When you go to the casino to play Texas holdem for the first time you will hear a lot of poker talk. Below I will give a few definitions of some of the things you might hear.

Bad Beat- A bad beat occurs when a player loses a hand where he was heavily favored after all the chips went into the pot. A classic example is when you go all-in with AA and are called by 33. You are going to win about 80% of the time. When your opponent hits his 3 and beats you, he has delivered you a bad beat.

The Board- In Texas holdem games there are community cards turned up in the middle of the table. These cards can are often referred to as the board. You might hear someone say ” I can’t call you with that board out there”.

Calling Station- A calling station refers to a type of player at your table. Usually considered a weak player, a calling station calls many bets with weak speculative hands, and rarely makes raises.

Button- The button represents who the dealer is for a particular hand. The button rotates so that each player plays as the dealer in his turn. This is done to keep the game fair, as being the dealer has a built in advantage as the best position at the table.

Connectors- Connectors are two consecutive cards numerically in your hole cards. 7d 8cl are unsuited connectors. 5d 6d would be suited connectors.

Cracked- To have a top hand beaten on the draw. “He cracked my AA with his J 10 when the board went 7 8 4 9 A”

On The Draw- When a player is staying in the pot hoping to catch a card or cards to beat his opponent, he is on the draw. Typical hands to be on the draw with are 4 cards to a flush, or an open ended straight draw.

Fast Play- When you fast play a hand, you are very aggressive. You bet and raise large amounts, putting the pressure on your opponent.

Fold Equity- This term signifies the additional value you have in a hand when you raise your opponent. This value represents the possibility that your opponent will fold and give you the pot uncontested.

Gutshot- A gutshot is a straight draw to only 1 card. For example; you have 89 and the board is 456. You are on a gutshot straight draw, and need a 7 to hit.

Leak- A leak describes a weakness in your game. It is called a leak because the weakness causes money to leak from your pocket.

Limp- When you just call the big blind, you are limping into the pot. It is typically only used to describe calling the big blind pre flop.

Muck- When you get rid of your hand without showing it, you muck it. When you call your opponent on the river and he shows the winner, you can just muck your hand, not showing anyone.

Backdoor draw- Backdoor draws takes both the turn and river to complete. If you have three hearts after the flop, and the turn and river are both hearts, you have hit a backdoor flush.