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Although you won’t be disqualified in a game or be penalized for not knowing the terms, it’s still best to personally know the terms. Although it’s actually not an official rule, it’s a good rule to impose on yourself. Be familiar of the terms oftentimes used in Texas Holdem and you will be good in playing the game.

Texas Holdem Terms

Terms that are often used in Texas Holdem games are:

Action – takes place when a player stays in a hand.
All In – to place all your money in the pot.
Bad Beat – have a hand that is way behind and with a little chance of winning.
Bankroll – refers to player’s money.
Bet – to place wager.
Big Blind – left of the dealer and the bigger of the two blinds.
Blind – refers to the forced bet for the first two positions.
Burn Card – to discard the top card to prevent cheating.
Buy In – amount you pay to play in a game.
Call – to put money equal to the best placed before you.
Check – you don’t bet though no one has bet in front of you.
Check Raise – you check and not everyone checked or called then you raise.
Dealer Button – determines who is the current dealer.
Early Position – first player to act in a betting round.
Fifth Street – the fifth community card, also known as the River.
Flop – the first three community cards.
Fourth Street – the fourth community card, also known as the Turn.
Heads Up – 2 players are left in the game.
Hole Cards – two cards in player’s hand.
Kicker – the top high card after matched hands.
Late Position – final players to receive cards.
Limp In – call pre-flop.
Middle Position – player that acts half way.
Muck – fold the hand.
Nuts – the best possible hand.
Position – position of the player at the table.
Pot – money in the current hand which players are playing for.
Pot Committed – a point when the player has to stay in the pot for he has so much money into the pot.
Raise – to bet.
Rake – amount of money collected by the house.
Rebuy – option in a tournament to buy back after losing money.
Reraise – raise a raise.
River – fifth and final community card.
Semi-bluff – bluffing without a strong hand but can still be drawn to.
Showdown – stage where remaining players will have to show their hands.
Small Blind – the smaller of two blinds, left of the dealer.
Turn – the fourth community card, also known as “fourth street.”

Hello,

I was in a regular No Limit recently. It was a game with 2 maniacs. Well, one of the two has the best numbers on every dimension. Other one has also more or less achieved the same thing if he was not drunk.

On the other side, the rest of us at the table played pretty tight and played only hands that were known for not being weak. But the maniacs then kept on calling, raising, and re-raising.

Now, do you know of any effective way to beat maniacs? I don’t understand why they seem to come out about even in every heads-up play. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

All the best,
Lance
Lance,

The best way to play a maniac is to play tight and bust them when you have strong hands and their luck runs out.

Usually they come out even because many players will not loosen up their requirements when they are heads up with a maniac. Many more hands are playable in heads-up play and the players that don’t understand this get punished.

Hello,

You once said that it’s hard to play with pocket queens and jacks. Well, I agree with you on that but I believe it’s even harder to play pocket 9s. Such hand has become overrated in Low Limit games. In heads up play it’s actually a good hand but not in Low Limit. Not to mention that it ranked as a top 20 and often top 15 starting hand.

When you flop a set during the 12% of the time you suppose to have a great chance of winning big however the problem is, I find it hard to let it go most especially when there’s only one overcard on the flop. On the better side, if the board comes with an Ace I can dump it easily as I know nobody folds an Ace in Low Limit, however when the board comes Q 7 2 or J 8 5, I find it hard to let it go again. Later part, I just end up losing although normally just a small one.

Now, do you think pocket 9s should be treated essentially the same as pocket 2-6? Basically if you don’t flop a set, check or fold the hand? Another thing, with 9s, does position matter significantly?

Hope to hear from you in no time.

Many thanks,
Andrew
Andrew,

Position matters with all hands. 9’s are a raising hand in late position. Personally, unless there are multiple overcards or I am against an opponent that I know flopped an overpair, I am going to probably call down to the river when only single bets are fired. Usually it is wrong to let go of a pair such as that when there is a lot of bets in the pot. Of course if there is only a bet or two in the pot, Ill probably let go of nines if there is even one overcard on the board since the pot isn’t laying the odds to call.

Hello,

I played poker yesterday. Early position, I had AK off suit and then raised it preflop. No raises appeared but for the flop 4 players stayed. Flop came but not that significant, 10-9-3 rainbow. At such point I had 25% chance for a top pair top kicker by the river. However I was not sure then if possible top pair top kicker can make it till the end.

After a while, bet appeared right in front of me. I then had to choose whether I’ll call, raise or fold. Well, I can call however I can only obtain additional infos about player’s hand if somebody else raises. Folding was the worst choice then as I only have a 25% chance to win and so I just raised. Two players then folded and opener called my bet. Table then was up for a heads up play.

Later, he didn’t raise pre-flop and didn’t raise me back after the flop. I then I figured out it was impossible he had flopped a set. He might be holding then either a 10 or a 9, probably with a bad kicker but not necessarily.
Turn came and I had K. He then checked and then called my bet. Well, he doesn’t have K 9 and so I won with a pair of Kings. He had pair of Tens with crap kicker.

Do you believe that raising pre and or post flop when it is cheap can really give you lots of information about other people’s hands?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Lowell
Lowell,

Raising in your situation can give you information on your opponents hand. Like you, when he didn’t reraise, I would have put him on a pair. Personally, I would have bet out on the flop since I was the preflop raiser. The player with the pair of tens would have probably only called the bet thinking that you may have an overpair.

Hi,

I’ve been into No Limit Holdem for more or less a year now. Just two months ago, I decided to play online $10-$20 sit and go tourneys. Well, playing at such level has been profitable in a way but when I already think of the number of hours I’ve invested, it seems to me it’s not profitable at all.

Recently, I tried small cash games, $25 NL, maximum of 6 players. At such level, I was actually able to discover some stuff. First, short handed play allows me to play more hands. Second, game moves more quickly and can be very exciting. Third, lesser hands can win vs. 10 player table. Fourth, fewer maniac players in the cash game vs. $10-20 tourney, but frequent heads up situations. And lastly, more respect shown for raises and check raises and fewer large pots due to the short handed game.

Now, how do you find my realizations? And about the idea that cash games are the way to go, do you agree? And do you think sticking with short handed cash games is far better than moving to a full table? And if you’ll be asked, does the possibility of larger pots outweigh the potential advantage of playing short handed? Does that change as the money placed increase?

Glad to hear from you soon.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Jenz
Jenz,

Cash games are better for some than others. It depends on how well you are doing. Some people play only tournaments and others play only cash games. In regards of hourly earn rate, you can play multiple tables at one time to increase your earn rate.

Also, if you have a bigger advantage in the short handed games, then you will probably want to stick with them. Yes, the pots in 10 handed games are bigger usually, but if you can win more pots in 6 handed, you will have a better long term rate. Would you rather win 5 pots of $20 each in a 6 handed game in an hour or 2 pots of $30 each in an hour for a 10 handed game. See my point?

Hello,

I’m curious if you have any idea about the strategy used when playing short handed. Once here on you site I’ve read something about a strategy for full tables of 9 players. But how about for tables with only 3 or 4 players, or just when you’re on heads up? Do you know which cards are best to play then? Well, to me, it seems that straights and flushes are not profitable.

By the way, I’ve been looking for hand held pocket poker games but haven’t found even one, do you know of a place I can have one?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Chester
Chester,

With short handed and heads up games, you need to play a wider array of cards. Pair, most suited aces, any two cards 10 and up, and suited connector all become playable. The best way to approach this is to try and play a small ball approach where the pots are kept small preflop to allow you to see cheap flops. When you hit your flop, you then try and extract maximum value for your hand.

You can find a hand held poker game in many stores and toy stores. You can also do a search online for hand held poker game and you should find plenty of places to find one.

Hello,

It’s really hard for me to win and I don’t exactly understand why. I’m a decent player who’s actually learning how to play well. Oftentimes I can make it to the pay out level or if not to the final two.

Just last night, I made it to the final two once again. Game actually started with 10 players. I remember I was getting decent card then and was playing aggressively. At some point I got my first bad hand, a straight on the river with 3 hearts and a spade. On the flop he didn’t placed any bet but only called. I then placed a big bet, $2400, about half of my chips. I thought he was only up for a flush draw. Then he called and hit his flush. On the flop, I hit a straight 10-9-8-7-6. I was then all in for $3000. After a while, with A8 he called. Turn and river came, 2-J, which meant we gonna have to chop the pot then. Next hand, I had J7s hearts while he had K2o. Flop was J-7h-2h. I went all in at some point while he called with nothing. Much later he hit one of two Kings on the river so it was finally the end.

Do you think I was just unlucky or I actually just folded winners? By the way, if I have two pair, what are the chances another player has a set against me? Any idea? How about tips?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Zedrick
Zedrick,

It sounds like your opponent got lucky in most of those cases. Of course, in a tournament, you sometimes have to get lucky to win. A player is 11% to hit a set on the flop. If I am heads up and flop two pair, I am push the hand in most scenarios.

It sounds like you are playing well. Eventually the streak of luck your opponent is on will end and you should take down a few winners.

Hello,

The other night I was in a 10 man tournament. Later I was in heads up and was the chip leader. My opponent then was a kind of player who always seems to play and bet every hand. Later he became the chip leader as he won over most of my blinds as I wasn’t getting my cards then. Because of what happened, I went all in with Jh9h and he called me with A4 off suit. In the end, with ace high, he won. Well, I know I should have played differently but I don’t know how. Any thoughts?

Many thanks,
Austin
Austin,

Loosen up your hand requirements. Any hand with an ace, two big cards, and any pair is a potential raising hand. Otherwise, try and see a lot of flops for the blinds and push your hands when you flop strong.

Hi,

I actually understand that pre-flop raising in case you have a good hand has two main purposes. One is to force out second-rate starting hands which decrease your winning percentage and the other one to invite more money in the pot. Well, I know for a fact that there are some hand that oftentimes mandate pre-flop raise for such reasons as well.

Here’s a certain situation that happens quite often: You are in the big blind and the table goes around. Dealer then has his eyes on you to either check or bet as everyone either called or folded. Then you check your hand. Big blind then checks. Everyone at the table has no idea what your hand is and so you have a huge advantage. It’s actually far better than having the best hand.

Now, is there any circumstance that you would feel it’s advantageous to check with a good hand in the big blind than raise?

Hope to hear from you.

Thanks,
Argyle
Argyle,

If I am heads up with a highly aggressive opponent, I may check my big hand. Otherwise, I am probably going to raise.

Hello,

For several months now, I’ve been playing ring games along with some friends however recently I decided to try small tournaments.

Well, I’m bothered as every time I play in small tournaments, it’s always me and another guy who stay for the pot. This is a big problem for me as heads-up has never been an advantage to me, I typically fold a lot more than what’s supposed to be. Now I want to know your opinion about how I should adjust my play from a multi-handed game to a heads-up game. By the way, for heads-up is there a revised starting hands table?

Thank you very much!

Warm regards,
Albert
Albert,

Any Ace is a raising hand. Two big cards 10 and up are playable. Any pair is playable. Also, with other hands, try and see cheap flops to try and connect. I only stay away from the worst of the worst hands. Of course, if you can get to the flop with them in the big blind, go ahead and do so.