Not Knowing Poker Terminology Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

Did you know that a lack of poker terms knowledge could be hazardous to your health?  We will explain to you why that is later in this article, but for now let us explain to you why poker terms are so important and what you can do to increase your knowledge.

Watching poker on television or even live in the casino can be somewhat of an intimidating proposition, but in all reality it really isn’t all that complicated to follow.  The key to knowing what’s going on is to have the basic terminology of the game down.  You don’t necessarily have to get the language of poker down to a science, but knowing just enough of the key terminology will give you the tools to follow along very easily.  The rest will eventually come to you after investing many hours in watching televised poker or playing live.  Below are a couple examples of terms you may hear on a televised poker show.  If you can follow along then congratulations, you are on track to becoming a poker genius!  If you are reading along and the phrase “Not So Much” comes to mind, then you have a little homework ahead of you.

Example 1: “Little Jimmy strangely limps in with an Ace – 10 off suit under the gun, in a six handed game when he’s short stacked at less than 14 big blinds. David makes a smart look behind with Queen Jack suited as they go to the flop. Jimmy leads out with 70 K and is stuck calling David’s shove. Given he’s got two straight draws and some over card value, plus on the rare occasion his opponent has a worst draw and he holds up, David made the right decision fast playing his two pair in this texture, as Jimmy was committed to calling with a fair amount of his betting range.”

Translation:  Jimmy bets the minimum with his Ace and 10 of different suits in the first position after the blinds, in a game that involves six players, and Jimmy barely has any chips left.  David calls Jimmy’s bet with a Queen and Jack that have the same suit, as they wait to see what three community cards the dealer will lay out on the table for all players. After the cards come out, Jimmy bets 70 thousand and David goes all-in… etc…etc.

Example2: “In another hand we cut to Little Jimmy opening with 70k and 12 big blinds with ace nine in the cut off. Which again likely plays better as a shove, but hey at least it’s not a limp. I find it curious that Jimmy’s opponent Cesar doesn’t shove over Jimmy’s flop bet, but if he believes Jimmy to be a major station and won’t fold many of his ace rags or even a small pair, then I can see why he elected to call. I really like the check by Cesar on the turn as he only needs to go for one more street of value to essentially stack Jimmy.   He likely realizes on this texture, Jimmy would simply shove or bet the turn with his stronger hands anyway. I have no idea why Jimmy is calling the river bet anyway though.  What hand is he expecting Cesar to turn over? Jimmy is obviously a loose bad player.”

Translation:  Jimmy starts off by betting 70 thousand and only has 12 times what the big forced bet is which means he is almost out of chips, and what’s even worse is he is in the last position at the table which is a position of strength but is not playing strong.   Going all in is a much better play at that spot.  At least Jimmy didn’t bet the minimum this time… etc…

So you see, if you know what the terms are, it is really not that complicated to follow what is going on.  This is just a small taste of what it can be like to listen to a broadcast of a poker event on television or watch the game live from the rail. Which brings us to the most important and life saving reason we are glad you had the fortune to read this article today.  When the game really gets intense you will hear so many more confusing words and phrases that your head could literally explode, and we don’t need perfectly good poker fans heads exploding across America.  That just wouldn’t be good for business… or for anyone.  But seriously though.   Terms such as “Shove” were not even part of the poker language just 3 short years ago.  With an influx of new online blood coming to the game every year, bringing a new language with them, the lingo continues to change.   As a result, being a good player requires us to stay up on the latest in poker lexicon.  If you’re interested in learning more about the poker terms that were discussed in this article, or if you just want to ensure you stay a healthy player with a good head on their shoulders… please visit the www.propairpoker.com  website and click on the poker terms link.  Hope to see you there!