Glosario de póker
Definiciones en lenguaje claro de los términos de torneos de póker con los que más se encuentran anfitriones y jugadores — desde estructuras de ciegas y antes hasta ICM, premios y equilibrado de mesas.
A
Add-on
An optional, one-time chip purchase offered to every player at a set point in a rebuy tournament (usually the first break), regardless of stack size. Unlike a rebuy, it is not tied to being low on chips.
All-in
Betting all of your remaining chips on a hand. In a tournament, losing an all-in ends your tournament unless you have a reentry available.
Ante
A small forced bet contributed before each hand, on top of the blinds, to build the pot and encourage action. Antes usually begin partway through a tournament structure.
B
Bad Beat
Losing a hand you were a strong favourite to win when an opponent hits an unlikely card.
Big Blind
The larger of the two forced bets posted before the cards are dealt, paid by the player two seats to the left of the dealer button. Blind sizes rise each level to move the tournament forward.
Big Blind Ante
A format where a single ante — equal to the big blind — is posted only by the big-blind player each hand, instead of every player posting a small ante. It speeds up play and simplifies chip handling.
Blind Structure
The full schedule of blind and ante amounts and how long each level lasts. A well-designed structure controls how quickly stacks shrink and how long a tournament runs.
Bounty
A cash or chip reward for eliminating a specific player. In a Progressive Knockout (PKO), part of each eliminated player’s bounty is added to the eliminator’s own bounty.
Bubble
The stage of a tournament just before the paid places. The "bubble boy" is the last player eliminated without winning any money.
Button (Dealer Button)
A marker showing which seat is the nominal dealer for a hand. It moves one seat clockwise each hand and sets the betting order and who posts the blinds.
Buy-in
The amount a player pays to enter a tournament. It is usually split between the prize pool and an administration fee (the "rake").
C
Check-Raise
Checking first and then raising after an opponent bets in the same round — a way to build the pot or bluff with a disguised strong hand.
Chip Leader
The player holding the most chips at a given moment in a tournament.
Chip Race (Colour-up)
Removing the lowest-denomination chips from play as blinds increase and exchanging them for higher-value chips. A "race" fairly allocates odd chips that do not divide evenly.
Community Cards
The shared cards dealt face-up in the middle of the table (the flop, turn, and river in Hold’em) that every player combines with their hole cards.
Cutoff (CO)
The seat immediately to the right of the dealer button. A strong late position — only the button acts after it.
D
Deal (Chop)
An agreement among the remaining players to split the prize pool differently from the official payouts, often based on chip counts or ICM. Also called a "chop".
E
Early Position
The first seats to act before the flop, including under the gun. Players here act with many opponents still to come, so they play a tighter range of hands.
Equity
A player’s share of the pot based on their chance of winning the hand — a hand that wins 60% of the time has 60% equity.
F
Final Table
The last table of a tournament, reached once enough players have been eliminated to seat everyone at one table (typically the final 8–10 players).
Freeroll
A tournament with no buy-in that still awards real prizes. Also, a spot where a player can only win or tie a pot, never lose it.
Freezeout
A tournament with no rebuys or reentries. Once a player loses all their chips, they are out for good.
G
Guarantee (GTD)
A minimum prize pool a host promises for a tournament, no matter how many players enter. Written as "GTD" — for example, "$1,000 GTD".
H
Heads-Up
Play between just two players. Every tournament ends heads-up, between the last two remaining players, for first place.
Hijack (HJ)
The seat two to the right of the dealer button (just right of the cutoff). A late position from which players can open a wider range of hands.
Hole Cards
The private cards dealt face-down to each player, combined with the community cards to make a hand.
I
ICM (Independent Chip Model)
A method for estimating each player’s share of the prize pool from their chip stack and the remaining payouts. Because tournament chips cannot be cashed out directly, ICM is the standard basis for final-table deals.
In the Money (ITM)
Reaching a paid finishing position in a tournament. Players who bust before the money finish "out of the money".
K
Kicker
A side card that decides the winner when two players hold the same main hand — for example, ace-king beats ace-queen on an ace-high board on the strength of the king.
L
Late Position
The last seats to act before the flop — the cutoff and the button. The most advantageous positions, since you act with the most information.
Late Registration
A window at the start of a tournament during which new players can still buy in after play has begun. It is usually defined as a number of levels.
Level
A single stage of the blind structure, with fixed blind and ante amounts, lasting a set time or number of hands before increasing.
Limp
To enter a pot by just calling the big blind rather than raising.
M
M-ratio (M)
A measure of stack health: how many full orbits a player can survive on blinds and antes alone before being blinded out. A low M means a player must act soon.
Muck
To fold a hand, or the pile of discarded and folded cards. A player who loses at showdown may "muck" without showing.
Multi-Table Tournament (MTT)
A tournament that begins across several tables and consolidates as players are eliminated, until everyone remaining fits at the final table.
N
Nuts
The best possible hand given the community cards. A hand that cannot be beaten is "the nuts".
O
Open (Open-Raise)
The first voluntary raise in a betting round, before anyone else has raised.
Orbit
One full round of the table, in which the dealer button passes to every player once and each pays the blinds. Stack health (see M-ratio) is often measured in orbits.
Overlay
When a guaranteed prize pool is larger than the money collected from entries, so the host must top up the difference. Great value for players, costly for the host.
P
Payout Structure
The schedule that determines how the prize pool is divided among the top finishers. Flatter structures pay more places smaller amounts; top-heavy structures reward the top few.
Position
A player’s seat relative to the dealer button, which determines when they act during a hand. Acting later ("in position") is a lasting advantage, because you see what your opponents do before you decide.
Pot Odds
The ratio of the current pot size to the cost of a call, used to judge whether calling is mathematically worthwhile.
Prize Pool
The total money paid out to winners, formed from players’ buy-ins (minus any fee) plus rebuys, add-ons, and bounties.
R
Rake
The fee taken to cover the cost of running the game. In tournaments it is the portion of the buy-in that does not go into the prize pool.
Range
The full set of hands a player could hold in a given spot, rather than one specific hand.
Rebuy
An additional buy-in a player can make, usually while short-stacked, during an early rebuy period. It adds chips to the player and money to the prize pool.
Reentry
A format where a busted player can re-enter as a brand-new entry — a fresh stack and seat draw — rather than adding chips to their existing seat.
S
Satellite
A smaller, cheaper tournament whose prizes are seats or entries into a larger, more expensive event, rather than cash.
Seat Draw
The random assignment of players to tables and seats at the start of a tournament, and again whenever tables are broken and players are moved.
Shot Clock
A fixed time limit for each player to act on their hand, used to keep the pace of play consistent and prevent excessive stalling.
Showdown
The end of a hand where the remaining players reveal their cards to determine the winner.
Side Pot
A separate pot created when a player is all-in for less than others. The all-in player can only win the main pot; the remaining players contest the side pot.
Small Blind
The smaller of the two forced bets, posted by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button.
Stack
The chips a player currently has. Stack size relative to the blinds (measured in "big blinds") is the key gauge of a player’s standing in a tournament.
Straddle
An optional extra blind, usually twice the big blind, posted voluntarily before the deal to inflate the pot. Far more common in cash games than tournaments.
T
Table Balancing
Moving players between tables as others are eliminated so every table keeps a roughly equal number of players. Good tournament software automates this.
Tilt
Playing worse than usual because of frustration or emotion, often after a bad beat.
U
Under the Gun (UTG)
The first seat to act before the flop, immediately to the left of the big blind. It is the earliest position, acting with the least information.
#
3-Bet
A re-raise of the first raise in a betting round. (The blind counts as the first bet and an open-raise as the second, so the next raise is the "three-bet".)
4-Bet
A re-raise of a 3-bet — the fourth bet in the sequence. It usually signals a very strong hand or a bold bluff.
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