beginner
Maverick
Maverick is a nickname for queen-jack, Q-J, of any suits.
Meet
To meet is to call. A player who meets a bet puts in the same amount to stay in the hand.
Micro‑Stakes
Micro stakes are the lowest stakes in poker, usually found only online. Cash games up to $0.10/$0.25 (25NL) are considered micro stakes. The buy-ins can be just a few dollars.
Middle Pair
Middle pair is a pair made with the second-highest card on the board, or with a card that is neither the highest nor the lowest on the board. It is a medium-strength hand.
Middle Position (MP)
Middle position is the group of seats between early position and late position. In a nine-handed game, the two seats after under the gun are usually middle position. Players there act after the early seats and before the late seats.
Minimum Buy-In
The minimum buy-in is the least amount that you can start a game with. Cash games and tournaments have a minimum.
Miracle Card
A miracle card is a card that is very unlikely to appear but gives a player a winning hand when he was almost certain to lose. A player who needs one of the last cards in the deck and gets it has caught a miracle card.
Miscall
A miscall is when a player announces the value of his hand incorrectly. It can be a real mistake or an attempt to mislead.
Misdeal
A misdeal is a deal that is invalid because of a mistake, so the cards are collected, shuffled and dealt again. It can happen when two or more cards are exposed or when the dealer makes a mistake in the order of dealing.
Miss
To miss is to fail to make your hand. A player misses when his draw does not come in, or when the flop does not help his hole cards.
Mites And Lice
Mites and lice is slang for two pair of twos and threes, or a full house of those cards. The small cards are compared with tiny insects.
Monster
A monster is an extremely strong hand that is likely to be the best at the table, such as a set, a full house, quads or a straight flush.
Monster Hand
A monster hand is a very strong hand that is likely to be the best at that moment. Before the flop, pocket aces and kings are monsters, and after the flop hands like sets, flushes and full houses are monsters.
MTT
MTT stands for multi-table tournament, a poker tournament with many tables. Players are moved to fill empty seats when others are eliminated, until only the final table remains.
Muck
To muck is to fold your hand by throwing it into the discard pile. The pile itself is called the muck. A player can also muck his hand at showdown without showing it if he knows he has lost.
Multi-Table Tournament
A multi-table tournament is a tournament with more than one table. As players are knocked out, tables are broken down and players are moved until only one table remains. It is often shortened to MTT.
Natural
A natural is a hand without wild cards. In games with wild cards, a natural hand beats an equal hand that uses wild cards.
Newlyweds
Newlyweds is a nickname for king-queen, K-Q, of any suits. The king and the queen are like a married couple.
NH
NH is chat shorthand for 'nice hand'. A player types it to congratulate an opponent who won a pot with a good hand or played it well.
Nickel
A nickel is five dollars, usually a red casino chip. It is gambling slang for a $5 chip.
Nickel-Dime
Nickel-dime is a small-stake game. The name is based on the nickel and the dime, small coins.
Nit
A nit is a very tight player who only plays premium hands and avoids risk. He folds most of his hands, and when he bets or raises, he usually has a strong hand.
Nits and Lice
Nits and lice means two pair or a full house of deuces and threes, also called mites and lice. It can also mean a game in which deuces and threes are wild.
No Limit Hold’em Table St
In no-limit hold'em table stakes, any player can bet any or all of his chips at any time. He cannot bet money that is not on the table.
No‑Limit
No-limit is a betting structure in which a player may bet any amount of chips he has at any time, up to his whole stack. It is the most popular form of Texas Hold'em.
Northern Flight
Northern Flight is seven-card stud in which all hearts are wild, unless a spade is in the hand.
Nut
The nut, or the nuts, is the best possible hand on the board at that moment. A player with the nuts cannot be beaten, unless the board changes.
Nut Flush
A nut flush is the highest possible flush on the board. It usually includes the ace of the suit, and nobody can have a higher flush.
Nuts
The nuts is the best possible hand at that moment, given the board. A player who has the nuts cannot be beaten, unless a new card changes the board. The word is also used for the best hand of a type, such as the nut flush.
Odds
Odds are the likelihood of an event, often written as a ratio. In poker, they are used to decide whether a call, fold or raise is profitable.
Odds Against
Odds against are the number of failures for each success. If something has odds of 4 to 1 against, it fails four times for every time it succeeds.
Odds For
Odds for are the number of attempts per success. If the odds for an event are 5 to 1, it happens once in five attempts.