intermediate
ROI
ROI, return on investment, is a measure of profit in tournaments. It is calculated as a percentage by dividing the profit by the total buy-ins. For example, a profit of $500 on $5,000 in buy-ins is an ROI of 10 percent.
Rolled Up
Rolled up is a term for seven-card stud: a player is dealt three of a kind in his first three cards. It is a very strong start.
Rounders
Rounders are people who hustle for a living, usually by playing cards. It is also the name of a well-known poker film starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton.
Run a Pot
To run a pot is to win a hand by bluffing through the hand, with more than one bet. The bettor bets several streets and wins with no best hand.
Running Bad
Running bad is a period of bad luck or a losing streak. A player who is running bad loses many hands, often with strong hands that are beaten.
Running Good
Running good is a period of good luck or a winning streak. A player who is running good wins many pots and hits his draws.
Sandbagging
Sandbagging is holding back and just calling, even though you have a very good hand, usually to hide strength, to provoke bluffs or to check-raise. It is a form of slow playing.
Satellite
A satellite is a tournament in which the prize is an entry into a larger, more expensive tournament, instead of money. It lets players win a seat for a much smaller cost.
Scoop
To scoop is to win the entire pot. The word is used mostly for split-pot games such as Omaha hi-lo, where a player who has both the best high hand and the best low hand takes both halves.
Scramble
A scramble is a face-down mixing of the cards on the table. The dealer spreads the cards face down and moves them around.
Second Best
The second best hand is the best losing hand at showdown. It is a strong hand that loses to a stronger one, and it is the hand that costs the most.
Sell
To sell a hand is to bet less than the maximum with a very strong hand in a spread-limit game, in the hope that more players will call. It is a form of underplaying.
Semi‑Bluff
A semi-bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand that is not the best now but has a good chance to improve, such as a flush draw. It can win in two ways: the opponent folds, or the draw comes in.
Set a Trap
To set a trap is to play in a way that creates a false impression, which you can use to win in a later hand or later in the same hand. It is an act of deception.
Set Mining
Set mining is calling a raise before the flop with a pocket pair, only to hit a set. If the flop does not give you a third card of your rank, you give up the hand.
Set Over Set
Set over set is a situation in which two players both flop a set, and one has the higher set. The player with the lower set is in a very bad position, since he is almost certain to lose.
Setup
A setup is a pair of suited decks, each with a different colored back, that replaces the decks in play. Card rooms use two decks to keep the game fast: one is shuffled while the other is dealt.
Shark
A shark is a highly skilled and experienced player, often a professional, who wins money from weaker players, called fish.
Shills
Shills are paid props who help start and maintain poker games. They play with the house's money or are paid by the house to keep the game going.
Shoot‑out
A shoot-out is a tournament in which players with no rebuys play until they lose all their chips. It is also a format in which winners of a table move on to the next stage.
Short Buying
Short buying is buying more chips after your initial purchase, for an amount smaller than the minimum buy-in. In some games, a short buy is allowed after the first stack.
Short Stack
A short stack is a stack with relatively few chips compared with the blinds, usually fewer than 20 big blinds. It also means the player with the fewest chips at the table.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.