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Below you will find an explanation of the most important poker terms that we are using.
- 3-Bet: The first reraise in the preflop stage. The "two bets" term relates to the first rise pre-flop, so the next raise is "three bets". For simplicity, it's called often a "3-bet".
- 4-Bet: A raise of a 3-bet, "four bets."
- 6-MAX: A 6-seated game of poker, typically played in online cash games.
- Ace-high: A hand with an ace with no pair or higher valued combination of cards possible.
- Air: A hand with a zero value.
- Bet(ting): means that you bet an 'x' amount of chips, it's important that the bet is at least the big blind. (If another player has already placed a bet, then you can only call, raise or fold)
- Bet for value: Bet that you intend to get called by at least one opponent with a lesser hand, as opposed to getting the others to fold. Often it means betting a hand that had just a slight edge, encouraging less aggressive players to check it.
- Call: Matching a bet made by another player.
- Check: When a player's take no action and place no bet.
- Combo(s): abbreviation for combinations. In Texas Hold'em, we get two starting cards before the flop. We play with a deck of 52 cards, 13 of each suit and 4 of each rank. The combos that can then be made with the cards are:
Six combos of each pocket pair.
Four combos of each suited hand
Twelve combos of each unpaired offsuit hand
Sixteen combos of every unpaired hand
- Convergence: proprietary precision index, representing result changes from iteration to iteration. The higher the convergence, the smaller changes in the results.
- Effective stack size: is the size of the smallest stack when two players are in a pot.
- EQ - Equity: Sometimes also called " value". Your estimated share of a pot. With the pot of $80 and a 10% chance of winning it, in multiple games and the same situation you would win on average $8. In the real-life, if the pot is not split, you would usually win either $80 or $0. So equity value is used to helps you to make your decisions and assess the risks.
- EV: Expected Value, is the outcome of your decisions in poker in the long run.
- Exploitable percentage: index representing how far solution lands from Nash Equilibrium. Indicates max % of the pot that villian could win from you if playing perfect GTO.
- Flop: Refers to the first three cards visible to players. These are also called community cards.
- Game tree: This is a concept to better understand the best ways to develop strategies. This allows you to generate more EV than your opponent.
- GTO (Strategy): Game Theory Optimal, mathematically, this is the best way to play poker. If you play GTO perfectly then it is impossible to be exploitable by your opponents.
- GTO Trainer: This allows you to play real poker hands with the settings as you have entered them. You will quickly find your leaks in your game, there is no better way to learn GTO than through the trainer.
- HU: Heads-Up, is a battle of poker between two players, i.e. 1 against 1.
- Iterations: Indicates how many times an algorithm will iterate through the decision tree. The bigger the number of iterations, the longer the calculations times.
- Iterations/nodes: How many full circles an algorithm will run through the decision trees. The bigger the decision tree, the more iterations are needed to achieve precise results
- Limp: When a player decides to just call the big blind pre-flop instead of raising, this is known as limping. You pay the minimum amount to participate in the hand.
- Matrix (Poker hand matrix): consists of a square containing 13x13=169 squares. These are all possible starting hands in Texas Hold'em, diagonally you find the pocket pairs. Above the pocket pairs are all possible suited hands and below the pocket pairs are all possible off suited hands. In each square, you can see all possible combos (See combos)
- Nash distance: measurement of how precise the strategy is - how far from Nash Equilibrium it lands - Everything below <2% Nash Distance is considered to be superhuman. For example, if your solved hand lands within 1% Nash Distance, your perfect villian is going to beat you for a max of !% of the pot.
- Nash Equilibrium: In poker, this means when the players' ranges are in balance with each other, i.e. when the players are playing an "optimal" game against each other where neither can win anything by deviating from the equilibrium strategy.
- Nash Game Theory: the optimal outcome of poker when there is no deviation from GTO-strategy
- Node locking: this is changing an opponent's strategic choice to then recalculate to find your best strategy.
- Nodes: is a possible action that your opponent or yourself can make when you have made a certain action. The more nodes, the more possibilities you have and the larger the game tree will be.
- Pair: is a combination you can make or is already on the table with the same value.
- Preflop: this is the moment before the flop and there are no community cards on the table.
- Rake: A portion of the pot goes to the room that is hosting the game. Usually, this is between 2.5% and 10%, and there is a maximum (cap) on the rake. Rake is paid at online poker, but also at live poker.
- Range: a collection of hands that are possible in poker.
- River: this is the fifth card that comes face up on the table, and is one card.
- Smart Tree (button): save time & effort, and build your decision trees with one click in Deepsolver. When choosing sizings, Deepsolver's algorithm will take SPR's, board structure, and players range into account. Then our Genius tree builder will create a decisions tree with a small number of bet sizing that guarantees the highest possible payout/EV for both players.
- Solver: This is powerful poker software that provides optimal solutions (GTO) for specific scenarios in poker. In other words: Solvers are tools that help to learn GTO.
- Turn: is the fourth of a total of five community cards, comes after the flop and is one card.
- Variance: the difference between what you expect to win and what you actually win.
SB - Small Blind: The player on the left side of the dealer. He must pay ⅓ – ⅔ of a big blind.
BB - Big Blind: The player on the left side of the small blind, two positions clockwise from the dealer button. This player must pay one big blind, defined before the game starts.
UTG - Under the gun: In flop games like Texas hold'em and Omaha poker it is the position to the left of the big blind. The player in the UTG position is forced to act first, with no option to know other players' decisions before his own action. That put him under pressure and have an impact on his strategy.
UTG+1 - Under the gun + 1: Player sitting to the immediate left of the person who is "under the gun", he is second to act in the pre-flop betting round.
MP - Middle position: Middle position
MP+1 - Middle position +1: The seat left to the first middle position.
HJ - Hijack: Position to the right of the “cutoff” and two seats to the right of the “button.” In a full ring game of hold'em or Omaha (i.e. with 9 or 10 players in a game), it is one of the late positions, taking advantage of knowing decisions of players who had to make their action before.
CO - Cut-off: The seat to the right of the button.
BTN - Button, Dealer: Button, dealer position, last to act in a betting round. Being "on the button" allow you to see every opponent's decision, and makes it the most advantageous and most profitable position in poker.
Back to help center
Below you will find an explanation of the most important poker terms that we are using.
- 3-Bet: The first reraise in the preflop stage. The "two bets" term relates to the first rise pre-flop, so the next raise is "three bets". For simplicity, it's called often a "3-bet".
- 4-Bet: A raise of a 3-bet, "four bets."
- 6-MAX: A 6-seated game of poker, typically played in online cash games.
- Ace-high: A hand with an ace with no pair or higher valued combination of cards possible.
- Air: A hand with a zero value.
- Bet(ting): means that you bet an 'x' amount of chips, it's important that the bet is at least the big blind. (If another player has already placed a bet, then you can only call, raise or fold)
- Bet for value: Bet that you intend to get called by at least one opponent with a lesser hand, as opposed to getting the others to fold. Often it means betting a hand that had just a slight edge, encouraging less aggressive players to check it.
- Call: Matching a bet made by another player.
- Check: When a player's take no action and place no bet.
- Combo(s): abbreviation for combinations. In Texas Hold'em, we get two starting cards before the flop. We play with a deck of 52 cards, 13 of each suit and 4 of each rank. The combos that can then be made with the cards are:
Six combos of each pocket pair.
Four combos of each suited hand
Twelve combos of each unpaired offsuit hand
Sixteen combos of every unpaired hand
- Convergence: proprietary precision index, representing result changes from iteration to iteration. The higher the convergence, the smaller changes in the results.
- Effective stack size: is the size of the smallest stack when two players are in a pot.
- EQ - Equity: Sometimes also called " value". Your estimated share of a pot. With the pot of $80 and a 10% chance of winning it, in multiple games and the same situation you would win on average $8. In the real-life, if the pot is not split, you would usually win either $80 or $0. So equity value is used to helps you to make your decisions and assess the risks.
- EV: Expected Value, is the outcome of your decisions in poker in the long run.
- Exploitable percentage: index representing how far solution lands from Nash Equilibrium. Indicates max % of the pot that villian could win from you if playing perfect GTO.
- Flop: Refers to the first three cards visible to players. These are also called community cards.
- Game tree: This is a concept to better understand the best ways to develop strategies. This allows you to generate more EV than your opponent.
- GTO (Strategy): Game Theory Optimal, mathematically, this is the best way to play poker. If you play GTO perfectly then it is impossible to be exploitable by your opponents.
- GTO Trainer: This allows you to play real poker hands with the settings as you have entered them. You will quickly find your leaks in your game, there is no better way to learn GTO than through the trainer.
- HU: Heads-Up, is a battle of poker between two players, i.e. 1 against 1.
- Iterations: Indicates how many times an algorithm will iterate through the decision tree. The bigger the number of iterations, the longer the calculations times.
- Iterations/nodes: How many full circles an algorithm will run through the decision trees. The bigger the decision tree, the more iterations are needed to achieve precise results
- Limp: When a player decides to just call the big blind pre-flop instead of raising, this is known as limping. You pay the minimum amount to participate in the hand.
- Matrix (Poker hand matrix): consists of a square containing 13x13=169 squares. These are all possible starting hands in Texas Hold'em, diagonally you find the pocket pairs. Above the pocket pairs are all possible suited hands and below the pocket pairs are all possible off suited hands. In each square, you can see all possible combos (See combos)
- Nash distance: measurement of how precise the strategy is - how far from Nash Equilibrium it lands - Everything below <2% Nash Distance is considered to be superhuman. For example, if your solved hand lands within 1% Nash Distance, your perfect villian is going to beat you for a max of !% of the pot.
- Nash Equilibrium: In poker, this means when the players' ranges are in balance with each other, i.e. when the players are playing an "optimal" game against each other where neither can win anything by deviating from the equilibrium strategy.
- Nash Game Theory: the optimal outcome of poker when there is no deviation from GTO-strategy
- Node locking: this is changing an opponent's strategic choice to then recalculate to find your best strategy.
- Nodes: is a possible action that your opponent or yourself can make when you have made a certain action. The more nodes, the more possibilities you have and the larger the game tree will be.
- Pair: is a combination you can make or is already on the table with the same value.
- Preflop: this is the moment before the flop and there are no community cards on the table.
- Rake: A portion of the pot goes to the room that is hosting the game. Usually, this is between 2.5% and 10%, and there is a maximum (cap) on the rake. Rake is paid at online poker, but also at live poker.
- Range: a collection of hands that are possible in poker.
- River: this is the fifth card that comes face up on the table, and is one card.
- Smart Tree (button): save time & effort, and build your decision trees with one click in Deepsolver. When choosing sizings, Deepsolver's algorithm will take SPR's, board structure, and players range into account. Then our Genius tree builder will create a decisions tree with a small number of bet sizing that guarantees the highest possible payout/EV for both players.
- Solver: This is powerful poker software that provides optimal solutions (GTO) for specific scenarios in poker. In other words: Solvers are tools that help to learn GTO.
- Turn: is the fourth of a total of five community cards, comes after the flop and is one card.
- Variance: the difference between what you expect to win and what you actually win.
Positions in poker
SB - Small Blind: The player on the left side of the dealer. He must pay ⅓ – ⅔ of a big blind.
BB - Big Blind: The player on the left side of the small blind, two positions clockwise from the dealer button. This player must pay one big blind, defined before the game starts.
UTG - Under the gun: In flop games like Texas hold'em and Omaha poker it is the position to the left of the big blind. The player in the UTG position is forced to act first, with no option to know other players' decisions before his own action. That put him under pressure and have an impact on his strategy.
UTG+1 - Under the gun + 1: Player sitting to the immediate left of the person who is "under the gun", he is second to act in the pre-flop betting round.
MP - Middle position: Middle position
MP+1 - Middle position +1: The seat left to the first middle position.
HJ - Hijack: Position to the right of the “cutoff” and two seats to the right of the “button.” In a full ring game of hold'em or Omaha (i.e. with 9 or 10 players in a game), it is one of the late positions, taking advantage of knowing decisions of players who had to make their action before.
CO - Cut-off: The seat to the right of the button.
BTN - Button, Dealer: Button, dealer position, last to act in a betting round. Being "on the button" allow you to see every opponent's decision, and makes it the most advantageous and most profitable position in poker.
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Updated on: 21/10/2021
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