slang
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.
Nailing
Nailing is a cheater's technique of marking cards with a fingernail or a device. It is the same as pricking, pegging and punctuating.
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.
Northern Flight
Northern Flight is seven-card stud in which all hearts are wild, unless a spade is in the hand.
Nosebleed
Nosebleed stakes are the very highest stakes in poker, where games are played for huge amounts of money. A nosebleed game is one in which most people would feel dizzy about the size of the bets.
One Time
'One time' is a plea that players say aloud when they need a specific card to come, as in 'one time!' on the river. It is a way of asking for luck, rather than a play or a rule.
Pay Station
A pay station is a player who rarely folds, so that he often calls with worse hands and loses money. The same type of player is a calling station.
Pedigree
Pedigree is a nickname for king-nine, K-9, of any suits. It is a weak, speculative hand.
Penny Ante
Penny ante is a game with very low stakes. The phrase is also used for anything that is small or unimportant.
Picked Off
To be picked off is to get called when you are bluffing. Your opponent finds your bluff by calling.
Pigeon
A pigeon is a player who is seen as a bad player by others. He is a weak player who makes many mistakes and loses money.
Pocket Rockets
Pocket rockets is the nickname for a pair of aces as hole cards, the best starting hand in Hold'em. The aces look like rockets to the players.
Poker Shark
A poker shark is a highly skilled player who makes a living by beating weaker opponents. Weak players are called fish or donkeys, and sharks are the ones who prey on them.
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.
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.
Puppy Feet/Pups
Puppy feet, or pups, is slang for clubs: a club flush, or the suit of clubs.
Quads
Quads is a hand of four cards of the same rank, also called four of a kind. It beats a full house and loses only to a straight flush or a royal flush.
Quart
A quart is a four-card straight flush, four cards in sequence of the same suit.
Quint
A quint is a straight flush, five cards in sequence of the same suit. The word is old slang.
Quint Major
A quint major is a royal straight flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. It is the best possible hand.
Rag
A rag is a low-valued card that is presumably worthless. A hand made of rags, such as seven-two, is one of the worst hands to be dealt.
Rail
The rail is the edge of a poker table or the area where spectators stand to watch the game. If a player is knocked out, he goes to the rail.
Railbird
A railbird is a spectator who watches a poker game from the rail. Some railbirds are fans, and others are waiting for a seat or looking for a chance to play.
Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch is a nickname for a starting hand of three and eight, 3-8. The name refers to the actress Raquel Welch.
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.
Ribbon Clerk
A ribbon clerk is a small-time gambler. The expression is old slang for a player who plays for small stakes and is not a big spender.
Rock
A rock is a very tight and passive player who plays only the strongest hands and rarely bets without them. The word is also used for a tight player in general.