Talk poker like a pro

By Mark Lasser

Every casino game has traditions and terminology. Craps has its “hardways” and “yo” bets. Blackjack has “anchors” and roulette has “corners” and “columns.” But poker … poker speaks a language so strange it can freak out new players.

I talk poker incessantly and my wife still only understands a fraction of what I’m talking about. Perhaps it’s the long history of the game that brings it so much banter. Or, it could be the amount of interaction between players. I think the reason poker has developed a language of its own is due to the long hours people play. It’s not uncommon to find people who play several days a week for years. So here’s a guide to help you sound like you’re a pro — or at least help you decipher what everyone’s talking about.

Pocket hand nicknames

Ducks: A pair of twos. They sort of look like a sitting ducks.
Treys: A pair of threes.
Obama: Pair of fours. (He’s the 44th President of the U.S.).
Fish hooks: Pair of Jacks.
Ladies: Pair of Queens.
Cowboys: Pair of Kings.
American Airlines: Pocket Aces, especially one red and one black. Also called bullets or pocket rockets.
Big Slick: A suited Ace and King.
Dolly Parton: A nine and a five.
Dead Man’s Hand: An Ace and an eight. Wild Bill was shot holding these cards playing draw poker.
Canine: A King and a nine. Kaye-nine, get it?
Maxwell Smart: An eight and a six.
Heinz: A five and a seven.
Connectors: Any two consecutive cards like 8 and 9 or 5 and 6.

Flopped hand nicknames

Broadway: AKQJT mixed suits. If this is suited it’s a Royal Flush.
Wheel: A2345 mixed suits. If it’s suited it’s a straight flush.
Motown: Jacks and Fives.
Nuts: An unbeatable hand. One story is players in the Old West that had an unbeatable hand would wager their wagon. To show how sure they were of their hand, they’d go out and pull the nuts off the wheels and put them in the pot.
Rainbow: Four unsuited cards.

Position nicknames

Button: The player who has the dealer position.
Cut off: The player to act just before the player with the dealer button.
Hijack: The person to act before the cut off position player.
Under the Gun: The first player to act after the big blind.

Action nicknames

Flop: First three community cards dealt in the middle of the table in Texas Hold’em and Omaha.
Turn: Fourth card dealt right after the flop. Also called 4th street.
River: The last community card dealt after the turn. Also called 5th street.
Backdoor flush or straight: When you make a flush or straight and need the turn and the river.
Bad beat: Losing a hand when you had very strong odds to win.
Calling station: Someone who calls every bet and raises almost regardless of what they are holding.
Lay down: Folding very strong cards or hands because you think you’re beat. I’ve seen players correctly lay down a pair of Kings to a pair of Aces.
Muck: Same as a fold when used as a verb. The pile of folded cards when used as a noun.
Rock: Someone who plays few hands and seldom raises.
Maniac: Someone who plays many hands and often raises.

There are some very adult and politically incorrect terms that I’ve left off the list that are also commonly heard. Ask me at the tables and I’ll fill you in.

- Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. His work has appeared in Bikini Magazine, Blue Travel and Warp. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.