Learning to speak Texas Hold’em as well as you play it is all part of the fun and excitement of the world’s most popular poker game!
Some of the terms and slang used are self-explanatory, some humourous, others startlingly apt, but all very relevant to the game and your knowledge of it.
To help you along we have put together a comprehensive list of terms. Read them, memorise the ones you find worthy of repeat, and begin to speak Hold’em as well as you play it!
This is part 6 covering the letter O. The remainder of the alphabet will be gradually introduced to allow meanings to soak in.
Have fun reading!
O is for:
Odds:
• This indicates the statistical chance of any outcome. In most cases it is shown as a ratio.
Off suit:
• When a player is holding 2-hole cards of different suits
On the Button:
• The Dealers position – The last player to act in a round
On their backs:
• When 2 or more players are all-in and no other player has bet. Players turn over their cards and the remainder of the board is dealt
On Tilt:
• It happens to the best of us! It is when a player has had a few bad beats and their emotions begin to take over. The problem is, you are risking making things worse rather than better because in this state a player tends to chase their losses rather than accepting and moving on
One Chip Rule:
• When a player places one oversized chip into the pot and does not declare a raise, it is assumed they are calling. This is regardless of their intent
One-Eyed Royals:
• Refers to the Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts or King of Diamonds. Each of these picture cards show only one eye. It is also common to hear the Jacks referred to as One-Eyed Jacks
Open Limp:
• This is when a player is limping to act as the 1st player in a hand
Open Pair:
• This is when a pair has been dealt face-up
Open-Ended Straight Draw:
• When a player is holding 4 cards in sequential order and they require 1 more card on either end of the hand to make a straight
Option:
• During a hand where there are no pre-flop raisers the “option” is given to the BB (Big Blind) to check and see the flop, or they can bet
Orbit:
• 1 complete rotation of the dealer button around the table
Out Button:
• Consider this if you are “on tilt”. The out button is a disk placed on the table and in front of a player who wants to sit out a hand(s) but stay in the game
Outs:
• This is the number of cards that are left in the deck in order for a player to make a certain hand
Out of Position:
• When a player has to act before an opponent
Over-Bet:
• When a single bet that is more than the current pot size is laid
Over call:
• This is when a player calls a bet after other players have called ahead of them
Over card:
• Donates a card that has a higher rank than a player’s pair
Over pair:
• This is a pocket pair that is higher than the cards already on the board
Overs:
This has two meanings:
• When a player holds cards higher than the pair of an opponent
• Some fixed-Limit games allow players the choice to play “overs”. This allows them to bet twice the set limit, but if there are only other “overs” players still in the hand.
That’s it for the letter O in our installment of “Texas Hold’em – The A-Z of Poker speak”. There is little doubt you will be familiar with some of the terms above, but hopefully you have added to your Texas Hold’em vocabulary with ones previously unheard of.
There’s lots more to come:
Do keep a close eye out as we build this extensive compendium on the A-Z of Hold’em jargon. It will add to your knowledge of common terms as well as the more obscure ones. What is more, you will be able to impart your knowledge to friends as well as foes!
Our next article continues with the letters P-Q and includes the reasons why ‘Playing the Board’ and holding ‘Pocket Rockets’ will do players the power of good!