Action
Opportunity to act. If a player appears not to realize that it is turn, the dealer will say "Your action, sir".
Ante
A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand.
Burn
A term used to describe the process of discarding the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.
Complete Hand
A hand that is defined by
all five cards – a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind or a straight flush.
House
The establishment running the game.
Inside Straight
A hand that has four of the cards required for a straight but needs one in the middle to complete it.
Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands.
Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer.
Open-ended straight
Four consecutive cards requiring one at either end to make a straight.
Pocket
Your unique cards that only you can see.
Protect
To keep your hand or place a chip on your cards. This prevents them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally being mucked by the dealer.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Rank
The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit).
Tell
A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his/her hand, his next action. Etc.
Toke
A small amount of money given to the dealer by the winner of the pot. Quite often, tokes represent the majority of a dealer's income.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Variance
A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. The higher your variance, the wider swings you'll see in your bankroll.
