milker

From Middle English milkere, equivalent to milk + -er.

(poker) A conservative poker player who only raises the stakes on a good hand.


jink

en-verb

jink (third-person singular simple present jinks, present participle jinking, simple past and past participle jinked)

jinks (present singular third-person)
jinking (participle present)
jinked (participle past)
jinked (past)

Origin uncertain. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests onomatopoeia for motion. Attested since the 18th century. Compare unnasalised dialectal jick (“to avoid with a sudden jerk of the body, elude”).

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeia

(intransitive, card games) In the games of spoilfive and forty-five, to win the game by taking all five tricks; also, to attempt to win all five tricks, losing what has been already won if unsuccessful.


mumchance

en-noun

mumchance (countable and uncountable, plural mumchances)

From Middle English mommen (“mutter, be silent”) and Middle High German mummenschantze (“game of chance as part of a masquerade, mime performance, revel”), from Old French momen (“mask”) and chance (“game of chance”).

der

The Taker oꝛ the Verſer is the man muſt play with him, the Cardes are fetch, Mumchance oꝛ Decoy is the game: the firſt wager is Wine, the ſecond two pence in money, from two pence they riſe to a ſhilling, from that to a pound, […]

1608, [Thomas Dekker], “Of Barnards Law”, in The Belman of London. […], London: […] [Edward Allde and Nicholas Okes] for Nathaniel Butter, →OCLC, signature F2, recto:

Bear and wolf, look to your prisoner—prance, hobby—hiss, dragon, and halloo, boys—we grow older every moment we stand idle, and life is too short to be spent in playing mumchance.

1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, page 319:

An old game of chance played with cards in silence.


bobtail

a bobtail flush

(poker, often attributive) An open-ended straight or four flush.


rubber bridge

The original form of contract bridge; so called because bonuses are awarded for scoring sufficient points to win games and thereby a rubber, which is the best of three games. Compare to duplicate bridge.


contract bridge

A card game in which four players, forming two partnerships, first bid then play by taking tricks.


cuajo

From Spanish cuajo, from Hokkien, possibly 看好 (khòaⁿ-hó) or 看護／看护 (khàn-hō͘ / khòaⁿ-hō͘ / khan-hō͘) or 看虎 (khòaⁿ hó͘, literally “watching the tiger”). Compare Tagalog kuwaho, Kapampangan kuwaho, English khanhoo.

(Philippines, card games) a kind of card game, similar to Khanhoo


quint

A musical or piquet term, or a quintuplet

From Middle French quint, from Latin quīntus.

(card games) In piquet, a sequence of five playing cards of the same suit; equivalent to a straight flush in poker


squeezer

You were playing Buckhunter at the bar last night and your game was so tight a gal offered to give you a squeezer in the parking lot.

Twenty-five one-armed squeezers sounds like a lot of unnecessary strain on the heart.

(slang, US, Canada) A hand job, an instance of male masturbation, or manual sex performed on a man.


cardsharp

From card + sharp (“cheater, dishonest person”).

refn

From the collection of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

compound

One of Tim’s great-grandparents had been a cardsharp in the wild west, and had been shot dead during a game.

While thus running on, the knavish card-sharp was slowly, and with apparent fairness, cutting the pack, which was prepared by having every card but the honours of each suit cut at the ends, in so slight a degree, however, as not to shorten them enough to be detectible by an ordinary eye, though sufficiently to be felt by a fine and practised finger, which could thus ensure a court-card, while the red cards of the pack (or deck of cards, as they were then commonly called) were deprived of their proper size by a similar process of shaving off the sides, so as to make the turn-up either red or black at will of the player.

1850, Henry Downes Miles, chapter XI, in Claude du Val, a Romance, of the Days of Charles the Second, Edwin Dipple, […], →OCLC, page 191:

'Why Moses,' said Satan, 'nor Angels nor sinners / Can live without eating; let's go to our dinners; / Men who play at old sledge cannot both be the winners; / The card-sharps, you know, lose the dimes to beginners; […]'

1858, T[homas] L[ake] Harris, “Fourth Interview”, in Appendix to the Arcana of Christianity: The Song of Satan: A Series of Poems, […], New York, N.Y.: New Church Publishing Association, […], →OCLC, page l:

Whenever we used to want to take a rise out o' Bill after, we only had to ax him if he'd seen any more card sharps, and he'd get as mad as a hatter.

1865 November 18, Robert P. Whitworth, “Mary Summers: A Romance of the Australian Bush”, in The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Literature, Science, and the Arts, volume I, number 12, Melbourne, Vic., Sydney, N.S.W.: Clarson, Massina, and Co., printers and publishers, […], published 1866, →OCLC, chapter XVIII (The New Hut), page 178, column 1:

In hilly country sheep will sometimes get lost in small bands. [...] Should they prove unmanageable, refusing to travel, or running off from you, the adroit shepherd will practice against them a "string game" quite as effective as that the card sharp plays on the over-confident rustic. Catch the leader, or the whole party of rebels, and tie around one of the hind legs just above the hock joint, a piece of stout string— [...]

1875, A. A. Ritchie, “The Art of Sheep Raising for Wool, Mutton, and Money. […]”, in Transactions of the California State Agricultural Society during the Year 1874, Sacramento, Calif.: G. H. Springer, state printer, →OCLC, page 465:

The cleverest card[-]sharp we ever saw—outside of good society—was a Greek by country as well as by profession; but all the money he picked up in the by-ways of the sporting world went at the hazard-table, and the poor rogue often wanted a dinner.

1876 December 9, “A Run with Many Packs”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal. [...] With which is Incorporated Household Words, volume XVII, number 419 (New Series), London: Published at No. 26, Wellington Street; and by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, […], published 1877, →OCLC, page 307, column 2:

You'd been running with a gang of card-sharps when I picked you up, and the police were waiting their chance to gaol you.

[1923], Edgar Wallace, “Abe Bellamy and His Secretary”, in The Green Archer, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 24:

When the businessmen quit, there had been two other men eager to take their chairs. The ranchers were somewhat leery about allowing strangers to join their game. They had been suckered in by a slick cardsharp once and had learned a lesson that still galled them whenever they were reminded of it.

1989, Jean Haught, Prisoner of Passion (A Zebra Romance), London: Zebra Books, →ISBN, page 34:

The cardsharp asked, ‘Now who wants to make a bet?’ The wise guy said, ‘I’ll make a bet. You stacked the cards. I’ll bet you twenty bucks you hold three aces.’ The cardsharp said, ‘You’re on, buddy. And you’re dead wrong.’

1990, Bob Longe, “Prediction”, in World’s Best Card Tricks, New York, N.Y.: Sterling Publishing, →ISBN, page 82:

(card games) A professional cheater at card games.

Caravaggio
Kimbell Art Museum
The Cardsharps


endgame

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-endgame.wav

You can't really use squeeze plays until the endgame.

Bridge writing tends to concentrate on the end game.

1952, Iain Macleod, Bridge Is an Easy Game, page 190:

(bridge) The final stage of a game of bridge, when there are few cards left.


deadwood

en-noun

deadwood (countable and uncountable, plural deadwoods)


go south

en-verb

go south (third-person singular simple present goes south, present participle going south, simple past went south, past participle gone south)

goes south (present singular third-person)
going south (participle present)
went south (past)
gone south (participle past)

(become worse): The origin is unclear. Common belief attributes it to the standard orientation of maps, where south is the downwards direction. Alternatively, it could stem from a euphemism used by some Native Americans for dying.

(poker slang) To rathole: to take chips off the table in a cash game without exiting the game completely, especially with the intention of limiting losses.


five-and-dime

(poker slang) Two pair, composed of fives and tens.

(poker slang) A five and a ten as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


four-flusher

From the practice of attempting to pass off four cards of the same suit, and a fifth of perhaps the same color, as a flush in poker.

That four-flusher shoot himself? Not a chance.

1929, Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest, New York: Knopf, →OL:

(slang, Canada, US) A lowly, disreputable cheat or fraudster, especially at cards, especially a dull or unimaginative one.


horse

en-noun

horse (countable and uncountable, plural horses)

→ Maori: hōiho

→ Sranan Tongo: asi

→ Quiripi: hosses (from the plural horses)

From Middle English horse, hors, from Old English hors (“horse”), from Proto-West Germanic *hors, *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of car. Cognate with North Frisian hors (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Dutch ros, hors (“horse”), German Ross (“horse”), Danish hors (“horse”), Swedish russ, hors (“horse”), Icelandic hross, hors (“horse”).

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse

close the barn door after the horse has bolted

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

you can't put the shit back in the horse

zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

Also Horse harness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

See Horse-drawn vehicles on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Note: Many of these were adapted into and/or gave their names to motor vehicle types

with the horse-drawn originals often being forgotten.

(poker slang) A player who has been staked, i.e. another player has paid for their buy-in and claims a percentage of any winnings.


hole card

(poker, chiefly in the plural) A playing card, dealt face down, that the holder need not reveal until the showdown.


roundhouse

(card games) In the game of pinochle, a meld consisting of a queen and king in each of the four suits.


redouble

en-verb

redouble (third-person singular simple present redoubles, present participle redoubling, simple past and past participle redoubled)

redoubles (present singular third-person)
redoubling (participle present)
redoubled (participle past)
redoubled (past)

From Middle French redoubler. By surface analysis, re- + double.

(bridge, backgammon) To double an opponent's doubling bid.


redouble

(bridge) An optional bid made by the side currently holding the highest bid for the contract, after the opposing side has doubled.


undercard

The eight on the turn was another undercard to her pair of nines

(poker) A card lower than another given card or pair.


redeal

redeal (third-person singular simple present redeals, present participle redealing, simple past and past participle redealt)

redeals (present singular third-person)
redealing (participle present)
redealt (participle past)
redealt (past)

We had to redeal because a mistake was made.


no-trump

Many find it easier to remember 20 for Minors, 30 for Majors and 35 for No Trump.

1927, Milton Cooper Work, Contract Bridge, page 11:

A declaration, in bridge and similar games, that a hand is to be played without a trump suit.


picket

en-noun

picket (countable and uncountable, plural pickets)

From French piquet, from piquer (“to pierce”).

(card games, uncountable) The card game piquet.


Motown

Blend of motor + town; see Motor City. The poker slang comes from jacks and fives sounding similar to Jackson 5, associated with Motown popular music.

(poker slang) A jack and a five as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


Omaha

(poker) Omaha hold 'em, any of several poker variants.


rubicon

The noun is derived from the phrase cross the Rubicon (“to make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences”). Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, a small river in northeastern Italy, on 10 January 49 B.C.E., indicated his intention to start a civil war with Pompey. Rubicon is derived from Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.
The verb is derived from the noun.

The game is called a double, and you score 200 instead of 100 when your adversary does not get 100, which, in technical language, is called crossing the Rubicon.

1873 August 1, “Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.]”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, published 1874, →OCLC, page 84, column 2:

If you are a good way ahead, and particularly in the last hand but one, if you have a chance of winning a Rubicon, you should make a safe discard, with the view of dividing or winning the cards, in order to keep your adversary back. On the other hand, if the score is much against you, and you are under a Rubicon, you are justified in making a bold discard.

1885, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Hints to Learners”, in The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game, 4th edition, London: Thomas De La Rue & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 12, page 82:

Brisques are not counted except to determine whether or not there is a rubicon, explained below.

1956, Richard L. Frey, Rules of Games According to Hoyle: Official Rules of More than 200 Popular Games of Skill and Chance with Expert Advice on Winning Play, New York, N.Y.: Fawcett Publications, →OCLC, page 162:

As an example: if a player is well ahead, and sees the opportunity to gain a rubicon, he should discard cautiously and play so as to prevent his opponent from saving the rubicon by scoring 100 points.

1989, Peter Arnold, editor, Complete Book of Card Games, New York, N.Y.: Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 64, column 1:

(card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.


rubicon

en-verb

rubicon (third-person singular simple present rubicons, present participle rubiconing, simple past and past participle rubiconed)

rubicons (present singular third-person)
rubiconing (participle present)
rubiconed (participle past)
rubiconed (past)

A curious score was made in a game of piquet with one of the ladies. [...] In the fifth hand she made a piquet and capot, scoring 121 to 0, and in the sixth hand, being the minor, she made a repiquet, taking all but the last trick, counting 111 to 3, totalling 270, and rubiconing her opponent at 99, with a win of 469 points.

1902 November, Walter Del Mar, “London to Colombo”, in Around the World through Japan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 3–4:

Fleming initiated me into the mysteries of Bézique, and at once set about rubiconing me, [...]

1934, J[ohn] Angus Beckett, “The Return Ice-cap Journey”, in Iceland Adventure: The Double Traverse of Vatnajökull by the Cambridge Expedition, London: H. F. & G. Witherby, →OCLC, pages 125–126:

Ten points are received for the last trick but brisques are only counted if they make a difference as to who is the winner or if a player is rubiconed [...].

[1954], Helen Fried Joseph, The Family Book of Games and Sports, [Chicago, Ill.]: Popular Mechanics Press, →OCLC, page 167, column 2:

(transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon.


fainaigue

fainaigue (third-person singular simple present fainaigues, present participle fainaiguing, simple past and past participle fainaigued)

fainaigues (present singular third-person)
fainaiguing (participle present)
fainaigued (participle past)
fainaigued (past)

Uncertain; perhaps:
* related to Old French fornoiier, fornier (“to deny”), from for- (prefix expressing error, exclusion, or inadequacy) + noiier, nier (“to deny”) (compare Late Latin forīsnegāre (“to renege, repudiate”), where the Frankish for- is rendered into Latin as forīs), from Latin negāre (“to deny; to refuse, say no; to reject, turn down (something)”), from nē (“no; not”) + aiō (“to affirm, say ‘yes’”)) (for the word ending, compare reneague (“to refuse to follow suit in a card game, renege; to deny, refuse; act of refusing to follow suit in a card game”) (Britain, dialectal)); or
* from feign (“to pretend”) + ague (“intermittent fever; (obsolete) acute fever”), or French aigüe (“(medicine) acute”) (as in maladie aiguë (“acute illness”)), literally “to act sick”.

der

When Mr. Simpson had spoken of the "Jack of Oaks" (meaning the Knave of Clubs), or had said "fainaiguing" (where others said "revoking"), we had pretended not to notice it, until at length we actually did not.

[1888, Q. [pseudonym; Arthur Quiller-Couch], “Of Deterioration; and a Wheelbarrow that Contained Unexpected Things”, in The Astonishing History of Troy Town, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 147:

(card games) To renege (“break one's commitment to follow suit when capable”).


tute

From Spanish tute, previously from Italian tutti.

(card games) A trick-taking card game, originally from Italy.


quodlibet

From Latin quod libet (“that which is pleasing”).

(card games) A card game that combines several different contracts.


declarer

From Middle English declarer, equivalent to declare + -er.

(bridge) The person who wins the bidding and so declares what suit will be trump.


rebid

en-verb

rebid (third-person singular simple present rebids, present participle rebidding, simple past and past participle rebid)

rebids (present singular third-person)
rebidding (participle present)
rebid (participle past)
rebid (past)

(bridge) To bid a higher value of the current suit.


keycard

From key (“important”) + card (“playing card”).

compound

(bridge) In Roman keycard Blackwood, an ace of any suit or the king of trumps.


trump card

(card games) A playing card, of the trump suit that is held in reserve until needed to win a trick.


squeeze play

Squeeze play is an important part of the endgame.

(bridge) The tactic of running a suit to compel another player to waste potentially winning cards.

(poker) The tactic of reraising a raiser and a caller to compel one or both to fold, often as a bluff.


cutoff

изключване

the point at which something terminates or to which it is limited

(poker) The player who acts directly before the player on the button pre-flop.


basset

en-noun

basset (countable and uncountable, plural bassets)

From French bassette, from Italian bassetta.

Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget / Your piquet parties, and your dear basset.

We are to go and see Pope's new grotto, opened for the first time; then try Hampton Court, and see if Mrs. Howard will stake a little princely gold on a pool of basset.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 173–174:

(uncountable, card games) A card game resembling faro.


unsuited

en-adj

unsuited (comparative more unsuited, superlative most unsuited)

more unsuited (comparative)
most unsuited (superlative)

(poker, said of two or more cards) Not of the same suit.


biddable

biddable (comparative more biddable, superlative most biddable)

more biddable (comparative)
most biddable (superlative)


dead man's hand

The aces and eights sense is from a legend that Wild Bill Hickok was holding such cards at the time he was killed in 1876.

"A dead man's hand or queens on the roof at least," suggested Southack.
"They say two aces and two eights can never be beat."

1907, Davida French with Esther Stevens and Laura Wells, “The Rulers of the Realm”, in Not Included in a Sheepskin: Stanford Stories, Stanford: The Stanford Book Store, page 172:

(poker) A pair of aces and a pair of eights (especially, the black aces and eights), in a player's hand.

(poker) An ace and an eight as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em

When playing poker, should you hold a jack full on red sevens, it means death, and is called "a dead man's hand".

1903, Cora Linn Morrison Daniels, Charles McClellan Stevens, editors, Encyclopædia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, volume 3, J. H. Yewdale, page 1478:

(poker, obsolete) Other various hands, among them a full house of three jacks and two tens.


all fours

'Twas a bad leg allowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and Mark Clark learnt All-Fours in a whitlow.

1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd:

Other games were cribbage, all fours, ruff and honours, French ruff, five cards, costly colours, bon ace, putt, plain dealing, Queen Nazareen, pennech, post and pair, bankafalat, beast.

1882, John Ashton, Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, page 104:

(card games) A card game similar to whist.


four-flush

en-verb

four-flush (third-person singular simple present four-flushes, present participle four-flushing, simple past and past participle four-flushed)

four-flushes (present singular third-person)
four-flushing (participle present)
four-flushed (participle past)
four-flushed (past)

(poker) To attempt to pass off a four-flush as a flush.


four of a kind

(card games) Four cards of the same rank.


miscall

miscall (third-person singular simple present miscalls, present participle miscalling, simple past and past participle miscalled)

miscalls (present singular third-person)
miscalling (participle present)
miscalled (participle past)
miscalled (past)

From Middle English miscallen, equivalent to mis- + call.

When the loser thinks he has the hand beat he turns over his hand only to find that the winner has miscalled his hand, and since "cards speak," the miscaller wins.

1983, David M. Hayano, Poker Faces: The Life and Work of Professional Card Players, page 59:

To make a wrong call (prediction or announcement).

(poker) To announce one's hand of cards incorrectly.


overbid

overbid (third-person singular simple present overbids, present participle overbidding, simple past and past participle overbid)

overbids (present singular third-person)
overbidding (participle present)
overbid (participle past)
overbid (past)

(intransitive, card games) To announce a goal, before starting play, that exceeds the goal actually achieved.


overbid

(card games) The announcement of a goal, before starting play, that exceeds the goal actually achieved.


bookends

Poker sense: because the cards are the first and last in a top straight.

(poker, slang) An ace and a ten as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


steel wheel

wheel is a common slang name for the lowest straight, ace-2-3-4-5.

(poker, slang) The lowest straight flush, ace-2-3-4-5 (all of the same suit).


aces and spaces

(poker slang) A poker hand containing only a pair of aces

(bridge slang) A bridge hand with opening points based primarily on aces, so that there are not enough winners.


up-and-down straight draw

en-noun

up-and-down straight draw (plural up-and-down straight draws)

(poker slang) A poker hand that has four cards to a straight, where there are two different ranked cards that will complete the straight. E.g. 4-5-6-7, either a 3 or 8 could make a straight. It is used only when the player has not yet received all the cards she will receive for a particular hand.


double belly buster

double belly buster (plural double belly busters)

(poker slang) A poker hand where two different ranks could complete the straight, but the new card would not be the highest or lowest card in the straight. E.g. 2-4-5-6-8, either a 3 or a 7 could complete the straight


double gut shot

double gut shot (plural double gut shots)

(poker slang) A poker hand where two different ranks could complete the straight, but the new card would not be the highest or lowest card in the straight. Example: 2-4-5-6-8, where a 3 or 7 could complete the straight.


three wise men

In reference to the three wise kings, or Magi, in the story of Christ's birth.


belly buster

(poker slang) A poker hand which is four cards to a straight, where only one rank can complete a straight. E.g. 3-4-6-7, only a five completes the straight.


gutshot

(poker slang) A poker hand which is four cards to a straight, where only one rank can complete a straight. E.g. 3-4-6-7, only a five completes the straight; A gut-shot straight.


tarabish

A trick-taking card game spread throughout the British Empire by Scottish soldiers, and still played in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Lebanon; and Afghanistan.


two pips

(poker slang) A pair of aces as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


little slick

(poker slang) An ace and a queen as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em

(poker slang) An ace and a two as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


pocket rockets

(poker slang) A pair of aces as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


big slick

(poker slang, singular only) An ace and a king as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em. (Originally used to denote only an ace and a king of the same suit, the term now includes any ace and king.)


American Airlines

American Airlines (plural American Airlines)

Due to the initials of ace-ace and American Airlines being AA.


drinking age

In most of the United States, the drinking age is 21 years. In poker, an ace often has the value of one. Hence, one could say that a 2-A hand in poker could have a value equivalent to 2-1.

(poker slang) A two and an ace as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


Johnny Moss

After the professional poker player Johnny Moss.

(poker slang) An ace and a ten as starting cards in Texas hold 'em.


acey-deucey

acey-deucey (countable and uncountable, plural acey-deuceys)

(poker slang) An ace and a two as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.

(poker, uncountable) An uncommon poker variant where players bet on whether the next card will fall between two other cards.


Kojac

(poker slang) A king and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


Alaska hand

(poker slang) A king and a three as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em (see king crab)


Jack Benny

After Jack Benny, an American comedian with a running gag of always being 39 years old.

(poker slang) A three and a nine as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


beer hand

Perhaps because a player in a social setting who is dealt this hand would be likely to fold, giving them the chance to fetch another beer.

(poker slang) A seven and two as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


Union Oil

(poker slang) A lowball hand with a seven and a six as the two highest cards

(poker slang) A seven and a six as starting cards in Texas hold 'em


Raquel Welch

In reference to the curvaceous figure of the American actress Raquel Welch.

(poker slang) A three and an eight as starting cards in Texas hold 'em.


Broderick Crawford

Broderick Crawford (plural Broderick Crawfords)

Named after the actor Broderick Crawford, known for using the police code ten-four in the 1950s TV series Highway Patrol.

(poker slang) A ten and a four as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


Oldsmobile

Named after Ransom E. Olds, who founded a motor company in 1897. The poker senses refer to the Oldsmobile 98.

(poker slang) A lowball hand with a nine and an eight as the two highest cards

(poker slang) A nine and an eight as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


Jesse James

After Jesse James (1847–1882), American robber and outlaw; one sense after his daring lifestyle, the other after a common myth that he was fatally shot with a .45 caliber bullet (he was actually shot with a .44).

(poker slang) A player who often bluffs.

(poker slang) A four and a five as starting cards in Texas hold 'em.


Dolly Parton

Named after American country singer Dolly Parton, who had a hit with the song “9 to 5”.

named-after

(slang, poker) A nine and a five as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


Woolworth's

(poker slang) A five and a ten as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


king crab

(poker slang) A king and a three as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


Texas hold 'em

A variant of poker in which players receive two cards each, and five other cards are shared between them.


royal marriage

(poker slang) A king and a queen of the same suit as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em (see marriage)


post oak bluff

(poker) A type of bluff in no limit poker, where a player bets a small amount to suggest that he or she has a strong hand and would like to be called.


semi-bluff

(poker) A type of bluff where the bluffer believes that the bluff has some chance of immediate success and also that he or she has some chance of improving his hand to win at a showdown.


semi-bluff

en-verb

semi-bluff (third-person singular simple present semi-bluffs, present participle semi-bluffing, simple past and past participle semi-bluffed)

semi-bluffs (present singular third-person)
semi-bluffing (participle present)
semi-bluffed (participle past)
semi-bluffed (past)


open ended straight draw

en-noun

open ended straight draw (plural open ended straight draws)

(poker) Four cards to a straight where cards of two different ranks could complete a straight. (E.g. 4-5-6-7)

avoin neljän suora

poker: four cards to a straight, open in both ends


up and down straight draw

up and down straight draw (plural up and down straight draws)

open ended straight draw
open ended straight draw

(poker, slang) An open ended straight draw


inside straight draw

inside straight draw (plural inside straight draws)

Hellmuth flopped an inside straight draw, and needed a five on the turn or river to complete the straight.

(poker) A straight draw where a card is missing from the middle of the straight, therefore only one rank can complete the straight.


two pair

(poker) A hand which contains two pairs.


high card

(poker) A hand which has no pairs and is not a straight or a flush. The lowest possible winning hand in poker.


three of a kind

(card games) A hand including three cards of the same rank.


trey

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Middle English treye, from Anglo-Norman trei or treis, from Old French treis (“three”). Doublet of three and tres.

Before you begin the Game at Picket, you must throw out of the Pack the Deuces, Treys, Fours and Fives, and play with the rest of the Cards, which are in number thirty and six.

1674, Charles Cotton, chapter 6, in The Compleat Gamester, London: R. Cutler, page 81:

He had been a pretty good guy, straight as ace-deuce-trey-four-five, till he got on the force.

1929, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 11, in Red Harvest:

You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

1948 January 1, “Deck of Cards” (track 20), in Famous Country Music Makers, performed by Tex Ritter:

Davidson had caught a trey which did not seem to improve his hand, yet he threw three dollars into the pot.

1982, Stephen King, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands:

(card games, occasionally dice games) A playing card or die with the rank of three.

(card games, dice games, dominoes) A score of three in cards, dice, or dominoes.


table stakes

(poker) A rule whereby players are only allowed to bet the money they have on the table.


ring game

(poker) A game where the chips directly represent money and players are free to leave at any time, in contrast to a poker tournament.


sit-and-go

This sit-and-go starts once 14 people have entered the tournament. The money is awarded to the last 3 players.

(poker) A type of poker tournament which has no scheduled start time and begins once a set number of players have entered the tournament.


deuce-to-seven lowball

(poker) A version of lowball poker where the ace is the high card and straights and flushes count, making the best hand 2-3-4-5-7 (with at least two different suits).


draw poker

Coordinate term: stud poker

The Egyptologist, seeking for new light, will discover within the parchmental pages of this little papyrus roll, many facts of interest which have not been recorded elsewhere, for instance, the astonishing revelation that even the crowned heads of the ancient lands are just as susceptible to the seductive blandishments and fascinations of that elusive game of chance, known to the initiated as “draw poker,” as are the rulers of our own Republic, who are said to semi-occasionally indulge in this pernicious pastime within the precincts of our own country’s capitol.

1893, “Literary Nuggets”, in The Doctor’s Factotum, page 10, column 1:

(poker) A form of poker where players can trade in cards for new ones and their cards are not shown until the showdown.


Omaha hold 'em

A variant of poker where individuals each receive four private cards of which exactly two can be used to form a five-card hand, and five other cards are shared between them.


holdout

He is probably working a vest or sleeve hold-out. Some clumsy or audacious sharpers will go so far as to hold out cards in their lap, or stick them in a "bug" under the table.

1897, Robert Frederick Foster, Foster's Complete Hoyle, page 195:

(card games) A device for cheating at card games by covertly holding a card out of play until it is wanted.


check-raise

en-verb

check-raise (third-person singular simple present check-raises, present participle check-raising, simple past and past participle check-raised)

check-raises (present singular third-person)
check-raising (participle present)
check-raised (participle past)
check-raised (past)

Check-raising is sometimes specifically prohibited by house rules.

(poker) To check and then raise a bet by another player in the same betting round.


check-raise

(poker) A raise made by a player who checked before in the same betting round.


slowplay

slowplay (third-person singular simple present slowplays, present participle slowplaying, simple past and past participle slowplayed)

slowplays (present singular third-person)
slowplaying (participle present)
slowplayed (participle past)
slowplayed (past)

Jane checked, slowplaying her straight flush

(poker) To bluff by playing a strong hand weakly.


slowplay

(poker) An action which represents a strong hand as weak.


overcall

overcall (third-person singular simple present overcalls, present participle overcalling, simple past and past participle overcalled)

overcalls (present singular third-person)
overcalling (participle present)
overcalled (participle past)
overcalled (past)

/ˌəʊvəˈkɔːl/

/ˈəʊvəˌkɔːl/

Jill bet, Tommy called, and Julie overcalled.

(poker, bridge) To call a bet after another player has already called


overcall

/ˌəʊvəˈkɔːl/

/ˈəʊvəˌkɔːl/

(poker, bridge) A call which occurs after another player has already called


overcard

(poker) A card higher than any other card or pair. Often used in reference to the community cards in Texas hold 'em


implied odds

(poker) The odds offered by the amount one must call against the amount currently in the pot plus the amount one stands to gain from future betting. (In contrast to pot odds)


pot odds

Pot = $360. Cost to call = $180. Pot odds = 2:1 or 33.3%.

(poker) The ratio of pot size to the cost of a contemplated call.


spread limit

(poker) A poker game where bets and raises can be any amount between a specified minimum and a specified maximum.


pot limit

(poker) A form of poker game where bets and raises can be any amount between a fixed minimum and the current size of the pot.


no limit

(poker) A style of poker game where bets and raises can be as large as the player is capable of making them.


pot committed

en-adj

pot committed (comparative more pot committed, superlative most pot committed)

more pot committed (comparative)
most pot committed (superlative)

The pot is $900, and your stack is $70. You are pot committed. You are forced to go all-in if the villain raises, even if your hand is weak, or else you are forfeiting the chance to win $900.

(poker) Unable to fold as a strategically correct play, given the current pot odds (ratio of pot size to the cost of a contemplated call).


fixed limit

en-noun

fixed limit (countable and uncountable, plural fixed limits)

(poker) A form of poker game where bets and raises can only be a single size as specified by the rules.


freeroll

(poker) A poker tournament with no entry fee.

We both had straights, but Jill had a flush draw: she was on a freeroll.

(poker) A situation where a player is guaranteed a tie but can still win.


freeroll

en-verb

freeroll (third-person singular simple present freerolls, present participle freerolling, simple past and past participle freerolled)

freerolls (present singular third-person)
freerolling (participle present)
freerolled (participle past)
freerolled (past)

We both had straights, but Jill had a flush draw: she was freerolling me.

(poker) To be in a position where one is guaranteed a tie, but one can also win.


reverse implied odds

(poker) The odds offered by the amount one stands to lose in future betting when one has the worst hand against the amount one stands to win when one has the best hand.


draw out

draw out (third-person singular simple present draws out, present participle drawing out, simple past drew out, past participle drawn out)

draws out (present singular third-person)
drawing out (participle present)
drew out (past)
drawn out (participle past)

Jill had a flush on the turn, but Jimmy drew out by completing a full house on the river.

(poker) To improve a losing hand to a winning hand by receiving additional cards.


value bet

(poker) A bet placed with the intention of being called in order to extract more money from a likely worse hand.


value bet

value bet (third-person singular simple present value bets, present participle value betting, simple past and past participle value bet)

value bets (present singular third-person)
value betting (participle present)
value bet (participle past)
value bet (past)

(poker) To bet with the intention of being called in order to extract more money from a likely worse hand.


deep stack

(poker) An amount of money that is large relative to the stakes being played

(poker) A player who has a large amount of money relative to the stakes being played


short stack

(poker) A relatively small quantity of chips relative to the stakes.

(poker) A player who is in possession of a short stack.


value raise

(poker) A raise made with the intention of being called in order to extract more money from a likely worse hand.


value raise

value raise (third-person singular simple present value raises, present participle value raising, simple past and past participle value raised)

value raises (present singular third-person)
value raising (participle present)
value raised (participle past)
value raised (past)

(poker) To raise with the intention of being called in order to extract more money from a likely worse hand.


chip leader

(poker) The player with most chips at a given time in a poker tournament.


limp reraise

(poker slang) A reraise which was made by a player who previously called on the same betting round.


limp reraise

limp reraise (third-person singular simple present limp reraises, present participle limp reraising, simple past and past participle limp reraised)

limp reraises (present singular third-person)
limp reraising (participle present)
limp reraised (participle past)
limp reraised (past)

(poker slang) To reraise after previously calling on the same betting round.


reraise

(poker) A raise of a bet which itself constituted a raise of a previous bet.


reraise

reraise (third-person singular simple present reraises, present participle reraising, simple past and past participle reraised)

reraises (present singular third-person)
reraising (participle present)
reraised (participle past)
reraised (past)


continuation bet

en-noun

continuation bet (plural continuation bets)

(poker) A bet made in a round of betting, after raising in the previous round of betting, usually with a weak hand.


continuation bet

en-verb

continuation bet (third-person singular simple present continuation bets, present participle continuation betting, simple past and past participle continuation bet)

continuation bets (present singular third-person)
continuation betting (participle present)
continuation bet (participle past)
continuation bet (past)


nibs

Two for his nibs.

(cribbage) a jack turned up by the dealer. (see also nob)


drawing hand

John only had four cards of the same suit; he had a drawing hand.

(poker) A poker hand which requires some specific cards on later rounds in order to become a strong hand.


made hand

John already had two pair, aces and threes; he had a made hand.

(poker) A poker hand which is already a strong hand regardless of which cards come in later rounds.


overbet

Since the pot was only $10, Julie's $100 bet was certainly an overbet.

(poker) A bet which is more than standard for a particular situation.


overbet

overbet (third-person singular simple present overbets, present participle overbetting, simple past and past participle overbet or overbetted)

overbets (present singular third-person)
overbetting (participle present)
overbet (participle past)
overbet (past)
overbetted (participle past)
overbetted (past)

Julie overbet by betting $100 into a $10 pot.

(poker) To bet an amount which is more than standard for a particular situation.


overpair

(poker) A pocket pair of a higher rank than the community cards on the board.


underbet

Since the pot contained $1,000, James' $10 bet was an underbet.

(poker) a bet which is smaller than standard for a given situation


underbet

underbet (third-person singular simple present underbets, present participle underbetting, simple past and past participle underbet)

underbets (present singular third-person)
underbetting (participle present)
underbet (participle past)
underbet (past)

James underbet by betting only $10 into a $1,000 pot

(poker) to bet a smaller amount than is standard for a given situation


German virgin

A pun on nine nine and German nein nein (“no, no”).

(idiomatic, poker, now possibly offensive) A poker hand in Texas hold 'em, consisting of two nine cards.


bad beat

(poker) The losing of a hand after being the mathematical favorite to win at the start of the hand.


curse of Scotland

Uncertain; it may have come from a resemblance to the coat of arms of Dalrymple, Lord Stair, who was an object of criticism for his part in the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, and his work in bringing about the Union with England in 1707 (ref. Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition 1989).

With a mixed hand and the highest card the curse of Scotland, I've seen that man stand pat in a game with four millionaire mining men.

1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter IV, in The Understanding Heart:

After a moment of silence, it was Miles who announced in a clear and firm voice, “The cards you have put down there all happen to be black—your ‘red’ is the nine of diamonds, the curse of Scotland, and it's right here,” reaching to lift the sharper's hat, and to remove from atop his head, and exhibit, the card at issue.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 26:

(card games, slang) The nine of diamonds.


underbid

underbid (third-person singular simple present underbids, present participle underbidding, simple past and past participle underbid)

underbids (present singular third-person)
underbidding (participle present)
underbid (participle past)
underbid (past)

(bridge) To bid less than the full value of a hand of cards.


Old Maid

en-noun

Old Maid (countable and uncountable, plural Old Maids)

The only card games I know are Go Fish and Old Maid.

(uncountable) A children's card game, sometimes played with a special deck, where the object of the game is for each player to find matches for all the cards in his hand, without being stuck with the single unmatchable card.


old maid

old maid (countable and uncountable, plural old maids)

The following are the only hardy species grown, but V. rosea, with rosy or white flowers, is a pretty greenhouse plant known as ' Old Maid ' or ' Madagascar Periwinkle'.

1901, John Weathers, A Practical Guide to Garden Plants::

Vincas — Old Maids or Periwinkles, often serve a useful purpose as edgings or ground work to beds or borders.

1915, Trinidad. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletin - Volumes 14-21, page 21:

Old Maids, Vinca rosea

1947, Olive Percival, Our old-fashioned flowers, page 187:

They would bring potted plants and ferns and seeds for old-maids and periwinkles.

1975, William Goyen, The Collected Stories of William Goyen, page 158:

Here I show that Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don f. (Apocynaceae), known as Old Maid or Madagascar periwinkle, has floral nectaries that combine both functions.

2004, African Entomology: Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa:

Madagascar periwinkle
Madagascar periwinkle


abondance

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

(card games) Alternative form of abundance


jass

A Swiss jass master and I teamed up against my wife and an American, who were both rank beginners.

Jass is similar to bridge, though with completely different cards, and is a national obsession, for young and old alike.

2010, Diccon Bewes, Swiss Watching, page 244:

When Nonna plays cards, she moves her teeth from side to side. It makes a bit of a racket. It distracts the other jass players – that's why Nonna's so good at jass.

2014, Arno Camenisch, translated by Donal McLaughlin, Behind the Station:

(card games) A trick-taking card game popular in Switzerland and neighboring areas of Germany and Austria.


shoot the moon

en-verb

shoot the moon (third-person singular simple present shoots the moon, present participle shooting the moon, simple past and past participle shot the moon)

shoots the moon (present singular third-person)
shooting the moon (participle present)
shot the moon (participle past)
shot the moon (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-shoot the moon.wav

In our last hand of pinochle, Leon and Janet shot the moon, taking all 50 tricks.

When Randy took the queen of spades on the last trick in our game of hearts, he shot the moon.

(card games) To achieve the lowest or highest score possible, such that the player is usually rewarded with bonus points.


rathole

rathole (third-person singular simple present ratholes, present participle ratholing, simple past and past participle ratholed)

ratholes (present singular third-person)
ratholing (participle present)
ratholed (participle past)
ratholed (past)

enough sense to pound sand into a rathole

(transitive, poker) To surreptitiously or prematurely remove chips during a poker game.

(intransitive, poker) To exit a cash game and re-enter with a smaller stack.


Indian poker

A form of poker where each player sees all cards but his own.


advancer

(bridge) The overcaller's partner, especially one who bids following the overcall.


nullo

If the adversaries of a nullo revoke, the declarer can give them three of his tricks, or take 100 in honours as penalty. If he revokes, they take 100 penalty as usual. SUGGESTIONS FOR BIDDING. The dealer should never bid a nullo originally ...

1914, Robert Frederick Foster, Encyclopedia of Games: Including All the Indoor Games Played at the Present Day, [etc.]., page 26:

It takes a better nullo hand to raise nullos than to bid them. Dummy shows. A player who has once been called off from nullos by his partner should never return to them.

1916, Florence Irwin, The Complete Auction Player, page 375:

(card games) A bid in which the bidder asserts that he or she will not take any tricks.


small blind

(poker) The smaller of the forced bets, usually equivalent to half the minimum bet, depending on the variation of poker played.

(poker) The player forced to pay such a bet.


big blind

The blinds are: $1/$2. (small blind: $1, big blind: $2)

I have 10 big blinds in my stack. (big blind = $5, so I have $50 in my stack)

(poker) The larger of the forced bets, usually equivalent to the minimum bet.

If I raise, maybe the big blind will fold.


face card

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-face card.wav

(US, card games) A playing card with a face, properly a jack, queen, or king but (inexact, sometimes proscribed) sometimes also an ace or joker.


EV

en-noun

EV (countable and uncountable, plural EVs)

PHEVLER

plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with long electric range


refait

(card games) In the game of trente et quarante, the situation where the aggregate pip value of cards dealt to red equals that of those dealt to black. All bets are then off, unless the value is 31, in which case the banker wins half the stakes.


ATC

(poker) Initialism of any two (pocket) cards.


on the come

Players often bet when their hand needs to improve to win, this semi-bluff is known as "on the come."

2006, Lou Krieger, The Poker Player's Bible:

(poker) Betting on cards that may come in the future.


queen of diamonds

queen of diamonds (plural queens of diamonds)

(card games) One of the 52 playing cards in a standard deck.


queen of spades

queen of spades (plural queens of spades)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-queen of spades.wav


king of diamonds

king of diamonds (plural kings of diamonds)


jack of diamonds

jack of diamonds (plural jacks of diamonds)


ace of diamonds

ace of diamonds (plural aces of diamonds)


queen of hearts

queen of hearts (plural queens of hearts)


Heinz 57

Heinz 57 (countable and uncountable, plural Heinz 57s)

Alice Rawsthorn
Heinz
The New York Times
The New York Times Company

From the “57 Varieties” slogan introduced by the H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in 1896 to advertise the fact that it produced numerous food products. Heinz is derived from the surname of the American entrepreneur Henry John Heinz (1844–1919) who founded the company (borrowed from German Heinz), while 57 was apparently an arbitrary number chosen by Heinz because 5 was his lucky number and 7 his wife’s lucky number; at the time, the company was already selling more than 60 products.

(uncountable, poker) A variety of draw poker in which the five and seven playing cards are wild cards.


raise the stakes

en-verb

raise the stakes (third-person singular simple present raises the stakes, present participle raising the stakes, simple past and past participle raised the stakes)

raises the stakes (present singular third-person)
raising the stakes (participle present)
raised the stakes (participle past)
raised the stakes (past)

With a royal flush, he decided to raise the stakes.

(poker) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see raise, stakes (used literally e. g. of a hand of poker)


big lick

A play on words from big slick (another poker hand) and 69 (an oral sex practice).

Nick bluffed him out of that pot with big lick.

(slang, poker) A Texas hold 'em starting hand involving both a 6 and a 9 of any suit.


underfull

[…] let's say the flop comes 9-9-8, with the open pair on top. One player has J-T-9-8 for the overfull—9s full of 8s for the nut full house—while another player has 8-8-7-6 for 8s full of 9s and the "underfull". The player with the underfull is both getting smashed and drawing dead.

2008, Jeff Hwang, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBN, page 5:

(poker) A full house that is beaten by someone else's full house.


rollout

(poker) A game variant in which players progressively reveal their cards.


Ring of Fire

(card games) A drinking game in which each card of a pack of playing cards, picked at random from a deck sprawled out in a circle, has a certain consequence (involving drinking, or playing a particular drinking game).


pangene

… fargo, craps, draw poker, studhorse poker, pangeni or pangene, twenty-one …

(obsolete, card games) Alternative spelling of panguingue.


pocket pair

Pocket aces is the best possible pocket pair.

(poker) Two hole cards of the same value.


sweep the board

sweep the board (third-person singular simple present sweeps the board, present participle sweeping the board, simple past and past participle swept the board)

sweeps the board (present singular third-person)
sweeping the board (participle present)
swept the board (participle past)
swept the board (past)


distributional

en-adj

distributional (comparative more distributional, superlative most distributional)

more distributional (comparative)
most distributional (superlative)


build up

en-verb

build up (third-person singular simple present builds up, present participle building up, simple past and past participle built up)

builds up (present singular third-person)
building up (participle present)
built up (participle past)
built up (past)

(card games) In solitaire card games, to place a card over another card of lower value. (e.g., place 5♦ over 4♣)


limper

(poker slang) One who limps (one who calls the big blind in the preflop betting round).


underruff

underruff (third-person singular simple present underruffs, present participle underruffing, simple past and past participle underruffed)

underruffs (present singular third-person)
underruffing (participle present)
underruffed (participle past)
underruffed (past)

And so, at trick five, when South ruffed a diamond with the board's queen of clubs, East, having a discard to make, found a gorgeous one— he underruffed with seven of trumps!

1973, Fred L. Karpin, The Art of Card Reading at Bridge, →ISBN, page 149:

(bridge) To ruff with a trump lower than the trump already played by one's opponent


laydown

en-noun

laydown (countable and uncountable, plural laydowns)

North-South rested in five spades, with grand slams in spades and clubs laydown.

2008 December 26, Phillip Alder, “Set the Toys Aside and Listen to What the Cards Are Saying”, in The New York Times:

(bridge) A hand which is so strong that the declarer can simply expose it and claim the number of tricks required by his or her contract.


overtrick

(bridge) A trick won by the declarer's side which exceeds the amount of the contract


underlead

(bridge) A lead of a low card when holding the top card or cards in a suit.


underlead

en-verb

underlead (third-person singular simple present underleads, present participle underleading, simple past and past participle underled)

underleads (present singular third-person)
underleading (participle present)
underled (participle past)
underled (past)

(bridge) To lead a low card when holding the top card or cards in a suit.


endplay

At this point, South should have played a spade to dummy's ace, ruffed a spade and led her club king to catch West in a trump endplay, but she became flustered and lost two more tricks to go down one.

2009 January 3, Phillip Alder, “What to Bid Next? That Depends on the Game You're Playing”, Bridge, in New York Times:

(bridge) A tactical play in which a defender is put on lead at a strategic moment, and then has to make a play that loses one or more tricks


endplay

endplay (third-person singular simple present endplays, present participle endplaying, simple past and past participle endplayed)

endplays (present singular third-person)
endplaying (participle present)
endplayed (participle past)
endplayed (past)

Then a diamond lead endplayed West.

2009 January 5, Phillip Alder, “From a Holiday Tournament, Two Points for the Price of One”, Bridge, in New York Times:


overruff

overruff (third-person singular simple present overruffs, present participle overruffing, simple past and past participle overruffed)

overruffs (present singular third-person)
overruffing (participle present)
overruffed (participle past)
overruffed (past)

(bridge) To ruff with a higher trump following a prior ruff on the same trick.


overruff

Declarer eventually lost one heart, two diamonds and the club overruff for plus 110 to win the board and leapfrog his team from third to second.

2009 January 3, Phillip Alder, “What to Bid Next? That Depends on the Game You’re Playing”, Bridge, in New York Times:


crossruff

When West discarded a club, South could have won with dummy's ace and played on crossruff lines.

2009 January 8, Phillip Alder, “Part 1 of an Experiment, Ending in a Trump Coup”, Bridge, in New York Times:

(bridge) A play in which tricks are taken by taking alternate ruffs in each hand


crossruff

crossruff (third-person singular simple present crossruffs, present participle crossruffing, simple past and past participle crossruffed)

crossruffs (present singular third-person)
crossruffing (participle present)
crossruffed (participle past)
crossruffed (past)

(bridge) To execute a play of this kind.


doubleton

If she had had the doubleton ace of diamonds and a low club, she would have made a four-club splinter bid, showing four-card spade support, the values for game and a singleton or void in clubs.

(bridge) A pair of cards of the same suit, which are the only cards of that suit in a player's hand


semiforce

semiforce (third-person singular simple present semiforces, present participle semiforcing, simple past and past participle semiforced)

semiforces (present singular third-person)
semiforcing (participle present)
semiforced (participle past)
semiforced (past)

After North opened one spade, South responded one no-trump, semiforcing.

2009 January 15, Phillip Alder, “Scrutinizing the Dummy to Develop the Defense”, Bridge, in New York Times:

(bridge) To force a partner's hand conditionally


bezique

en-noun

bezique (countable and uncountable, plural beziques)

Borrowed from French bésigue, of unknown origin.

The act of taking certain cards in this game: the queen of spades and jack of diamonds, or (if either of those suits is trumps) the queen of clubs and jack of hearts.


tripleton

It means that you lead low from a doubleton and the middle card from a tripleton.

2007 August 9, Phillip Alder, “For a Young Polish Player, One Trip Yields Two Gold Medals”, in New York Times:

(bridge) Three cards of the same suit, held in a dealt hand


nonforcing

Zia settled for a quiet, nonforcing (because he was a passed hand) two-diamond response.

2007 April 9, “Same Fistful of Diamonds, Two Very Different Openings”, in New York Times:


minor suit

(bridge) Either of the suits of diamonds (♦) and clubs (♣), which rank lower than the major suits (spades and hearts).


major suit

(bridge) Either of the suits of spades (♠) and hearts (♥), which rank higher than the minor suits (diamonds and clubs).


capot

There are three chances in this game, viz., the repique, pique, and capot[…]The Capot is , when either of the Players make every Trick , for which he is to count forty ; instead of which he counts but ten , when he only gets the Majority of the Tricks, which is called , the Cards

1744, Edmond Hoyle, A Short Treatise on the Game of Piquet:

A curious score was made in a game of piquet with one of the ladies. [...] In the fifth hand she made a piquet and capot, scoring 121 to 0, and in the sixth hand, being the minor, she made a repiquet, taking all but the last trick, counting 111 to 3, totalling 270, and rubiconing her opponent at 99, with a win of 469 points.

1902 November, Walter Del Mar, “London to Colombo”, in Around the World through Japan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 3–4:

(card games) A winning of all the tricks in the game of piquet, counting for forty points.


falsecard

(bridge) A card played in order to deceive an opponent as to one's true holding


falsecard

en-verb

falsecard (third-person singular simple present falsecards, present participle falsecarding, simple past and past participle falsecarded)

falsecards (present singular third-person)
falsecarding (participle present)
falsecarded (participle past)
falsecarded (past)

East returned the diamond eight, the higher of his two remaining cards, on which declarer falsecarded with his ten.

2008 March 31, Phillip Alder, “In Amsterdam, Overtime on the Way to a Title”, in New York Times:


manille

en-noun

manille (countable and uncountable, plural manilles)

From French manille, influenced by Spanish manilla.

The second-highest trump in certain card games.


his nibs

Comes from early 19th century in literature. From the British, it was noticed that "nabs" was in use; from the Dutch was seen "nebs"

Two for his nibs.

(cribbage) A jack turned up by the dealer.


skat

skat (countable and uncountable, plural skats)

(uncountable) A trick-taking card game for three players, popular in Germany.


undertrick

Then the Netherlands scored an additional 3 imps for one fewer undertrick in a vulnerable one no-trump.

2007 February 22, Phillip Alder, “Strong Spade Suit Helps Decide a Hard-Fought Match in Japan”, in New York Times:

(bridge) A trick that declarer does not win, causing the contract to go down.


Acol

After the name of a road in London, England, where it began to evolve at a bridge club in the 1930s.

British Commonwealth
British Commonwealth

(bridge) A bidding system, commonly used in the British Commonwealth, in which bidding is kept as natural as possible.


antipositional

en-adj

antipositional (comparative more antipositional, superlative most antipositional)

more antipositional (comparative)
most antipositional (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-antipositional.wav

(bridge) Tending to undermine or harm one's position.

antiposicional

tending to undermine or harm one's position


ghoulie

(bridge) contract bridge in which only goulash hands are played (usually used in the plural)


repique

(card games) In piquet, a bonus of 60 points awarded to a player who scores 30 points during the declaration phase, prior to the opponent scoring anything.


repique

en-verb

repique (third-person singular simple present repiques, present participle repiquing, simple past and past participle repiqued)

repiques (present singular third-person)
repiquing (participle present)
repiqued (participle past)
repiqued (past)

(card games, transitive) To score a repique against.


court card

Unlike the numbered cards, these represent people of the kind that might be found at a royal court.

1999: Simon Blackburn, Think: A compelling introduction to philosophy, chapter 6: Reasoning, section 5: Plausible Reasonings, page 212 (Oxford University Press, paperback, →ISBN
There are fifty-two outcomes possible when we turn up a card, and if we do it from a freshly and fairly shuffled pack, each possibility has an equal chance. Probabilistic reasoning can then go forward: we can solve, for instance, for whether most draws of seven cards involve two court cards, or whatever.

(card games) A king, queen, or jack or knave card in a standard deck of playing cards.


free ride

(poker) A hand in which a player can remain without betting further money.


sheepshead

en-noun

sheepshead (countable and uncountable, plural sheepsheads or sheepshead)

sheepsheads (plural)
sheepshead (plural)


whangdoodle

Of American origin circa 1856. Popularized by appearing in a sermon parody attributed to William P. Brannan as "Where the lion roareth and the whangdoodle mourneth for her first-born," published in The Harp of a Thousand Strings: Or, Laughter for a Lifetime (1858).

It is sometimes agreed in advance that after a hand of certain rank, such as Four of a Kind or a Full House, is shown, a Whangdoodle or Jackpot must be played[…]

1940, Clement Wood, Gloria Goddard, The Complete Book of Games, page 296:

(poker) A ruling in which the opening stake limits are doubled for the next play after the appearance of a very good hand.


nontrump

(chiefly attributive, card games) Any card that is not a trump.


bouillotte

(card games) A rapidly-played variety of brelan or gleek (a card game resembling poker)


poker chip

A pen-knife, a bunch of keys, a Bland dollar, a punched dime, five pennies, a poker-chip and two cloves falling from a trousers-pocket to the floor in the dead waste and middle of the night, when a man is trying to get to bed without awaking his wife, will make more racket than a young and playful cyclone dallying with a tinware factory.

(gambling) A disk-shaped counter that is used when gambling to represent money.


two of a kind

(card games) A combination of two cards of the same rank.

(card games) A hand in which the best combination is two of a kind.


on tilt

(poker) Playing badly, usually overaggressively because of losing hands.


Klondike

Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike River
Klondike, Yukon

From Klondike, a region in the Yukon territory of Canada that saw a gold rush, named after the Klondike River. A corruption of Hän Tr'ondëk (“hammerstone water”) or Gwich'in throndiuk (“hammer-water”).

(card games) A particular solitaire card game, requiring ordering randomly ordered cards according to rank.


peg out

en-verb

peg out (third-person singular simple present pegs out, present participle pegging out, simple past and past participle pegged out)

pegs out (present singular third-person)
pegging out (participle present)
pegged out (participle past)
pegged out (past)

(cribbage) To move one's peg to the last position on the pegboard, and thus win.


his nob

From nob, mimicking a form of address like Your Highness.

Cribbage is a most virtuous and respectable game, and yet scarcely, one would think, possessing in itself sufficient attractions to keep a young gentleman in his twentieth year tied to the board, and going through the quaint calculation night after night of "fifteen two, fifteen four, two for his nob, and one for his heels."

1860, Thomas Hughes, “Tom Brown at Oxford”, in Macmillan's magazine, volume 1:

(card games, chiefly cribbage) a jack; a knave


signoff

Jack North then tried for game with two no-trump before respecting his partner’s signoff in three diamonds.

2009 September 26, Phillip Alder, “Jack Gets Bragging Rights in Computer Battle”, in New York Times:

(bridge) A bid indicating that one's partner should pass.


fleurettes

She commenced her conversation with the King and his companion by saying, "Pray, do not suspend your fleurettes on my account; next to being in love myself, I like to see other people in love. I shall be a charming confidante.....Christina drew to the card-table, and, lolling upon it with her usual indifference, began to watch the progress of the game, which was now resumed."

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 188 and 221:

(card games) A card game from the seventeenth century.


ante in

ante in (third-person singular simple present antes in, present participle anteing in, simple past and past participle anted in)

antes in (present singular third-person)
anteing in (participle present)
anted in (participle past)
anted in (past)


stand pat

stand pat (third-person singular simple present stands pat, present participle standing pat, simple past and past participle stood pat)

stands pat (present singular third-person)
standing pat (participle present)
stood pat (participle past)
stood pat (past)

Probably originally a poker phrase, with "pat" equaling "optimal", meaning that drawing more cards is unnecessary. Later the phrase came to be employed in other spheres. "Stand pat" was actively used in U.S. political campaigns of the 1900s, quickly gaining a sense of "being reactionary, resistant to dramatic changes in policy". Moreover, a noun, standpatter, was coined to denote such politicians.

With a mixed hand and the highest card the curse of Scotland, I've seen that man stand pat in a game with four millionaire mining men.

1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter IV, in The Understanding Heart:

(intransitive, poker) To play one's hand without drawing any more cards.


lammer

(poker) A voucher, issued to a tournament winner, that waives the entry fee or buy-in for a larger tournament.


five of a kind

(card games) five cards of the same rank, often only possible if one or more wild cards are being used.


belote

At the Sphinx where he went rather sedately to play belotte and drink (with a timid air) an absinthe, which he hated, he had met a charming friend of his new wife [...].

1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 471:

A trick-taking card game using a 32 card deck.


cold deck

From the metaphor that the deck (of cards) is cold, in the sense "heartless, emotionless".

(poker) A hand where two or more players have very strong hands and one or more of them loses a lot of chips despite the strength of the hand(s) involved.


play the board

play the board (third-person singular simple present plays the board, present participle playing the board, simple past and past participle played the board)

plays the board (present singular third-person)
playing the board (participle present)
played the board (participle past)
played the board (past)

(poker) To have as one's best hand the communal cards on the board. A player in such a situation can only achieve a split pot, since all the other players can also play the board.


split pot

(poker) A hand where two or more players have hands of equal value, and the chips in the pot are split equally between them.


HORSE

Initialism of Texas hold 'em, Omaha eight or better, razz, seven-card stud, and seven card stud eight or better.

A poker variant consisting of five different poker variants, with the rules changing from one variant to the next after every hand.


runner-runner

Seat 8 has eight outs twice (the four nines and four remaining aces), plus another 4% for the runner-runner flush draw

2009, Jonathan Gelling, Poker Tips that Pay: Expert Strategy Guide for Winning No Limit Texas Hold Em, page 300:

(poker) Describing a situation where the last two communal cards make a winning hand for a player who was previously behind.


limp in

limp in (third-person singular simple present limps in, present participle limping in, simple past and past participle limped in)

limps in (present singular third-person)
limping in (participle present)
limped in (participle past)
limped in (past)

(poker) Before the flop, to call as opposed to raising.


smooth call

smooth call (third-person singular simple present smooth calls, present participle smooth calling, simple past and past participle smooth called)

smooth calls (present singular third-person)
smooth calling (participle present)
smooth called (participle past)
smooth called (past)

I flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the guy bet in front of me - I didn't want to scare anybody out

2000, Lee Jones, Winning low-limit hold'em, page 189:

(poker) To call a raise, as opposed to folding or reraising, often to disguise the strength of one's hand.


flat call

flat call (third-person singular simple present flat calls, present participle flat calling, simple past and past participle flat called)

flat calls (present singular third-person)
flat calling (participle present)
flat called (participle past)
flat called (past)

(poker) To call a raise, as opposed to folding or reraising.


flat call

(poker) An instance of flat calling; a call.


crazy eights

We played crazy eights, war, fifty-two card pickup. Rudy flipped the whole deck across the table at me and the cards sailed to the floor, kings, queens, deuces.

2004, Karen Salyer McElmurray, Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven:

(card games) A card game in which players try to rid themselves of their cards by playing a matching rank or suit on the previous card played, having to draw an additional card if unable to do this; a player who plays an eight can dictate the suit to be played next.

seiska

similar card game, seven instead of eight


deck out

deck out (third-person singular simple present decks out, present participle decking out, simple past and past participle decked out)

decks out (present singular third-person)
decking out (participle present)
decked out (participle past)
decked out (past)

(intransitive, card games) To forfeit by running out of cards in a deck.


OTK

/ˈəʊ ˈtiː ˈkeɪ/

(collectible card games) Initialism of one turn kill.


OTK

OTK (third-person singular simple present OTKs, present participle OTKing, simple past and past participle OTKed)

OTKs (present singular third-person)
OTKing (participle present)
OTKed (participle past)
OTKed (past)

/ˈəʊ ˈtiː ˈkeɪ/

It all started with Dog being OTKed by a Kun deck, and now a dozen lists are going around.

2016, Stephen Draper, “Kun the Forgotten King of Combos”, in Esports Edition:

(collectible card games, transitive) To defeat a player with a one turn kill.


yarborough

After the second Earl of Yarborough (b. 1809), who supposedly bet 1,000 to 1 that such a hand would not occur.

(card games) A hand, in bridge or whist, that has no card with a value greater than nine (and no aces), though in some circles it is no card above a ten.


cooncan

Tea Cake and Janie playing checkers; playing coon-can; playing Florida flip on the store porch all afternoon as if nobody else was there.

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Amistad, published 2013, page 110:

(card games) A card game originally from Mexico, similar to rummy where the object is to form sequences.


overtrump

overtrump (third-person singular simple present overtrumps, present participle overtrumping, simple past and past participle overtrumped)

overtrumps (present singular third-person)
overtrumping (participle present)
overtrumped (participle past)
overtrumped (past)

(card games) To play a higher trump card than the previous one in a trick.


checkback

True, you need some form of checkback, which is an artificial two-club or two-diamond rebid by the responder to ask for more information.

2007 May 10, Phillip Alder, “From a Nevada Tournament, Defense by the Textbook”, in New York Times:

(bridge) A play of a designated card as a prompt to one's partner to respond with a play indicating the kinds of card he/she holds.


overcaller

The no-trump overcaller completes the transfer, and his partner will bid again when strong.

2007 May 19, Phillip Alder, “The Cavendish Wasn’t the Only Game in Town”, in New York Times:


offsuit

He has jack-ten offsuit in the big blind

(card games, chiefly poker) Of two or more cards, not of the same suit.


community card

(poker, chiefly in the plural) Any of the cards which appear on the board and can be a part of any player's hand.


draw dead

draw dead (third-person singular simple present draws dead, present participle drawing dead, simple past drew dead, past participle drawn dead)

draws dead (present singular third-person)
drawing dead (participle present)
drew dead (past)
drawn dead (participle past)

Player A has Q8. Player B has J10. Table: J2J8. Player A made a pair, but he is drawing dead.

(poker) To play a drawing hand that is inevitably going to lose, no matter what the remaining community cards are.


pagat

Ultimately from Italian bagatto (“magician”).

(card games) The first trump card in a Tarock deck.


check-call

check-call (third-person singular simple present check-calls, present participle check-calling, simple past and past participle check-called)

check-calls (present singular third-person)
check-calling (participle present)
check-called (participle past)
check-called (past)

(poker) To check and then call a bet by another player in the same betting round.


check-call

(poker) A call made by a player who checked previously in the same betting round.


GTO

(poker) Initialism of Game Theory Optimal.


grandfather's clock

en-noun

grandfather's clock (countable and uncountable, plural grandfather's clocks)

(uncountable, card games) A form of patience in which cards are laid out in an arrangement resembling a clock face.


draw live

en-verb

draw live (third-person singular simple present draws live, present participle drawing live, simple past drew live, past participle drawn live)

draws live (present singular third-person)
drawing live (participle present)
drew live (past)
drawn live (participle past)

(poker, of a player) After the flop or turn, to be able to win a particular hand, depending on the remaining community cards.


rebluff

(gambling, rare) Act of responding to a bluff with another bluff.


underpair

(poker) A pocket pair of a lower rank than all of the community cards on the board.


preferans

From Russian префера́нс (preferáns), in turn from French préférence. Doublet of preference.

A card game, related to bridge, Boston, and whist.


seven-up

(card games) A card game similar to all fours, won by scoring seven points.


outhold

outhold (third-person singular simple present outholds, present participle outholding, simple past outheld, past participle outheld or (obsolete) outholden)

outholds (present singular third-person)
outholding (participle present)
outheld (past)
outheld (participle past)
outholden (obsolete participle past)

From Middle English outholden, equivalent to out- + hold. Cognate with Scots outhald (“to outhold”).

(poker) To hold longer than another player.


puss in the corner

A solitaire card game with four waste piles located at the corners of a square of the four aces.


misbid

misbid (third-person singular simple present misbids, present participle misbidding, simple past misbid or misbad or misbade, past participle misbidden)

misbids (present singular third-person)
misbidding (participle present)
misbid (past)
misbad (past)
misbade (past)
misbidden (participle past)

From the fusion of Middle English misbidden (to mistreat; equivalent to mis- + bid) and Middle English misbeden (“to mistreat; abuse; outrage; offend; insult”), from Old English misbēodan (“to ill-use, injure, do wrong to, announce wrongly”), equivalent to mis- + bid (“to offer, declare”).

inh

After apologizing profusely for his errors on the first two hands, he misbid the last hand and they ended up in fifth place.

2004, Jim Priebe, Takeout Double: A Bridge Mystery:

(transitive, intransitive, card games) To bid incorrectly; bid higher or lower than actual.


stack off

en-verb

stack off (third-person singular simple present stacks off, present participle stacking off, simple past and past participle stacked off)

stacks off (present singular third-person)
stacking off (participle present)
stacked off (participle past)
stacked off (past)

Only thing notable here is when I got crushed trying to take Barry's BB (I was SB). Raised him a couple thousand with K9s, then he went allin. I should have folded, as I needed to call about T7000 more, for about a T13500 pot, but without really thinking I stacked off on him. He had KQ, and I couldn't suck out. Next round, I raised him again, and he went allin on an ugly flop, so I lost a bunch more.

1995, zorak, “From Nonplused to Nihilistic (BARGE '95 TripReport)”, in rec.gambling.misc (Usenet):

(poker slang, of two or more players) To play an all in pot; to commit all of one's chips to a pot.


partscore

At the other tables, Lady Billingham made five diamonds exactly, but both Commons pairs cautiously stopped in partscores.

2007 November 3, Phillip Alder, “The Lords Take the Lead in a Long-Running Battle”, in New York Times:

(bridge) A trick score less than 100, obtained by making a contract.


superaccept

South’s jump to three spades, a superaccept, announced four-card spade support, a maximum and (typically) a doubleton somewhere.

2008 March 3, Phillip Alder, “In Las Vegas, It’s All About the Odds”, in New York Times:

(bridge) A strongly encouraging response to a transfer.


UTG

Initialism of under the gun. From the fact that being UTG (i.e., the first to play) is often considered a strategically disadvantageous position.

The UTG player.

(poker) Sitting to the left of the big blind (BB), thus being the first to play in many varieties of poker, including Texas hold 'em and Omaha.


UTG

Playing UTG.


UTG

UTG raises 3 big blinds.


hero call

(poker slang) a call, usually on the river, made with a weak hand.


crying call

(poker slang) A call made by a player with a weak hand because he or she already has a large amount of money in the pot.


color up

color up (third-person singular simple present colors up, present participle coloring up, simple past and past participle colored up)

colors up (present singular third-person)
coloring up (participle present)
colored up (participle past)
colored up (past)

(poker) To exchange a high number of low-value chips (of one color) for a lower number of higher value (of a different color), but keeping the same overall value.


ITM

(finance, poker slang) Initialism of in the money.


unraised

(poker) Having not been raised pre-flop.


undertrump

undertrump (third-person singular simple present undertrumps, present participle undertrumping, simple past and past participle undertrumped)

undertrumps (present singular third-person)
undertrumping (participle present)
undertrumped (participle past)
undertrumped (past)

(card games) To play a lower trump card than the previous one in a trick.


masterpoint

He also captured numerous regional and sectional titles, accumulating 18,202.10 masterpoints.

2009 February 2, Phillip Alder, “A Teacher’s Final Lesson”, in New York Times:

(bridge) One of the points awarded by various bridge organisations for success in tournaments.


misdefend

misdefend (third-person singular simple present misdefends, present participle misdefending, simple past and past participle misdefended)

misdefends (present singular third-person)
misdefending (participle present)
misdefended (participle past)
misdefended (past)

After a flat board, Wbridge5 misdefended to allow a second overtrick in three no-trump.

(transitive, chiefly bridge) To defend incorrectly.


suck out

suck out (third-person singular simple present sucks out, present participle sucking out, simple past and past participle sucked out)

sucks out (present singular third-person)
sucking out (participle present)
sucked out (participle past)
sucked out (past)

Poker is not, nor should it be, a passionless, colorless, characterless game; there's too much at stake: money and reputation, perhaps foremost. Miraculous suck-out victories and tragic suck-out beats will always engender a response, good and bad, classy and tacky.

2008, Lee Robert Schreiber, Poker as Life: 101 Lessons from the World's Greatest Game, page 126:

(poker slang) To win a hand, usually on a showdown, by hitting a card on the turn or river to make a better hand than one's opponent, even though one had a significantly inferior hand on the flop.


suck out

(poker slang) An instance of winning a hand by sucking out.


slow roll

slow roll (third-person singular simple present slow rolls, present participle slow rolling, simple past and past participle slow rolled)

slow rolls (present singular third-person)
slow rolling (participle present)
slow rolled (participle past)
slow rolled (past)

(poker slang) To make a long pause before calling an all-in bet with a strong, usually very strong, hand.

(poker slang) To make a long pause before revealing one's winning hand.


slow roll

Saw a very strange slow roll last night in a $20/$40 game. A guy raises with KK and another player calls, all-in, with 99. Flop and turn are rainbow rags. Then, for reasons known only to him and God, the dealer decides to get cute with the river card. He peeks at the corner, pauses dramatically, looks at both players, then turns up a 9 on the river. I've seen a lot of players slow roll but it's unusual to see a dealer do it. A lively discussion followed.

2007, Irish Mike, “A strange slow roll”, in rec.gambling.poker (Usenet):

(poker slang) An instance of slow rolling


mournival

Perhaps from French mornifle (“a card game”).

Before George, there's not enough to rig out a Mournival of VVhores: they'l think me grown a meer Curmudgeon. Mercy on me, how will this glorious Trade be carri'd on, with ſuch a miſerable Stock!

1677 (date written), John Dryden, The Kind Keeper; or, Mr. Limberham: A Comedy: […], London: […] R[ichard] Bentley, and M[ary] Magnes, […], published 1680, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 37:

(card games, obsolete) In the game of gleek, and other card games, a set of four cards of the same face value.


one-eyed jack

The game is seven card stud. After the queen, one-eyed jacks and low card in the hole are wild.

1989 June 26, “The Emissary” (2:05), in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 2, episode 20, spoken by Data (Brent Spiner):

(card games, slang) Either card of the rank of jack commonly depicted in the profiles of the jack of spades or jack of hearts.


man with the ax

So called because, while the other three king cards are commonly depicted with swords, the king of diamonds is depicted with an ax.

The game is seven card high/low with a buy on the last card. And just to make it more interesting, the man with the ax takes all.

1989 February 13, “The Measure of a Man” (2:41), in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 2, episode 9, spoken by Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur):

(card games, slang) The king of diamonds in a deck of playing cards.

kirvesmies

nickname for the king of diamonds — see also king of diamonds


high/low

(poker) Alternative spelling of high-low


Hollywooding

From Hollywood + -ing, referring to the products of its film industry.

(poker, slang) Intentional stalling to give the impression that one is making a difficult decision.


bluffy

en-adj

bluffy (comparative more bluffy, superlative most bluffy)

more bluffy (comparative)
most bluffy (superlative)

The check-raise looks very bluffy (although you know better than to check-raise bluff on these types of boards against stubborn opponents).

2010, Tri Nguyen, Aaron Davis, The Poker Blueprint:


deal in

en-verb

deal in (third-person singular simple present deals in, present participle dealing in, simple past and past participle dealt in)

deals in (present singular third-person)
dealing in (participle present)
dealt in (participle past)
dealt in (past)

(transitive, card games, with in as adverbial particle) To deal cards to someone entering a game; to enter someone into a game by dealing cards to that person.


deal out

deal out (third-person singular simple present deals out, present participle dealing out, simple past and past participle dealt out)

deals out (present singular third-person)
dealing out (participle present)
dealt out (participle past)
dealt out (past)

Deal me out of this round: I have to make a phone call.

(transitive, card games) not to deal cards to someone who is leaving a game.


high-low

Alternative form: high/low

(poker) Describing a game in which the high hand and the low hand win.


high-low

en-noun

high-low (countable and uncountable, plural high-lows)

(uncountable, card games) A card game where a player has to guess if the next card will be higher or lower than the one shown.


donk bet

(poker slang) An opening bet made out of position by a pre-flop caller after the flop.


donk bet

en-verb

donk bet (third-person singular simple present donk bets, present participle donk betting, simple past and past participle donk bet)

donk bets (present singular third-person)
donk betting (participle present)
donk bet (participle past)
donk bet (past)


insta-call

(poker) A call made right after the last player bets or raises.


insta-call

insta-call (third-person singular simple present insta-calls, present participle insta-calling, simple past and past participle insta-called)

insta-calls (present singular third-person)
insta-calling (participle present)
insta-called (participle past)
insta-called (past)

(poker) To call right after the last player bets or raises.


double straddle

en-noun

double straddle (plural double straddles)

(poker) A blind bet pre-flop after a player as straddled which is twice the value of the player's straddle.


double straddle

en-verb

double straddle (third-person singular simple present double straddles, present participle double straddling, simple past and past participle double straddled)

double straddles (present singular third-person)
double straddling (participle present)
double straddled (participle past)
double straddled (past)


swabber

(card games) Four privileged cards, formerly used in betting in whist.


chirping chips

As I got the pile in front of Oakley, I prayed he would just take the chips and shut up. But nope, in poker there is a thing called chirping chips. Whenever a player wins a big pot, especially by luck, they tend to try to justify it to everyone.

(poker slang) Chips that a player has won that make him or her more talkative at the table.


spoilfive

A trick-taking card game in which, if no player wins three of the five tricks possible on any deal, the game is said to be "spoiled".


gimp hand

Gimp, because of the perceived weakness of the hand compare to ace-ten, the hand that ranks directly above it.

(poker) An ace and a nine as a starting hand.


check-fold

check-fold (third-person singular simple present check-folds, present participle check-folding, simple past and past participle check-folded)

check-folds (present singular third-person)
check-folding (participle present)
check-folded (participle past)
check-folded (past)

(poker) To check and then fold to a bet by another player in the same betting round.


check-fold

(poker) An instance of checking then folding to a subsequent bet.


blocker bet

(poker slang) A relatively small bet, chiefly on the river, designed to discourage a player yet to act in the betting round from raising.


WPT

(informal, poker) A World Poker Tour event.


bluff catcher

On such a coordinated board, queens are basically a bluff catcher.

(poker slang) A hand which can beat a bluff but not any hand better than a bluff.


cuebid

(bridge) A bid of a suit that has already been bid by opponents.

(bridge) A slam-investigating bid made during an auction's later rounds that shows control of a suit.


turn-up

I'll bet $10 that the next turn-up is an ace.

(card games) The next card taken from the top of a pack of cards and displayed.


above the line

(bridge) In the part of the score sheet in bridge that is reserved for honors, penalty, and premiums; a score that does not count towards game.


necro

necro (third-person singular simple present necroes or necros, present participle necroing, simple past and past participle necroed)

necroes (present singular third-person)
necros (present singular third-person)
necroing (participle present)
necroed (participle past)
necroed (past)

“I killed and necroed a couple guards practically every time I went out. My boys have the south gate manned, and they'll be stepping aside any minute now.”

2018, Xavier P. Hunter, House Rules: a LitRPG novel, Magical Scrivener Press, →ISBN:

(Internet, video games and card games slang) To practice necromancy; to bring back from the dead.


clanny

Once Assamite clannies can dissect the new cards, we'll know the true state of the clan.

2007 August 17, Jeff Kuta, “Re: another thought on 'fixing' the Assamites”, in rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad (Usenet):

Join a clan to flaunt your victories and be a good sport by donating support troops to fellow clannies.

2014 January, Alexis Capitini, “Five Apps You Should Be Playing”, in Living Out, page 28:

The festival has given me the chance to meet long term friends and clannies that I've known playing RuneScape.

2018 October, Rich Eddy, “Casting the Runes”, in MCV/Develop, published 2019, page 65:

(video games, collectible card games, sometimes derogatory) A player who habitually plays the same clan or with the other players on the same team.


broadway

(poker slang) A straight from ace to ten in Texas hold 'em.


52 pickup

Snipe hunting is like “52 Pickup.” You learn the game the first time you play it.

2010, Ernest Ranly, Pick Up Stuff: Family Farm Life, PublishAmerica, →ISBN:

The idea that I could exonerate Harris in a week while keeping the house of cards that was my life from quickly becoming a game of 52 pickup was a tall order even for someone with my extensive creative skills.

2011, James Patterson with Michael Ledwidge, Now You See Her:

A card game played as a practical joke, wherein the "dealer" throws the deck of cards in the air, and the other player must pick them up off the floor.


dog

en-noun

dog (countable and uncountable, plural dogs)

Australian Kriol: dog

Bislama: dog

Gullah: dog

Sranan Tongo: dagu

Tok Pisin: dok

Torres Strait Creole: dog

desc

→ American Sign Language: Kop@Inside-PalmForward 1o@Inside

→ Dutch: dog

→ Esperanto: dogo

Ido: dogo

→ French: dogue

→ German: Dogge

→ Italian: dogo

→ English: dogo

→ Portuguese: dogue

→ Russian: дог (dog)

→ Spanish: dogo

→ Volapük: dog, doeg

Inherited from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug), from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin.
The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to a well-bred one, or something like 'cur', and perhaps later came to be used for stocky dogs. Possibly a pet-form diminutive with suffix -ga (compare frocga (“frog”), *picga (“pig”)), appended to a base *dog-, *doc- of unclear origin and meaning. One possibility is Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”) (compare frocga from frox). Another proposal is that it derives from Proto-West Germanic *dugan (“to be suitable”), the origin of Old English dugan (“to be good, worthy, useful”), English dow, Dutch deugen, German taugen. The theory goes that it could have been an epithet for dogs, commonly used by children, meaning "good/useful animal". Another is that it is related to *docce (“stock, muscle”), from Proto-West Germanic *dokkā (“round mass, ball, muscle, doll”), whence English dock (“stumpy tail”).
In 14th-century England, hound (from Old English hund) was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, and hound had begun to refer only to breeds used for hunting. In the 16th century, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff.
Despite similarities in forms and meaning, not related to Mbabaram dog.

hond

morally reprehensible person — see also scoundrel

it is easy to find a stick to beat a dog

on the Internet nobody knows you're a dog

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog


52-card pickup

She points to a shooting board propped against the studio wall. It resembles a game of 52 card pickup which has been picked up in turn from the floor and pinned en masse to the board.

1978 July 15, Ray Herbeck Jr., “Unleashing the Grease on an Unsuspecting Public”, in Billboard, volume 90, number 28, →ISSN, page S-12:

You know what's more fun than playing Action 52? (holds up deck of cards) 52-card pickup. You know how you play that? (riffles deck onto floor) Pick up the cards!

2010 April 30, “Action 52”, in The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe (actor):

Brian came into my room and said, “Do you want to play 52-Card Pickup?” and I said, “Sure!” because like I said, I love card games. Then Brian took the cards out of the box and threw them EVERYWHERE in the room. And then Brian said, “Okay, now pick them up.”

2010 August 12, Melissa Thomson, Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mix-Up, Puffin, →ISBN, →OL:


codille

The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily Arts,
and wins (oh shameful Chance!) the Queen of Hearts
At this, the Blood the Virgin's Cheek forsook,
A livid Paleness spreads o'er all her Look;
She sees, and trembles at th' approaching Ill,
Just in the Jaws of Ruin, and Codille.

1712-17, Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (London: Chiswick Press. 1925. p. 33-34)

(obsolete, card games) The winning of the majority of tricks in the game of ombre.


durak

(card games) A traditional Russian card game in which players attempt to shed all of their cards.


declared abundance

(card games) An undertaking to take all thirteen tricks with no trump suit.


royal abundance

(card games) An undertaking to take all thirteen tricks with the suit of the face-up card as trump.


dead money

(poker slang) Chips that a player who has since folded has put into the pot.


prial

(card games) Alternative form of pair royal


Virginia reel

(card games) A solitaire card game using two mixed decks of playing cards, and in which the foundations are built up by suit in intervals of three.


trickless

a trickless suit


white whale

From white + whale. The figurative senses refer to the novel Moby-Dick (1851) by the American writer Herman Melville (1819–1891), in which Captain Ahab relentlessly pursues a rare albino sperm whale.

(collectible card games) A printing plate, used to manufacture a particular sports card, that is then issued as a collectible itself.

печа́тарска пло́ча

printing plate used to manufacture a particular sports card, that is then issued as a collectible itself


Eight Off

A variety of FreeCell in which there are eight available cells. Four of them are filled at the beginning of the game.


FreeCell

A solitaire card game, similar to Klondike but with the addition of cells where one card can be placed at a time.


Baker's Game

Named after C. L. Baker, who introduced the game (which he had learned from his father) to Martin Gardner.

A variety of FreeCell in which cards on the tableau are built down by suit (e.g., place 4♦ on 5♦).


top loader

(collectible card games) A rigid plastic frame, slotted at the top, used to store and protect individual trading cards.


sports card

(collectible card games) A trading card printed with a sports theme, usually one depicting an athlete.


Forty Thieves

In reference to the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

A solitaire card game, similar to Klondike, but starting with ten columns of four visible cards on the tableau.


downcard

(card games) A card that is dealt face down.


wastepile

(card games) The discard pile; the area where the cards from the stock go when they are brought into play.


worry back

en-verb

worry back (third-person singular simple present worries back, present participle worrying back, simple past and past participle worried back)

worries back (present singular third-person)
worrying back (participle present)
worried back (participle past)
worried back (past)

(card games) In a patience or solitaire game, to return a card from a foundation to the tableau.


conquian

Perhaps from Spanish con quién, "with whom"; perhaps from the Chinese game Kon Khin, a variation of the earlier game Khanhoo.

(card games) A card game, an ancestor of rummy.