Table Stakes: (1) The amount of money you have on the table. This is the maximum amount that you can lose or that anyone can win from you on any one hand. (2) The requirement that players can wager only the money in front of them at the start of a hand, and can only buy more chips between hands. Tell: A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand, his next action, etc. May originally be from "telegraph" or the obvious use that he "tells" you what he's going to do before he does it. Tilt: To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc. Time: An expression used to stop the action on a hand. Equivalent to "Hold it." Time Collection: A fee for a seat rental, paid in advance. Toke: A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the great majority of a dealer's income. Top Pair: A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair. Tournament: A poker competition, normally with an entry fee and prizes. Turncard: The fourth street card in holdem or Omaha.
U Upcards: Cards that are dealt faceup for opponents to see in stud games. Under the gun: The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop. Underdog:
A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times).
V Value: As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Generally it's because you have the best hand. However, it can also be a draw which, given enough callers, has a positive expectation. Variance: A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play. However, the higher your variance, the wider swings you'll see in your bankroll.
W Wager (1) To bet or raise. (2) The chips used for betting or raising.
