splash the pot is to throw chips into the pot in a careless way, so that the dealer cannot count how much has been bet. It is against the rules and etiquette of most card rooms and home games.
Split
A split is a tie in which the pot is divided between players with equal hands. It also describes a pot divided between the high and low hands.
Split Pot
A split pot is a pot that is shared between players who have equal hands, or between the high and low hands in games such as Omaha hi-lo. Each player takes an equal share.
Split Two Pair
A split two pair is a two pair hand in which one card of each of your hole cards pairs with a board card. For example, with ten-nine and a flop of T-9-5, you have a split two pair.
Splitting Blinds
Splitting blinds is an agreement between the small and big blinds, when nobody else has entered the pot, to take back their blinds and skip the hand. It is also called chopping.
Splitting Openers
Splitting openers is a play in jacks-or-better draw poker in which you open with a pair and then throw away one card of the pair to draw to a better hand, such as a flush. You break up your opening hand.
Spot
A spot is a specific decision point in a hand, such as 'a spot where you face a river bet in position'. Players say 'spot' to name a situation that they want to study or discuss.
Spread-Limit
Spread-limit is a betting structure in which a player may bet any amount within a range, such as $2 to $6, on every round. It lies between fixed-limit and no-limit poker.