cash‑game
6‑Max
6-max is a poker table format with no more than six seats.
After‑Hours Game
An after-hours game is a private game played in a casino or card room after it has closed for the night.
All‑In
All-in means putting all of your remaining chips into the pot.
B&M
B&M is short for brick and mortar: a physical cardroom with live players, as opposed to online poker.
bb/100
bb/100 is a win rate measured in big blinds won per 100 hands.
Brick-and-Mortar
Brick-and-mortar describes a poker room in a physical location, as opposed to online poker.
Buy
To buy is to make a large bet hoping to discourage others, as in 'buy the pot'.
Buy-in Limit
A buy-in limit is the minimum amount you must bring into a one-on-one game.
Cash In
To cash in is to exchange poker chips for cash, or to finish in the money in a tournament.
Cash Out
To cash out is to leave a game and convert your chips to cash.
Check‑Out
Check-out means folding when you are not facing a bet, instead of checking.
Chopping Blinds
Chopping blinds is when the small blind and big blind take back their bets after everyone else folds.
Collection
A collection is the fee a cardroom charges for running a game, taken from the pot or from each player.
Collection Drop
A collection drop is a fee charged for each hand dealt.
Comp Program
A comp program rewards poker players with cash incentives, points or other benefits for loyalty.
Dead Collection Blind
A dead collection blind is a fee posted by the player on the button, used as an alternative to seat rental.
Deal Twice
Deal twice means dealing the remaining community cards two times when players are all in, with the pot split between the winners of each board.
Double Up
To double up is to double your stack in one hand, usually by winning an all-in.
Drop
To drop is to fold; drop is also the money a casino takes from each pot.
Full Buy
A full buy is a buy-in of at least the minimum amount of chips required for a particular game.
Full Ring
A full ring game is a cash game with a full table, usually nine or ten players. It is the opposite of a short-handed game such as 6-max, and it is the usual format in live casinos.
Going South
Going south means secretly taking chips off the table during a cash game so that they cannot be lost. It is also known as ratholing and is against the rules in most poker rooms.
Heads Up
Heads up means that only two players are involved in a hand or in a game. It is a pot contested by two players.
High Limit
High limit describes a game in which the amounts wagered are high. What counts as high depends on the room.
Hit and Run
Hit and run means leaving a cash game right after winning a big pot, without giving the others a chance to win their money back. It is legal but is considered bad etiquette.
Home Game
A home game is a poker game played in a private home, not in a casino or a card room. It can range from a friendly low-stakes game among neighbors to a large private game with high stakes.
Jackpot
A jackpot in poker is a special prize offered by a room or a casino, awarded for a rare outcome. The best-known example is the bad beat jackpot, which is paid when a very strong hand loses to an even stronger one.
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.
Low-Stakes
Low stakes are poker games with small blinds, above micro stakes but below mid stakes. Online they are roughly $0.25/$0.50 to $0.50/$1, and in live rooms games such as $1/$2 are usually called low stakes.
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.