intermediate
Pricking
Pricking is a cheating technique in which a cheater marks cards with a fingernail or a device. The marks help him to recognize the cards later.
Probe Bet
A probe bet is a bet made out of position on the turn or river after the preflop raiser had the chance to make a continuation bet on the previous street but checked. It probes for weakness.
Prop
A prop, short for proposition bet, is a side bet that players make about outcomes that are independent of the actual outcome of the game.
Prop Bet
A prop bet is a side bet between players that has nothing to do with the poker game itself. It can be about anything, such as who can eat the most food, or who can run a certain distance.
Proposing Bets
Proposing bets are side bets between players that are not related to the outcome of the hand. They are bets on something else, such as a card or an event.
Proposition Player/Prop
A proposition player, or prop, is an employee of a gaming room whose main job is to play and help keep enough players at a table. He does not share in the wins or losses.
Protect
To protect is to bet with the aim of reducing the number of opponents who continue in the hand, and so increasing your chances to win. It protects a good hand from being outdrawn.
Protection Bet
A protection bet is a bet made with a strong but vulnerable hand to make opponents with draws fold or pay a high price. It protects your hand from being outdrawn.
Punctuating
Punctuating is a cheater's technique of marking cards with a fingernail or a device. It is the same as pricking.
Punt
To punt is to lose chips through a reckless, self-inflicted play, such as an unnecessary bluff or a call that makes no sense. A punt is a big mistake and not just bad luck.
Push
To push is to bet all your chips, going all in. The word also describes a pot that is tied or split between players, so nobody wins more than their own bet.
Pushing Bets
Pushing bets is an agreement between players to return bets to each other when one of them wins a pot in which the other plays. It is also called saving bets and is a form of collusion.
Put Down
To put down is to fold a hand. The word is the same as lay down.
Putting on the Heat
Putting on the heat means to pressure the other players by betting aggressively.
Qualifier
A qualifier is the minimum hand required to win a share of the pot in some games, most commonly the low half in high-low split games. It can also mean a player who has qualified for a tournament.
Quartered
Quartered means that you win only a quarter of the pot in a hi-lo game, because you tie for one half of the pot with another player. For example, if you and another player share the nut low, each of you takes a quarter, while the high hand takes half.
Quitting Time
Quitting time is an agreed time to end a poker game, also called a curfew. When the time comes, the game stops, often after the current hand or round.
Raise Blind
To raise blind is to raise without looking at your cards. In some games, it is a bet made in the dark, before the cards are seen.
Rakeback
Rakeback is a rebate of part of the rake that a player has paid to an online poker site. It is often given by affiliates or through loyalty programs, and it reduces the cost of playing.
Range
A range is the set of all hands that a player could have in a given situation. Instead of guessing one exact hand, good players think about the group of hands that fit their opponent's actions.
Rathole
To rathole is to take chips off the table during a cash game, or to leave after a winning session and return with only a small buy-in. In many places, it is against the rules.
Ratholing
Ratholing is taking chips or money off the table during a cash game. It is not allowed in most public card rooms and is bad etiquette in home games. It is also called going south.
Razz
Razz is a form of seven-card stud in which the lowest hand wins. Aces are low, and straights and flushes do not count against you, so the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5, called the wheel.
Re‑draw
A re-draw is a situation in which a player already has a strong hand but can still improve it on a later betting round. For example, a set with a flush draw has a re-draw to a flush.
Re‑Entry
Re-entry is a tournament structure that lets a player who was eliminated pay the buy-in again and enter as a new player. Some events allow several re-entries.
Re‑raise
A re-raise is a second raise in a round of betting, made after an initial raise. Before the flop, it is also called a three-bet.
Read
A read is a specific conclusion about an opponent's hand or behavior, based on his actions, timing and mannerisms. 'Reading' is the skill of doing this.
Reading
Reading is the analysis of a player based on how he plays, his mannerisms and his tells. It is a skill that helps to guess his hand.
Redraw
A redraw is a made hand that can still improve to an even better hand. For example, a set of queens with a draw to a flush has a redraw to a flush.
Reg
A reg is short for 'regular', a player who plays often at the same stakes and sites and is usually a solid, experienced winner. Online, the regulars are the strong players who make up the core of the player pool.
Represent
To represent is to play as if you hold a specific hand, whether you actually have it or not. For example, a large bet on an ace-high board represents an ace.
River C‑bet
A river c-bet is a continuation bet on the river by the player who raised before the flop and bet the flop and the turn. It is the third barrel, also called a triple barrel.