Before you play or watch a round of Poker you should know the terminology. Here are a few key poker terms to make the game easier to understand. You will often find people reffering to these terms on TV and general offline and online discussions.
Pot - All of the chips (money), tossed in the center of the poker table during a round that are available for one player to win.
Rake - Is the fee taken by the poker room be it off line or online. The max rake for any pot is approximately $3 for most online poker rooms at the moment.
Flop - Poker games like Texas Hold 'em where the first three community cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table (shared community cards). The "Flop" is also a term used for the first three community cards dealt.
Ante - Chips money placed in the pot before a hand is dealt. In Texas Hold'em new players when they arrive at the table must ante up. There are two other ante's given and these are the compulsory bets of the first two players behind the dealer. These are called the Big and Small blinds.
Bad Beat - When a strong hand is beaten by a lucky hand; a long shot win.
Blind - To start a round of betting, the first two players sitting to the left of the dealer will make bets before any cards are dealt.
Small Blind - The smaller of the two compulsory bets in flop games, made by the player in the first position to the dealer's left.
Big Blind - The forced bet in second position before any cards are dealt. Usually this is a live blind, which means that the player in this position can raise if no one else has before the cards are dealt.
Bluff - To make other players think you have a better hand than them (even though you don't) by betting or raising the stakes, hoping they will fold.
Call - To match the previous bet made.
Community Cards - These are the cards, placed face-up on the table, to be used by all players (as played in Texas Hold 'em).
Dead Man's Hand - When a player holds aces and eights.
Fold - To stop playing a round by throwing your hand away (losing your ante and any previous bets made). People are most likely to "lay down their hand" when they don't have a strong or winning hand, especially when the stakes are raised.
Hole Cards - At the start of round one, the first two cards dealt face-down to each player are reffered to as hole cards.
No Limit - A poker game with "no limit" means that a player can bet as much as they have on the table in chips during any round. This is the most common game found in online poker rooms.
Raise - To increase the previous bet made, also referred to as a bump (watch your step).
Round of Betting - Poker is made up of a series of rounds where players are dealt cards and have the opportunity to bet and win the pot. Each round of betting ends when the last bet or raise has been called.
The River - The final community card dealt.
The Turn - The fourth community card dealt.
