psychology
Catch Bluffing
To catch someone bluffing is to call or raise because you believe they are bluffing.
Change Gears
To change gears is to shift deliberately from one style of play to another, for example from tight to loose.
Chase
To chase is to keep calling with a drawing hand that is probably behind, or to keep gambling in order to win back losses.
Cheater
A cheater is a player who uses dishonest methods to gain an advantage or to win.
Check Blind
To check blind is to check without looking at your own cards.
Check in the Dark
To check in the dark is to announce that you will check before the next card is dealt.
Chip and a Chair
Chip and a chair is the saying that as long as you still have one chip and a seat, you can win.
Chip Leader
The chip leader is the player with the most chips in a tournament at a given time.
Coffeehousing
Coffeehousing is talking about a hand you are in, to mislead or manipulate other players.
Cold Deck
A cold deck is a deck secretly swapped in to give a player a planned hand; the term is also used for hands that clash and create a cooler.
Cold Hands
Cold hands are showdown hands, or a run of poor hands.
Conservative
A conservative player plays few hands, avoids risk and bets or raises mostly with strong hands.
Conservative Play
Conservative play is a strategy of betting only hands that have a good chance of winning.
Cooler
A cooler is a hand in which a very strong hand loses to an even stronger one, so that the loser could hardly avoid losing.
Crap Shoot
A crap shoot is a loose, less skillful tournament with lots of action.
Crying Call
A crying call is a reluctant call made when you think you are probably beaten.
Dark
Dark means acting before getting information you would normally be entitled to, such as before the next card is dealt.
Dark Bet
A dark bet is a bet announced before the next card is dealt.
Darken
To darken is to make a bet without looking at your cards.
Donkey (Donk)
A donkey, or donk, is a weak player who makes poor decisions and loses money.
Doomswitch
Doomswitch is forum slang for the supposed hidden mechanism that online poker sites use to make winning players lose.
Downswing
A downswing is a period in which a player loses more than expected over a long stretch of play.
Draw Down
To draw down is to draw several cards in lowball so as to aim at the best possible hand.
Draw Out
To draw out is to improve your hand so that it beats an opponent who was ahead of you.
Driver’s Seat
The driver's seat belongs to the player who has the initiative in the betting.
Exploitative
Exploitative play is deviating from standard strategy to take advantage of an opponent's specific weaknesses.
Exploitative Play
Exploitative play is a strategy that takes advantage of opponents' weaknesses and tendencies.
Fancy Play Syndrome (FPS)
Fancy play syndrome (FPS) is the habit of making unusual, over-clever plays when a straightforward play would earn more.
Fast
Fast, as in 'play fast', means playing a hand aggressively by betting and raising as much as possible.
Fish
A fish is a weak, inexperienced player who usually loses money at poker.
Gambler
A gambler is a player who wagers money at unfavorable edge odds, which means he is the one at a disadvantage in the long run.
Gambling
Gambling is betting money at unfavorable investment and edge odds. It means risking money where the long-term expectation is negative.