Texas Hold'em Poker Glossary

A

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ABC play

Playing by the book in a predictable manner. This may work at the lowest stakes but not a higher stakes when advanced players dominate ABC players.

ace rag

An ace with a weak kicker, such as A6.

add-on

Special tournament feature where all players are allowed to make a rebuy, usually once at the first break.

all-in, allin

A bet or raise where a player puts all his chips in the middle.

American Airlines

Pocket aces.

ante

A mandatory bet for all players.

APPT

Asia Pacific Poker Tour: a famous series of poker tournaments run every year in Asia. This event was created by Pokerstars.

ATC, A2C

Any two cards, i.e. any two hole cards, any two random cards.

B

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backdoor

When both cards from the turn and the river are necessary to produce an unexpected hand, such as a straight when a player was on a flush draw from the flop.

bad beat

When a very strong hand is unexpectedly beaten at the turn or river by a miraculous card.

bankroll

The amount of money reserved for poker only (or other games such as a casino bankroll).

BB

The big blind (bb) characterizes the stake of a given game and is used as a unit of measure of bet size.

bet

To be the first to put money into the pot. Preflop the two first players are the blinds who must pay forced bets (the blinds), so all other players can only call, fold, raise or reraise.

betting structure

Betting rules, such as size of big blind, small blind, ante, maximum bets, buy-in, how they increase in a tournament, etc.

bicycle

The best hand in lowball poker, in other words 5432A.

big blind

1. The big blind is the player to the left of the small blind.
2. the big blind represents the value of one minimum bet in a Texas Hold'em poker game.

big blind special

When the big blind wins a big pot with weak hole cards in a hand that was unraised pre flop, as he could have any two cards, including so-called garbage hands.

big slick

An ace and a king, the strongest drawing hand preflop.

Black Friday

April 15th 2011: the day the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York seized four American poker sites including the two largest ones Pokerstars and Full Tilt. Since then online poker in the USA has come to a halt.

blank (card)

A card unlikely to change the best hand, such as a 4 of spades on a KQ96 board with 2 hearts and 2 diamonds.

blind

A mandatory bets for two players, (the small blind and the big blind).

blind off

Or to be blinded off, is the situation where a short stack gets eliminated from a tournament just because the blinds paid took all the chips away.

board

The set of community cards.

boat

A full house.

bomb

A very aggressive poker player, aggressive both pre and post flop.

bonus

An incentive to join a poker room, the bonus can be converted in real cash by playing at real money tables.

bonus code

A code (sometimes called referral code) used when registrating at a room in order to benefit from a bonus, such as the Titan Poker Bonus Code.

bot

Abbreviation for robot, a bot is a computer program that plays online poker. Most poker rooms forbid these bots and they are conisdered to have an unfair advantage.

bottom pair

The lowest possible pair, such as a pair of 3 on a board K873.

bounty

In a poker tournament this is a special prize for eliminating other players. Sometimes there is a bounty on famous players such as members of Team Pokerstars in some of their tournaments.

brick

A useless card showing up on the turn or river in Texas Holdem, it does not pair the board or help draws.

brick and mortar

A real physical venue by opposition to online venues.

broadway

The best possible straight, ace to ten.

bubble

In a tournament, when one player remains to be eliminated so that all players reach the money and become certain to win some prize money.

buddy

Someone you have played or play with regularly. In online poker, it can mean:
1. A friend you like to chat with while playing poker,
2. A bad player who you like to be your opponent,
3. By extension, buddy lists are buddy tracking software.

bullets

Pocket aces.

button

The last player to act postflop.

buy-in

The cost required to enter a poker tournament.

C

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(to) call

To match a better in order to stay in a hand.

calling station

A loose passive player who does not fold easily.

(to) catch

To get an unlikely card that gives you a very strong hand.

(to) c-bet

A c-bet stands for a continuation bet, which is the flop bet from a preflop raiser, hence continuing his betting.

(to) chase

To stay in a drawing hand hoping for a miraculous card in order to get a completed hand such a straight.

(to) check

To stay in the hand without adding any chip in the middle.

(to) check-raise

To first check and then raise to a bet behind you. This is a deceptive play showing weakness and then strength, that can be used to increase the pot size or as a bluff or semi-bluff.

continuation bet

This is the bet from the player who bet or raised in the previous street, hence continuing his betting.

chip leader

The player with the most chips at a point in time in a tournament. Usually the chip leader changes often.

coin flip

A situation where two players have about the same chance to win the hand, such as when they are all-in AK versus QQ.

(to) cold call

To call after a bet and a raise without having put any chips in the pot yet.

collusion

A form of cheating when two or more players agree to cooperate. This is strongly forbidden and online poker rooms have forensic techniques to detect such situations.

community cards

Cards face-up that every player can use to make the best hand.

cowboys

A pair of pocket kings.

cracked

When a strong hand is beaten, like in "my rockets were cracked by garbage", when a weak hand got lucky.

cut-off

The second to last player to act postflop.

D

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data mining

Using software programs based on hand histories in order to analyze betting action in order to find patterns and leaks in oneself or other players. Data mining can also be used to study the distribution of cards and fairness of the games.

dealer

The last player to act postflop, aka the button.

deep stack

A player with a larger number of chips compared to the blinds, such as 200BB. In such a situation, all-ins are rare. By opposition a very small stack is called a short stack.

deuce

A two, a card of rank 2.

donk, donkey

A bad player; a player who makes bad moves such as calling with very bad odds.

donkament

This is donk and tournament merged into one word; this concept was created to reflect the idea that poker tournaments are crowded with bad players, a.k.a. donks.

donk bet

To make a donk bet is to bet before an expected continuation bet. This is typical of bad players, but sometimes good players can do it to as a confusing move.

double barrel

When a player bluffs twice in a row, like at the flop and turn again. Three times is triple barreling.

double up

To win an allin situation with another player leading to the doubling of the player's stack.

draw

A hand with low value wich needs to improve (e.g. a straight draw and a flush draw).

drawing dead

When a player on a draw has zero chance of winning, such as drawing to a flush on a paired board when another player already has a full house.

E

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early position

Group of 2 or 3 players acting first after the blinds.

EPT

European Poker Tour: a famous poker tournament series run every year and managed by Pokerstars.

EV

EV stands for expected value and means the average expected statistical result from a hand.

F

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family pot

A pot where most of the players are involved. This happens often in loose low stake online games, like in a friends or family game where everyone loves to call.

felt

1. The matted fabric covering the poker table.
2.  By extension the table itself.
3.  Also it means to stack someone off, as the uncovered felt becomes visible.

fish

A bad player.

fishhooks

A pair of jacks. Do not play them too aggressively otherwise you might be the fish.

(to) float

To call a bet in position at the flop, usually a c-bet, with the intention to bluff later. Usually this is done after a preflop raise and a c-bet, where by calling the player shows strength. If the better checks on the turn, you bet; and if he bets you raise.

floorman

A casino employee at a card room who applies regulations and makes decisions.

flush

Five cards of the same color.

flush draw

A hand with 4 cards of the same color needing a fifth one to complete a flush.

fold

To forfeit the hand when another player bets, when you have a weak hand.

fold equity

Percent chance an opponent will fold.

free card

When no one bets, it does not cost to see the next card, so it is called a free card.

freeroll

Online poker freerolls are online poker tournaments that are free to enter. Such tournaments are offered either as a promotion or as a reward to loyal players.

freerolling

If you are in a hand that you cannot lose but that you can win. This happens for example when two players are allin in a tie with a straight, but you can win the hand with a runner-runner flush while your opponent cannot.

full house

Also called a boat, this is a hand made of three of a kind plus a pair.

full ring

A cash game or tournament using tables of around 10 players (sometimes 9 or 11). Other formats are 6-max with up to six players and heads-up with only two players.

G

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grinder

A player who tries to make small profits consistently, grinding out. He tries to minimize variance while maintaining a regular win ratio.

guaranteed tournament

A tournament where a minimum prize pool is guaranteed by the organizer. If not enough players buy in to reach such prize pool, the organizer or poker room will use their own money to add up to the guarantee.

gut shot (or gutter)

An inside straight draw, i.e. a straight draw which can only be completed by one card, which is inside the range of four cards.

H

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hand history

A text file recording the details of all players' actions during a poker hand.

heads-up

1. A holdem game with only two players
2. A hand situation in which only two players are involved.

heater

A period of time when a player seems to get everything right, like always hitting his draws and avoiding bad beats. This is an upswing with positive variance.

high low (or hi-lo)

Split pot games. For example the player with the highest hand gets half the pot, and the player with the lowest hand gets the other half.

hijack

The player to the right of the cutoff.

(to) hogger

To win a very large pot.

hockey sticks

A pair of sevens.

hole cam(era)

The camera allowing to see the hole cards on television.

hole cards

The two hidden cards only seen by the holdem player.

H.O.R.S.E.

This is a mixed game (playing different poker variations in rotation) consisting of Limit Holdem (H), Omaha High Low (O), Razz (R), 7 Card Stud (S) and Seven Card Stud Eight or Better (E).

H.O.S.E.

Also known as S.H.O.E. this is a mixed game (playing different poker variations in rotation) consisting of Limit Holdem (H), Omaha High Low (O), 7 Card Stud (S) and Stud Eight or Better (E).

hosed

To get hosed means to lose a hand.

Hot streak

When a player keeps on getting good cards and winning big pots, he is on a hot streak. Also known as upswing.

HUD

Poker HUD stands for head-up display. In online poker, it is a software which creates a transparent display over the table showing the statistics of each player next to their seat.

I

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implied odds

This is the same concept as pot odds, but including future rounds of betting. If you know that if you hit your draw your opponent will not fold given his hand, this will compensate for not enough pot odds at this point.

insta

Prefix used to reflect instantaneous action; for example "he insta-called" means he instantly called.

in the money

In a tournament when all the remaining players are guaranteed to each win some prize money.

J

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(to) jam

In no limit poker, a player who pushes all his chips in the middle is said to jam the pot or to stack off.

K

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kicker

A kicker is a card that does not improve the hand but can still win the hand in case of a tie. If one player has AJ and the other has AT, the jack is a better kicker than the ten.

L

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laddies

Pocket queens.

LAPT

Latin America Poker Tour: a famous poker tournament series run every year and sponsored by Pokerstars since 2008.

last woman standing

In a tournament this is the last woman to get eliminated (as male players are the majority). This title is particularly prestigious at the WSOP main event.

leak

A habit, tendency or way of making certain types of action while playing poker, which have a negative expected value. Continuing to follow these habits costs money. For instance, playing too many hands preflop is a leak.

(to) limp

To call for the mimimum bet preflop, one small blind in fixed limit or one big blind in no-limit texas holdem.

limper

A player who limps.

loose

A playing style usually considered weaker than tight. A loose player likes to play many hands including some weak hands.

M

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made hand

A (strong) hand already completed such as a set, by opposition to a draw which need an additional card to come to existence.

main pot

The large pot, by opposition to the side pot(s) that gets created when some players are all in while others are not.

maniac

A very loose very aggressive player, for example vpip=70%, pfr=30%.

mechanic

A cheater with a an excellent sleight of hand.

micro limits

The lowest stake limits in online poker, usually $0.01/$.02. These games are for beginners who can improve their skills at a low cost.

middle pair

A pair made with the second strongest card of the flop.

mixed game

A mixed game is a form of poker where a different poker variation is played at each round, in rotation. Examples are H.O.R.S.E., S.H.O.E., 10-games and Holdem Mixed.

MTT

Multi-table tournaments, by opposition to Sit'Go tournaments (which normally have one table, but some are multi-table as well).

monster

A very strong hand.

(to) muck

1. The pile of discarded cards
2. By extension to fold or to decide to not show one's hole card if unnecessary to decide the winner.

N

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NAPT

North America Poker Tour: this was a poker tournament series started in 2010 by Pokerstars but it ended on Black Friday in April 2011 due to the shut down of online poker in the USA.

NIT

A tight-passive or slightly aggressive player, characterized by his reluctance to take risks.

NLHE

No-limit hold'em. Currently the most popular form of poker.

no fold'em hold'em

A tendency by some players to always call and rarely fold, particularly in lower stake games, making it hard to play advanced poker.

nuts

The strongest possible hand in the current situation, which depends on the board.

O

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offsuit

Cards from different suits, like the ace of spade and eight of clubs, noted A8o.

Omaha

A poker variation derived from Texas Holdem, where each player has four hole cards of which he must use exactly two in combination with the community cards in ord er to make his hand.

one gapper

Any two cards separated by one gap, such as the 9 of heart and the 7 of spades.

online poker

A software enabling to play poker over the Internet.

OOP

Out of Position: when a player must play first he is out of position, which is disadvanta geous in Texas Holdem.

orbit

All the hands played for the button to go around the table once.

OTB

OTB stands for "on the button". The player OTB is the one sitting in front of the button. He is the last player to act post flop. He is also called the dealer. This expression comes from games where each player takes the dealer's role in turn.

out

An out is one of the cards remaining in the deck which improve a given hand; for example there are 9 outs to a flush draw.

outer

Used in an expression like "a 4-outer", which is a hand with 4 outs.

overcard

A card stronger than any community card.

P

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(to) pay off

To call a bet when you are sure to lose the hand, just in case your opponent is bluffing.

PFR

Preflop raise, the percentage of hands a player raises preflop.

poker brat

This is Phil Hellmuth's nickname, well deserved as can be seen in numerous poker videos on the internet.

play money

On the Internet, play money games do not involve any real money, just fake money with no financial implication; conversely, real money poker is real poker with real money.

PLO

Pot-limit Omaha.

pot

All the chips bet at a specific time in the current round, which are all put in the middle of the table.

pot-committed

When a player has put such a large part of his stack in the pot that he will not fold his hand to any bet, even if he has to put all his chips and get all-in.

pot-limit

Betting structure where the maximum bet allowed at any time is the current pot.

Pot-limit Omaha

A recent poker variation based on Texas Holdem. Like in Holdem five community cards are used but each player has four hole cards and must use exactly two of them in order to make his hand.

pot odds

This is the ratio of your bet to the size of the pot. If you need to pay $20 to call and the pot will be $200, you have pot odds of 1:10. If you have more than 10% chance to win the hand, you have (such as when you are on a draw) pot odds to call.

pwn, pwned, pwnage

Derived from own, the 'p' instead of 'o' being initially a typo as 'p' is next to 'o' on the keyboard. It means to dominate an opponent to the point of making him make huge and costly mistakes.

push

When a player puts all in chips in the middle, going all in.

Q

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quads

Four of a kind.

R

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rag

A card between 9 and 2, which is useless in a given context. Often used in the expression ace rag, which means an ace with a weak kicker, such as A6.

railbird

A poker fan who likes to watch tournaments or ring games both live and online. Some cash games with top pros like Phil Ivey could have hundreds of railbirds watching them on the Internet.

raise

To increase the bet after a player has bet in front of you.

rake

In ring games, the fee taken from the pot by the poker room.

rakeback

A deal where an online poker room gives back some of the rake to the players. Most large rooms have a VIP Club instead of rakeback.

rainbow

In holdem, rainbow describes a board with different suits. If the flop is rainbow, it shows three different suits and no flushes are possible, just runner-runner flushes. If the turn is ranbow it contains the four suits and flushes are impossible.

range

A list of hands representing the likely holding of a player; for example the range {QQ+} stands for pairs, QQ or higher.

rebuy

In a rebuy tournament, you can pay the buyin again if you lost all your chips. This is normally only possible at the early stage of the tournament.

referral code

Similar to a bonus code, it is a code used when registrating at a room in order to benefit from a bonus offer.

reraise

To increase the bet after a player has raised in front of you. This is also called 3-bet.

river

This is the last card in all poker variations.

ring game

Also called a cash game, this is not a tournament, but a game where players play with real money (versus chips).

rock

A very tight very passive player, for example vpip=8%, pfr=3%.

rockets

Pocket aces.

royal flush

The best hand, AKQJT suited in any one suit.

run it twice

When two players are all-in, they can agree to run the remaining cards two or three times. This will reduce the variance in a all or nothing situation with a large pot.

runner-runner

In Texas Hold'em, a runner-runner hand needs 2 more cards at the turn and river to get completed. For instance, you have one heart and the flop has two hearts. If two more hearts come, you have hit a runner-runner flush.

rush poker

An online poker format created by Full Tilt. This is a faster way to play, where each time a player folds his cards he is moved to another table (even if the hand is not finished). These games play 4-5 times faster than regular games by avoiding unnecessary waiting time.

S

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(to) sandbag

1. To check raise.
2. To slow play.

satellite

A cheap tournament where the prizes are entries to a big tournament, such as the WSOP, WPT or PCA.

scare card

A community card that creates the possibility of strong hands, such as a third card of the same suit, enabling flushes, or a fourth card of the same suit, where a flush is very likely.

sawmill

A king and a nine.

SCOOP

The Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) is a yearly online tournament created by pokerstars in 2009.

(to) semi-bluff

A semi-bluff is a bluff with a drawing hand which gives the possibility of hitting a big hand. A real bluff with "air" does not offer this chance

set

Three of a kind from a pocket pair plus one board card.

set mining

Playing small and medium pocket pairs with the intent of hitting a set on the flop or turn in a deceptive way, hoping to win a big pot with a hidden set.

shark

A very good player, usually tight-aggressive.

sheriff

A player who cannot tolerate to be bluffed.

S.H.O.E.

Also known as H.O.S.E. this is a mixed game (playing different poker variations in rotation) consisting of 7 Card Stud (S), Limit Holdem (H), Omaha High Low (O) and Stud Eight or Better (E).

short stack

A player with a small number of chips compared to the blinds. In such a situation, all-ins are frequent. By opposition a very large stack is called a deep stack.

(to) shove

To shove means to push allin, to bet one's entire stack.

showdown

When at least two players remain after the last river bet, they must show their hands to determine the winner. But if all players fold except one before the end, there is no showdown and the winner's cards remain unknown.

side pot

A second pot when some allin players have already all their chips in the main pot.

six max (6-max)

A cash game or tournament using tables with up to six players. Other formats are full ring with around 10 players (sometimes 9 or 11) and heads-up with only two players.

skin

In online poker, a skin is the graphical software used by the poker room, which is sometimes shared among rooms of the same network.

small blind (SB)

1.  The player first to act postflop; he must bet half the big blind preflop.
2. The amount of the corresponding bet which is half the big blind.

(to) spew

To play weak hands or play bad poker and loose a lot of chips.

stack

The pile of all your chips at the table. Often referred as short stack or big stack.

(to) stack off

In no-limit, to move allin, to bet your entire stack.

steal

An attempt to get the pot with a raise, usually from late position

(to) steam

When a player is very upset after a bad beat, a very unlucky development or a big loss, he is said to be steaming.

step satellite

A satellite tournament, where the winners at each step enter the next step tournament until they finally win the real prizes. This structure enable very cheap buy-ins, sometimes with VIP points.

stone cold nuts

A hand that cannot be beaten.

straight

Five cards with consecutive ranks, such as T9876.

straight draw

1.  An open-ended straight draw is four cards with consecutive ranks needing a fifth outside card to complete a straight, e.g. T987.
2. A gut-shot straight draw is four cards nearly in consecutive order which need an inside card to complete a straight, e.g. T976, which meeds a 8 to make a straight.

street

A betting round.

(to) suck out

To get very lucky and win a hand, usually by calling with only a few outs to win the hand.

suited

Cards from the same suit, like the ace of clubs and eight of clubs, noted A8s.

Sunday Million

The largest weekly online poker tournament, it has a 1 million dollar guarantee for a $215 buy-in. It runs at pokerstars.

supernova

the second highest VIP level at Pokertars, earning thousands of dollars in rewards.

supernova elite

Supernova Elite is the highly sought after top VIP level at Pokertars, generating yearly rewards over $100,000.

T

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talking chips

A player who suddenly talks a lot after he won a large pot.

(to) tank

To take a long time before making an important decision.

tell

A tell is any pattern or sign in a player's behavior that reveals the strength of his hand (see Caro's Book of Poker Tells).

(to) three bet (3-bet)

A 3-bet is a reraise, pre or postflop.

tight

A playing style often considered stronger than loose. A tight player likes to play few hands usually only the strongest hole cards and hands.

(to) tilt

To start playing very badly after getting a run of bad luck possibly with some bad beats.

timeout

In online poker, when a player empties his time bank, his hand will be fold to a bet or checked if no bet was made before him. Time banks are necessary to avoid players abusing the clock, they are used in all game formats.

top pair (TP, TPTK, TPNK, TPGK)

Top pair is one hole card with the same rank as the highest card on the board.
1. tp just stands for top pair.
2. tptk stands for top pair top kicker, eg AK with a KQ7 bord.
3. tpnk means top pair no kicker (very low kicker) such as K5 with the same board.
4. tpgk means top pair good kicker like KQ on the same board.

triple barrel

When a player bluffs three times in a row, like at the flop, turn and river again. Two times is called double barreling.

trips

Three of a kind where two of the three cards are on the board (to distinguish from a set).

two gapper

Any two cards separated by a gap of 2 cards, such as the 9 of heart and the 6 of spades.

two pair

A hand made of two different pairs.

U

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under the gun (UTG)

The first player to act preflop in holdem; he acts first after the blinds postflop.

UIGEA

UIGEA stands for the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act". This is a controversial US law passed in 2006, which banned online gaming transactions by banks, but did not make if illegal for US citizens to gamble online.

UTG + 1

One seat to the left of UTG (the Under the Gun player).

UTG + 2

Two seats to the left of UTG (the Under the Gun player).

V

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value bet

When a player is nearly certain to have the best hand, the purpose of his betting is just to extract value from the hand, hence a value bet.

variance

A term from statistics, which tells how much short term results can diverge from expected value. When a player runs very well winning many sessions and large pots, he has positive variance; in other words he has extra luck. When he runs very bad in a down swing, this is bad variance, or bad luck.

VIP Club

A reward program offered by some rooms such as Pokerstars, equivalent to an internal rakeback system. The more active players reach higher VIP levels which offer higher rewards, including cash.

VPIP

Vpip is a statistical measure which stands for "Voluntarily Put Money Into the Pot". It calculates how often a player participates in pots and represents his relative tightness/looseness.

W

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walking sticks

A pair of sevens.

WCOOP

World Championship of online Poker: the largest series in online poker run yearly by Pokerstars, with up to 65 events and a top prize over one million dollars.

wheel

The lowest possible straight, five to ace.

win ratio (WR)

The average profit (or loss) of an online poker player measure as the number of big blinds earned (loss) every 100 hands.

WSOP

World Poker Series of Poker: the most famous poker tournament event played every year around June in Las Vegas.

worst hand

The weaker hand, hence losing hand, in a showdown.

WPT

World Poker Tour: a famous series of poker tournaments that take place every year around the world, mostly in Europe.

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