When playing poker, it is important to know the game’s terminology. Understanding how to talk the talk can help you get more information from other players and better understand your own hands and betting. For example, saying “raise” means you are adding money to the pot, whereas saying “call” means you are matching the amount of the previous bet. You may also say ‘check’ to stop betting or ‘raise a raise’ (adding more money to the bet in return) if you believe that your opponents have a high hand.
Before the cards are dealt, 2 mandatory bets (called blinds) are put into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. This is called the ante, and it gives the pot value before the first round of betting begins.
After the ante, a single card is dealt face up to each player. This is called the flop. Another round of betting follows, with the player with the highest hand showing their cards in a showdown.
A player who is holding a strong hand will often ‘check’ when facing a raise because they do not want to waste their entire chip stack at a weak hand. However, if they have a high-ranking pair on the flop, then they will often bet aggressively on low flops to force other players into raising. This is called check-raising, and it is a useful bluffing strategy.
