By
Gary Steele
Poker has its own set of unique terms and jargon, and more are being added every week as its popularity continues to expand. There are names for particular starting hands, such as pocket rockets and big slick. There are terms describing poker scenarios, such as a bad beat. It would take a week to write them all, but I think the following list will give you a good idea of the terms you will hear used on a regular basis as you play.
- Dark
- When a player makes a decision without any information that player is said to be in the “dark.” Ex. calling the blinds without looking at hole cards or checking before a community card is dealt.
- Dead Man's Hand
- Ace-Eight in the hole. Wild Bill Hickok held a pair of black Aces and Eights when he was shot from behind playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's "Saloon No. 10" in Deadwood. More info.
- Dead Money
- When a player pays money to enter a tournament he or she is very unlikely to win. Before Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP he was considered “dead money.”
- Dolly Parton
- 9-5 in the hole (from the movie Nine to Five)
- Dominated
- An Ace Queen dominates an Ace Jack because the kicker card is higher.
- Double Up
- To double to amount of money/chips a player has in their stake by going All-In. Typically seen in a No-Limit game.
- Double Belly Buster
- A special kind of open-ended straight, for example the board shows 5-6-8 and you hold 2-4. You can hit your straight by catching two cards, a Three or a Seven. More valuable than a regular open-ended straight because of it's deceptive qualities.
- Down Card
- 1) A card dealt face down to players that nobody else can see.
2) A card which is taken out of play. - Doyle Brunson
- A 10-2 in the hole. Doyle Brunson won both the 1976 and 1977 World Series of Poker with this hand.
- Drawing Dead
- When a player cannot win a hand even if they get a card they are looking for on a future draw.
- Drop
- To fold a hand.
