Call – (1) To match a bet amount without raising; (2) The bet made when matching an opponent’s previous bet to remain eligible in winning the pot
Call Cold - To call both the bet and the raise; to stay in the pot by betting additional chips that match the sum of multiple bets rather than that of a single bet
Call Down – To match bets or raises for the remainder of the hand
Caller – A player who matches a previous bet — done without raising
Calling Station – A passive player who most of the time calls, and rarely folds or raises; these are the kinds of players who rarely bluff; synonymous with “Policeman”
Cap – (1) To make the maximum raise permitted in a round; to put a chip on top of the other cards for protection; (2) A limit on the number of bets allowed during each round of betting
Cardroom – The place or room in a casino where poker is played
Cards Speak – Having the most favorable combination of cards
Case Card – The last of the four cards of a particular rank to become available
Case Chips – A player’s last chips
Cash Game – A non-tournament game played for real money
Cash In – To have poker chips converted to cash
Cash Out – To leave a cardroom or table and convert one’s remaining chips to cash
Catch Bluffing – To win a hand by calling or raising a bet of an opponent who is bluffing
Caught Speeding – Describes a player who made a bluff and was called by an opponent , then beaten on the showdown
Center Pot – The main pot
Change Gears – To change one’s style of play
Chase – To call a bet with a hand which is not expected to be the best hand, with the hope of getting a lucky draw
Cheater – A player who intentionally violates rules to gain advantage over the other players
Check – (1) To stay in the game without having to raise the bet; (2) A term synonymous with “poker chip”
Check Blind - To check without looking at one’s cards first; synonymous with “Check in the Dark”
Check-Raise - To stay in the pot without making an additional bet at first, then raising the bet with the intention to extract more chips from one’s opponent
Cheese – A very weak starting hand
Chip - A round token used to represent money for betting purposes
Chip Leader – The player with the greatest number of chips in a tournament
Chip Runner - A casino or cardroom employee who supplies chips to the players’ tables
Chip Up – To exchange chips of lower value for chips of a higher value
Chop – (1) To split the pot; (2) A portion of the split pot
Cinch Hand - A hand that cannot be beaten
Coat Card - A King, Queen, or Jack of any suit; synonymous with “Court Card,” “Face Card,” “Paint,” or “Rembrandt”
Coin Flip – A situation in which both of the two remaining players have equal chances of winning the pot
Coffeehousing – Happens when players chat about the current hand with the intention of misleading or manipulating their opponents
Cold – Unfavorable or unlucky
Cold Call – To call more than one bet in a single action
Cold Deck – A deck of cards that has been pre-fixed for cheating purposes
Cold Hands – A run of poor hands
Collection – A fee charged for organizing a game or tournament, taken either out of the pot or from each of the players)
Color Change – A request to replace chips of a particular denomination or value for those of a different denomination or value
Color Up – To exchange chips of a lower denomination for chips of a higher denomination; synonymous with “Chip Up”
Come Hand – A weak hand that has the potential to improve once favorable cards are dealt or revealed
Come In – To call or raise the blind
Come Over the Top – To raise or re-raise a bet made by another player
Common Card – A card dealt face-up on the table to be used by all of the players at the showdown; applicable to stud games
Community Cards – Cards dealt face-up on the table which are used by all of the players in completing their winning hands
Community Pot – The money at stake in a hand
Complete Hand – A hand with all five useful cards present (full house, straight, flush, straight flush, or four of a kind); must be greater than a three of a kind
Complete the Bet – To increase a bet that was below the limit to that of the lower limit
Computer Hand – A Queen and a 7 in the pocket, off suit
Concealed Pair – Two cards that are only visible to a player; dealt face-down
Connectors – Starting cards of consecutive ranks
Conservative – A player who only bets when he has a good hand
Conservative Play – A poker strategy wherein a player only bets on hands that have good chances of winning
Convoy – The pocket cards 10-4, suited or off suit
Cosmetics – Any substance used to mark cards for cheating purposes
Count Down – To determine the amount of chips a player has
Countdown – The pocket cards 10-9, suited or off suit
Counterfeit - When the value of a player’s hand is lessened due to a duplication of any of his cards as dealt on the board
Court Card – Any of the face cards: a King, a Queen, or a Jack; synonymous with “Coat Card,” “Face Card,” “Rembrandt,” and “Paint”
Cowboys – A pair of Kings in the pocket; a very strong hand
Crack - To beat a hand at the showdown, especially when the beaten hand is a big hand
Cripple the Deck - To have all or most of the cards that somebody would want to have with what is seen on the board
Crying Call – (1) To complain when making a call: a tactic to keep players at a hand; (2) A call made with little expectation of winning
Cut – To separate a deck into several portions so as to change the order of the cards
Cut It Up – To split the pot to the players after they reveal that they have hands of equal value
Cut the Pot – To take the house rake; to take a portion of the pot to pay for a shared expense
Cutoff Seat – The seat to the right of the dealer’s position
