Sandbag – To act as if one’s hand is weaker that is actually is
Santa Barbara – The pocket cards A-K; synonymous with “Big Slick”
Satellite – A mini-tournament that players join usually to win a seat to a larger tournament
Scare Card – A community card that may turn a player’s best hand into trash
Scoop – To win an entire pot
Scramble – A card randomizing technique: a facedown mixing of the cards
Seat Charge – A fee charged to players based on the length of time or the number of hands they have played
Seat Position – A player’s position relative to the other players and in the sequence of actions
Second Best – The best among the losing hands
Second Pair – A pair made with a pocket card and the second highest card on the board
See – To call; to match all previous bets without raising
Semi-Bluff – To represent a mediocre or drawing hand as though it were a strong hand by aggressively betting with the intention of causing the opponents to fold while retaining the possibility of a win in case a showdown occurs
Sequence – Cards of consecutive values
Set – A three of a kind completed with a pocket pair’s matching with one of the cards on the board
Seven-card Stud – A poker game wherein players are dealt three down cards and four up cards
Seventh Street – In Stud Games: the seventh card dealt
Shaka Zulu – A King of a black suit: a King of Spades or a King of Clubs
Shark – A highly skilled player
Shoe Clerk – A player who bets relatively small amounts of chips or money; synonymous with “Ribbon Clerk”
Shoot-out – A tournament with no rebuys: losing all of one’s chips would mean elimination; synonymous with “freeze-out”
Short buying – Purchasing of additional chips after one’s initial purchase
Short Call – To go all-in when one’s bankroll is not enough to match the entire amount or a bet, raise, or re-raise made by an opponent
Short Stack – A number of chips that is a little to low as compared with the amount of chips that the other players at a table still have
Short-Handed – That which describes a game with few players
Show – To expose one’s cards
Showdown – That point at the end of the final betting round when all active players expose their cards to see who has won the pot
Shuffle – To mix the cards before a hand
Side Bet – A bet made outside the pot–beyond the normal rules of a game, that is
Side Card – Kicker: the card with the highest value–that which is not involved in completing a particular hand rank
Side Pot – A separate pot which is competed for by remaining active players when one or more players went all-in
Sight – A showdown for the side pot
Sitting Out – Happens when a player chooses to leave a table for a few hands–usually for no more than 15 mins or two rounds of blinds
Sixth Street – In Stud Games: the sixth card dealt
Slow Play – To play a strong hand as though it were a weak one so as to convince players to further stay in the pot
Small Blind – (1) The position of the player sitting immediately to the left of the dealer/button; (2) The amount of wager required of the player in the small blind position
Smooth Call – A call made by a player who is expected to either raise or re-raise
Snap Off – To win even when one is holding a weak or mediocre hand
Snow Job – A bluff that is successfully done
Snowmen – A pair of 8s in the pocket
Softseat – A seat or game that is favorable to a player because of lack of skill at the table
Solid – A fairly tight and reasonably good player
Speeding – The pace of the game: the amount of time players take to act
Speed Limit – A pair of fives, especially in the pocket
Splash Around – To be aggressive and careless in playing
Split – To divide the pot into specified amounts to be awarded to winning players in case of a tie
Split Pot – A pot that is divided among players who have equivalent hands
Split Two Pair – A hand with two groups of paired cards wherein one card from each of the pairs is a downcard/hole card and the second card from each pair is an exposed card/community card
Spread Limit – A betting structure wherein players are allowed to make any wager equal to or between the minimum and maximum wagering amounts set
Stacked Deck – A deck that has been arranged for the advantage of one of the players
Stake – The amount of a player’s buy-in
Stand Off – To call a raise
Stay – When a player remains eligible for the pot by calling rather than raising
Steal – To bet or raise so as to convince the other players to fold, especially when done by a player on late position when the only money or chips in the pot are the antes or blinds
Steal Position – Any late position
Steal Raise – A raise made by someone in late position in an attempt to reduce the number of players and/or steal the pot
Steam – To call and raise a lot–especially out of frustration
Steel Wheel – A five-high straight flush: A-2-3-4-5 suited; the lowest possible straight flush
Straddle – A blind bet which is usually twice the size of the Big Blind
Straight – A hand with five cards of consecutive value and of any suit
Straight Draw – Four cards of consecutive values, a card away from completing a straight
Straight Flush – A hand with five cards of the same suit and of consecutive values
Strategic Bluff – A bluff made with a long term goal of, for example, giving the impression of a loose player
Streak – A series of winning or losing hands
Street – In stud games: cards dealt on a particular round
Structure – The limits put on the blinds/ante, bets, and raises in any particular game
Structured Limit – A stud game in which bets, raises, or re-raises must be made for a specific amount rather than being allowed to fall between a minimum and maximum amount
Stub – The portion of the deck which has not been dealt yet
Stuck – A player who is in a losing streak
Stud Games – Games in which players get both down cards and up cards
Suckout – Happens when someone draws out on an opponent
Suicide King – The King of Hearts
Suit – A characteristic that identifies a playing card as belonging to one of four groupings in a deck: spades, clubs, hearts, or diamonds
Suited Connectors – Two cards of consecutive ranks and of the same suit
Sunset Strip – A pair of sevens (7-7) in the pocket
Super-Bluff – To win a hand by bluffing against a player with a stronger hand
Super-Satellite – A satellite whose target tournament is also a satellite tournament
