Stud Poker Dictionary

June, 2020 - Most new Stud poker players have seen a word in the chat box that they didn't recognize. I have defined most of the major Stud poker terms along with some general poker terms here. Asking the other players at the table what a Door Card is will probably result in the other players laughing at you or worse. Knowing the lingo in Stud will also help you better understand our 7 Card Stud, Razz and Stud HL articles. I have added some links to our rules articles for each game below.

Seven Card Stud rules Stud HL rules Razz poker rules 5 Card Stud poker

Stud strategy guide Stud Hi Lo strategy guide Razz strategy guide Pot limit Stud

Ante - An ante is a forced bet that all players have to place before the dealer will begin the hand. Should a player not place the bet, they will not be included in the hand that is due to be dealt.

Bluff - A bluff is a fictional indication that a player is holding a strong hand. A player makes a bluff with the intention to scare opponents out of the hand.

Boxed Card - A boxed card is a name that is given to a card that is found to be facing up while being in the dealers deck. Should a situation like this happen, the card is burned and ignored with the next card in the deck taking its place in the game.

Bring In - This is a forced bet that follows the initial cards that are dealt to each player within the stud poker variants. A bring in is similar to an ante but it is only required to be placed by the player with the lowest exposed card.

Bubble - The term bubble describes a player who is eliminated from a game or tournament in a position that is the final unpaid finishing placement. This means that any players who are eliminated after this player would receive a financial prize for their performance in the game/tournament.

Burn - Burn is a term that is given to the process of the dealer discarding of the top card of the deck. The process is that the dealer will remove the card from the top of the deck and place it face down on the table, never revealing the cards value to players.

Buy In Fee - This refers to the amount that a game or poker tournament charges players to enter into the action. The money is then used to create a prize pool that will be split between a certain number of finishing places so that players who perform well in the tournament or game get a good return on their initial investment.

Call - A term that describes when a player signals their intention to remain active within a hand by staking an equal amount of chips into the central pot.

Check - An action of play that sees a player pass up the right to be the first player to bet into a pot while still remaining within the hand.

Check - Raise - A method of play where a player passed up the opportunity to make a bet into the central pot but they raise any bet that is placed into play by any other player that acts after them. This is generally seen as an indication of a strong hand.

Come Hand - This is a name for a hand that needs to be improved with the addition of another one or more cards/ An example of this would be if a player was chasing either a flush or a straight.

Community Cards - The term community cards refers to the cards that are brought into play by the dealer and placed into the center of the table. These cards are for all players to use to try to create the strongest possible hand that they can.

Complete - The name given to a bet where a player wagers the full amount of a bet rather than a partial bet that would be placed by a player who opts to bring in on their forced bet.

Counter Bluff - A play that is used to act against a bluff from another player. This sort of play is very rarely seen unless a player is experienced and highly analytical.

Door Card - This term is used to describe the first exposed card of a players hand. The door card is the third card to be dealt to a player. Also known as an up card.

Gutshot Straight - Term used when a player has a possible straight draw but the cards that are required to complete the hand are of a value inside the cards already held. For example if a player was holding cards: A-K-Q-10, the need for the player to get a J would be described as a Gutshot Straight. A more common term for this is better known as an inside straight draw.

Heads Up - Name given to a playing situation where only two players are involved in the hand.

Hi-Lo - A variant game that sees the highest and the lowest hand share the central pot. The game usually has a set value that would mark the difference between high and low cards, for example anything below an 8 would be seen as a possible low hand.

Hole Cards - A name that is given to the cards that are dealt to the player at the start of the game. These cards are dealt face down and so would not be visible to any other player. Another name given to these cards is Pocket Cards.

Limp / Limping In - Term used to describe when a player calls a bet amount that is equal to that of the big blind. The term is only used on the first round of betting that is conducted before the flop.

Live One - A name given to a player who is very active within the game, playing a high percentage of their hands. These types of players are usually weak - aggressive players and so can provide a good player with a prime target in order to increase their bankroll.

Loose - A term that can offer the same meaning to two types of players of completely different strengths. A weak loose player tends to play a higher percentage of hands while getting themselves into situations that prove costly to their bankroll. On the flip side of this there are the strong players. These types of players look to play loose to increase the amount within a central pot while they represent a strong hand.

Maniac - Name given to a player who plays their hands very aggressively, being happy to raise and re-raise a bet with almost any hand. These players can prove to be hard to play against as you are unable to make a read on their actions.

Monster / Monster Hand - Term that is given to the top strength hand that is available at that point in the game to which you are hoping to win a large pot.

Outs - A name given to a number of cards that can improve a players hand should they enter into a pot with a hand of lower strength than any other player. Out cards are often used to help players calculate their pot odds in order to make a more informed betting play while playing their hand.

Overcall - A term that is given when a player calls a hand that already has at least one player who has also called.

Rebuy - A rebuy offers a poker player the opportunity to re-enter a poker game or tournament after they have been knocked out or they are below a threshold of chips that is seen as a low amount.

Semi Bluff - A term given to a play that is made by a player when they are holding a low strength hand but want to show that they have strength in their hand. A bluff becomes a semi bluff if the player is bluffing with a hand that has potential to win the hand should they get a call from one or more players. An example would be that the player was holding a low pocket pair.

Showdown - A poker showdown is found at the end of a complete hand. Once all the rounds of betting have been completed and all the community cards have been placed onto the central board, if the hand still has 2 or more players active a showdown will take place. This means that the players will reveal their hand and the winning player decided as per the stud poker hand rankings.

Up Cards - The term is a name that is given to the cards within a players hand that have been dealt face up by the dealer. Because these cards are exposed, opponents are given the opportunity to draw information about the possible hands that you could be in possession of.

Triple Stud Poker - Triple Stud is a new mixed poker game at Pokerstars that includes 7 Card Stud, Razz and 7 Card Stud Hilo.

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