Poker Phrases

Action:
It is a players turn to do something.  The dealer might say “Your action, sir,” if a player does not realize that it’s his or her turn.

Ante:
A little amount of cash deposited into the pot by all of the players at the beginning of every poker hand.

Burn:
The procedure performed when a dealer places the top playing card from the deck, face down, on the discard pile.  This act is done after each wagering round prior to dealing the next community card(s).  This is done to remove the chance that a player has seen the next card to be dealt and in this way gaining an unfair advantage.

Complete Hand:
A full five playing card hand for instance a straight, flush, straight flush or full house.

House:
The casino or other dwelling that hosts the game.

Inside Straight:
A poker hand consisting of four playing cards needed to create a straight with a single card in the centre missing.

Kicker:
The unpaired card employed to determine the better of two near-equivalent set of cards

Muck:
A pile of cards either folded or burned in front of the dealer.

Open-ended straight:
A hand consisting of four sequential playing cards that with the addition of an individual card at either end will complete a straight.

Pocket:
The cards in your possession that only you are able to observe.

Protect:
Putting a poker chip on your cards to signify that you are still in the game to make sure that your hand is not inadvertently fouled by a discarded hand or mucked by the dealer.

Quads:
Four playing cards of the same value.

Rank:
The value of the card (not the suit).

Tell:
Some indication that a player (without realizing it) gives off indicating something concerning their poker hand to others.

Toke:
A small amount of money given by the player who wins a pot to the dealer.

Trips:
Three cards of the same ranking.

Variance:
The changes in a players funds, when the changes in your funds are large your variance is higher.