Poker terms starting with S

21 terms

  1. Scare Card A card that may well turn the best hand into trash. If you have T ♣-8♣ and the flop comes Q♦-J♦-9 ♠, you almost assuredly have the best hand.
  2. Second Pair A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have A ♠-T♠, and the flop comes K♦-T♥-6 ♣, you have flopped second pair. See "top pair."
  3. Sell As in "sell a hand." In a spread-limit game, this means betting less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping players will call whereas…
  4. Semi-Bluff A powerful concept first discussed by David Sklansky. It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is.
  5. Set Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.
  6. Shake Shake - this is another name for Pai Gow Poker.
  7. Short Stack A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table.
  8. Showdown The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand - i.e.
  9. Side Pot A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips.
  10. Slow Play To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.
  11. Small Blind The smaller of two blind bets typically used in a hold'em game. Normally, the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first round bet.
  12. Smooth Call To call. Smooth call often implies slow playing a strong hand. Example: "I flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the guy in front of me bet -…
  13. Split Pot A pot that is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.
  14. Split Two Pair A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks appears on the board as well. Example: you have T9, the flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair.
  15. Spread-limit A betting structure in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round.
  16. Straddle A straddle is hedging strategy that involves buying or selling a put and a call option on the same underlying instrument at the same strike price and with…
  17. Straight a hand of five cards of consecutive value, e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, irrespective of suit; an Ace cannot count as both low and high, as in e.g. Q, K, A, 2, 3
  18. Straight flush a hand of five cards of consecutive value, e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, all of the same suit; an Ace cannot count as both low and high, as in e.g. Q, K, A, 2, 3
  19. String Bet A bet (more typically a raise) in which a player doesn't get all the chips required for the raise into the pot in one motion.
  20. Structured Used to apply to a certain betting structure in poker games. The typical definition of a structured hold'em game is a fixed amount for bets and raises…
  21. Suited A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit. Example: "I had to play J-3 - it was suited."