Poker Terms listed Alphabetically. These are the letter B

Posts: 1825 · Posted: 08.01.2007, 22:00

Poker terms listed alphabetically. The letter B

baby
A low-ranked card, usually used in lowball games. Also "spoke" when between ace and five.

backdoor
A draw requiring two or more rounds to fill. For example, catching two consecutive cards in two rounds of seven-card stud or Texas hold 'em to fill a straight or flush.
A hand made other than the hand the player intended to make. I started with four hearts hoping for a flush, but I backdoored two more kings and my trips won.
back in
To enter a pot by checking and then calling someone else's open on the first betting round. Usually used in games like Jackpots, meaning to enter without openers.
To enter a pot cheaply or for free because of having posted a blind.
back into
To win a pot with a hand that would have folded to any bet. For example, two players enter a pot of draw poker, both drawing to flushes. Both miss, and check after the draw. The player with the ace-high draw "backs into" winning the pot against the player with only a king-high draw. Also to make a backdoor draw, for example, a player who starts a hand with three of a kind, but makes a runner-runner flush, can be said to back into the flush.

backraise
A reraise from a player that previously limped in the same betting round. I decided to backraise with my pocket eights to isolate the all-in player.
bad beat
See bad beat.
bank
Also called the house, the person responsible for distributing chips, keeping track of the buy-ins, and paying winners at the end of the game.
bankroll
The amount of money that a player has to wager for the duration of his or her poker career.
behind
Not (currently) having the best hand. I'm pretty sure my pair of jacks was behind Lou's kings, but I had other outs, so I kept playing.
Describing money in play but not visible as chips in front of a player. For example, a player may announce "I've got $100 behind" while handing money to a casino employee, meaning that he intends those chips to be in play as soon as they are brought to him.

belly buster
An inside straight draw. Also "gutshot".
berry patch
A game with many unskilled or "live" players; a lucrative opportunity for profit.

bet
Any money wagered during the play of a hand.
More specifically, the opening bet of a betting round.
In a fixed limit game, the standard betting amount. There were six bets in the pot when I called.
betting structure
See betting (poker).
big bet
See big bet.
big bet game
A game played with a no limit or pot limit betting structure.
big blind
See blind (poker).

big blind special
A situation in which (assuming no raising) the player in the big blind is dealt weak hole cards, but ends up making the best hand because he or she was able to see the flop for free, often two pair with unusual cards such as 3-9 or 10-2. Compare to "small blind special".

blank
A card, frequently a community card, of no apparent value. I suspected Margaret had a good draw, but the river card was a blank, so I bet again. Also "rag". Compare to "brick", "bomb".
blaze
A Non-standard poker hand of five face cards that outranks a flush.
bleed, bleeding chips
To lose small amounts continually, so as to add up to a large loss. I won that large pot with my kings, but then I bled it all off over the next hour.

blind
A type of forced bet. See blind (poker).
In the "dark".
blind stud
A stud poker game in which all cards are dealt face down. Was popular in California before legal rulings made traditional stud legal there.

blind off, blinded
To "ante off".
To have one's stack reduced by paying ever increasing blinds in tournaments. Ted had to make a move soon or he would be blinded away in three more rounds.

blocker
In community card poker, refers to holding one of the opponent's outs, typically when the board threatens a straight or straight draw. The board was A23 but with my pair of fives I held two blockers to the straight. Compare to "dry ace".

bluff
See bluff (poker).
bluff-catcher
On the last betting round, a hand that cannot win if the opponent is making a legitimate value bet, but that might win if the opponent's bet was a pure bluff. It looked like Jim and I were both drawing for a flush. I missed and he bet, but I figured the pair of nines I caught along the way made a bluff-catcher, so I called.

board
The set of community cards in a community card game. If another spade hits the board, I'll have to fold.
The set of face-up cards of a particular player in a stud game. Zack's board didn't look too scary, so I bet into him again.
The set of all face-up cards in a stud game. I started with a flush.">flush draw, but there were already four other diamonds showing on the board, so I folded.
boat
Slang for a full house. Named for its resemblance to a boat structure; the pair making up the bow and stern, and the three of a kind as the hull.

bomb
A "brick". Compare to "blank", "rags".
bone
A chip, often of small denomination.

both ways
Both halves of a split pot, often declared by a player who thinks he or she will win both low and high.

bottom end
The lowest of several possible straights, especially in a community card game. For example, in Texas hold'em with the cards 5-6-7 on the board, a player holding 3-4 has the bottom end straight, while a player holding 4-8 or 8-9 has a higher straight. Also "idiot end".
bottom pair, bottom set
In a community card game, a pair (or set) made by matching the lowest-ranking board card with one (or two) in one's private hand. Compare second pair, top pair.
box
The chip tray in front of a house dealer, and by extension, the house dealer's position at the table. You've been in the box for an hour now; don't you get a break?

boxed card
A card encountered face-up in the assembled deck during the deal, as opposed to one overturned in the act of dealing. Most house rules treat a boxed card as if it didn't exist; that is, it is placed aside and not used. Different rules cover cards exposed during the deal.
break
In a draw poker game, to discard cards that make a made hand in the hope of making a much better one. For example, a player with J-J-10-9-8 may wish to break his pair of jacks to draw for the straight, and a lowball player may break his 9-high 9-5-4-2-A to draw for the wheel.
To end a session of play. The game broke at about 3:00.

brick
A "blank", though more often used in the derogatory sense of a card that is undesirable rather than merely inconsequential, such as a card of high rank or one that makes a pair in a low-hand game. Also "bomb". Compare to "rags".

brick & mortar
A brick & mortar or B&M casino is a term referring to a "real" casino based in a building, as opposed to an online casino. This term is used to refer to many real world locations vs. their Internet counterparts. It is not just a poker term.
bring in
To open a betting round. Alice brought it in for $4, and Bob raised to $10. Ted posted the bring-in.
A type of forced bet. Rather than (or in addition to) antes or blinds, some games, like seven card stud use a bring-in. The advantage of bring-in games is that the player can look at their hand before betting and can then bet the minimum bring or a full bet (usually 2.5X the bring in amount). So even though it is a forced bet, it is not considered a [blind bet] because the player can look at their cards before acting.
Broadway
The Ace high straight. AKQJT (offsuit) is Broadway.
Broomcorn's Uncle
This is a colorful term for calling a player overly tight.
Mike Sexton used this term on the World Poker Tour Ladies Night 2006 episode. The pop-up defined it as "Losing all your chips by never playing a hand." Broomcorn is an other name for boring common millet. Also see "ante off", "blind off".
brush
A casino employee whose job it is to greet players entering the poker room, maintain the list of persons waiting to play, announce open seats, and various other duties (including brushing off tables to prepare them for new games, hence the name).
To recruit players into a game. Dave is brushing up some players for tonight's game.
bubble
The last finishing position in a poker tournament before entering the payout structure. He was very frustrated after getting eliminated on the bubble. Also can be applied to other situations like if six players will make a televised final table the player finishing seventh will go out on the "TV bubble". Also used to describe any situation close to the payout structure.
buck
See button (poker).
bug
See bug (poker). Compare to wild card (poker).

bullet
An ace.
A chip. Also "ammo".
bully
A player who repeatedly makes large bets. This prevents opportunities from getting free or cheap cards that may complete a drawing hand. Also see buy the pot. Compare to "run over".
bum deal
A mis-deal
bump
To raise. Alice bet $5 and Bob bumped it to $20.
burn, burn card
See burn card.

busted
Not complete, such as four cards to a straight that never gets the fifth card to complete it.
Out of chips. To "bust out" is to lose all of one's chips.
button
See button (poker). Also "buck".

buy-in
The minimum required amount of chips that must be "bought" to become involved in a game (or tournament). For example, a $4-$8 fixed limit game might require a player to buy at least $40 worth of chips to play. This is typically far less than an average player would expect to play with for any amount of time, but large enough that the player can play a number of hands without buying more, so the game isn't slowed down by constant chip-buying.
buy short
To buy into a game for an amount smaller than the normal buy-in. Some casinos allow this under certain circumstances, such as after having lost a full buy-in, or if all players agree to allow it.

buy the button
A rule originating in northern California casinos in games played with blinds, in which a new player sitting down with the button to his right (who would normally be required to sit out a hand as the button passed him, then post to come in) may choose to pay the amount of both blinds for this one hand (the amount of the large blind playing as a live blind, and the amount of the small blind as dead money), play this hand, and then receive the button on the next hand as if he had been playing all along. See public cardroom rules (poker).
buy the pot
Making a bet when no one else is betting so as to force the other players to fold in order to win the pot uncontested.