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Cage - A casino area, almost always behind bars, where a player exchanges chips for cash.
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Call - Matching a previous bet in a round of betting.
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Call cold - When a player calls both a raise and a bet.
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Caller - A player who makes a call bet.
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California Lowball - Ace to five lowball with a joker.
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Calling station - A type of loose player that calls far too many hands.
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Call the clock - A method of discouraging players from taking a long time to act. When another player "calls the clock", the acting player has a set amount of time in which to make up his mind; if he fails to do so, his or her hand is immediately declared dead. Usually, the dealer or floor personnel do not have the right to call the clock.
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Cap - A limit on the number of raises allowed in a betting round. Typically three or four (in addition the opening bet). In most casinos, the cap is removed if there are only two players remaining either (a) at the beginning of the betting round, or (b) at the time that what would have otherwise been the last raise is made.
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Cap game - Similar to "cap" above, but used to describe a no-limit or pot limit game with a cap on the amount that a player can bet during the course of a hand. Once the cap is reached, all players remaining in the hand are considered all-in. For example, a no limit game could have a betting cap of 30 times the big blind.
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Capping a raise - The final raise.
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Cards speak - Describing a split-pot game, one without a declaration.
A common house rule stating that properly shown hands at showdown may be read by anyone, and need not be announced.
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Case card -The last available card of a certain description (typically a rank). The only way I can win is to catch the case king., meaning the only king remaining in the deck.
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Case chips -A player’s last chips.
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Cash In - To leave a game and change one’s chips for cash with the dealer.
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Cash Out - To leave a game and change one's chips for cash at the cage.
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Cash plays - An announcement, usually by a dealer, that a player requested to buy chips and can bet the cash he has on the table in lieu of chips until he receives his chips.
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Catch - When a player receives the cards s/he needed to make a hand. I'm down 300--I can't catch anything today. Or Nick caught his flush early, but I caught the boat on seventh street to beat him. Often used with an adjective to further specify, for example "catch perfect", "catch inside", "catch smooth".
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Catch bluffing - When a player wins a hand by calling or raising another player who is bluffing.
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Catch up - To successfully complete a draw, thus defeating a player who previously had a better hand. I was sure I had Hellen beat, but she caught up when that spade fell.
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Cat-hop - In five-card draw, a long-shot draw requiring two desired cards to make a hand, specifically drawing two cards to a straight or flush, or drawing two cards to a small pair and kicker to make a full house.
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C-note - A hundred dollar bill.
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Center pot - The main pot in a table stakes game where one or more players are all in
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Change Gears - Adjusting your style of play from tight to loose or vice versa.
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Chase - To continue to play a drawing hand over multiple betting rounds, especially one unlikely to succeed. Jon knew I made three nines on fourth street, but he chased that flush draw all the way to the river.
To continue playing with a hand that is not likely the best because one has already invested money in the pot.
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Chasing - Staying in a round of betting when you are unlikely to have the best hand but are hoping for a community card that will make your hand good.
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Charlie - Third player to the dealer's left.
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Chat - Typed conversation that you can have with other players at an online poker site.
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Chat box - Part of the playing area at a table in an online cardroom, a field into which dealer text and player comments go.
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Chat term - Specialized shorthand that players use when they type comments into the chat box. These are often congratulatory or offer comments about play.
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Check - If no one has bet before you in a round and you do not wish to bet either then you can check which passes the action onto the next player. This still allows you to play later in the round should anyone else make a bet.
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Check blind - To check without looking at one’s own cards. Also called checking in the dark.
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Check-raise - When a player initially checks but then raises after another player makes a bet. This is usually an indication of a strong hand.
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Check out - To fold, in turn, even though there is no bet facing the player. In some games this is considered a breach of etiquette equivalent to folding out of turn. In others it is permitted, but frowned upon.
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Cheese - A poor hand. Throw that piece of cheese in the muck and move on to the next hand.
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Chip dumping - A form of collusion that happens during tournaments, especially in the early rounds. Two or more players decide to go all-in early. The winner gets a large amount of chips, which increases the player's chance of cashing. The winnings are then split among the colluders.
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Chip leader - The player currently holding the most chips in a tournament.
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Chip - A token representing money used for betting.
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Chip along - To bet or call the minimum required to stay in, often done with little or no reflection.
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Chip declare - A method of declaring intent to play high or low in a split-pot game with declaration.
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Chip race - In tournament play, the act of removing all the small chips from play by dealing random cards to players holding odd chips, and awarding a proportional number of larger chips to the highest-ranking cards.
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Chop -To split a pot because of a tie, split-pot game, or player agreement. To play a game for a short time and cash out.
A request made by a player to a dealer after toking a large-denomination chip that he wishes the dealer to make change.
To chop blinds.
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Chop blinds - An agreement between neighboring players having posted blinds that if all other players fold to them, they will each retrieve their respective blind amounts and discard their hands rather than playing out the hand. This is done to avoid excessive charges by the casino for small pots. It is generally frowned upon by casinos, so it usually takes the form of the small blind folding, and then the player with the large blind refunding the small blind amount while the dealer isn't looking. Agreement must be made ahead of time.
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Cinch Hand - An unbeatable hand.
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Clinch hand - A hand that can’t be beaten.
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Closed - Describing a betting round, the condition that no player is eligible to raise, either because the last raise was called by all players, or because the cap was reached.
Describing a poker game, one in which each player's cards are concealed from all opponents.
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Club poker - Poker played in a public cardroom (as opposed to a private game), usually with posted rules or a printed rule book.
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Coffee house -To make annoying small-talk during a game, to make comments about a hand in progress, or to make deceptive comments about one's own play.
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Cold - Consecutive, as in I caught three cold spades for the flush. Unlucky, as in I've been cold all week.
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Cold call - To call more than one bet. For instance if one player makes a bet and then a second player raises, if you call that raise you are said to be cold calling.
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Cold deck - A deck previously arranged to produce a specific outcome, then surreptitiously switched into the game. Called "cold" because such a deck switched in during play will not have been warmed by the dealer's hands. I can't believe Peter got those four kings the same time I got four sixes--it was like being cold-decked.
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Cold hands - Showdown hands. A string of poor hands.
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Collection - The fee charged in a game; usually taken out of the pot or directly from each player.
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Collection drop - A fee charged for each hand dealt.
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Collusion - A form of cheating involving cooperation among two or more players.
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Color change, color up - To exchange small-denomination chips for larger ones.
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Combo, combination game - A casino table at which multiple forms of poker are played in rotation.
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Come bet, on the come - A bet or raise made with a drawing hand, building the pot in anticipation of filling the draw. Usually a weak gambler's play, but occasionally correct with a very good draw and large pot or as a semi-bluff.
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Come hand - A drawing hand.
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Come over the top - To raise or re-raise another player’s bet.
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Community cards - The five cards dealt into the middle of the table that all the players can use.
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Complete hand - A hand defined by all five cards – a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind or straight flush.
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Completion - To raise a small bet up to the amount of what would be a normal-sized bet.
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Concealed pair - When both of the pair cards are face down.
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Connectors -Two or more cards of consecutive rank.
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Conservative - Can refer to the player or style of play; tending to act only with a good hand.
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Continuation bet - A bet made after the flop by the player who took the lead in betting before the flop.
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Countdown - Especially in lowball, two hands very nearly tied that must be compared in detail to determine a winner, for example, 8-6-5-3-2 versus 8-6-5-3-A.
The act of counting the cards that remain in the stub after all cards have been dealt, done by a dealer to ensure that a complete deck is being used.
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Counterfeited - To make your hand weaker because of a community card that is turned over that duplicates a card you have.
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Country Straight - An open ended straight draw.
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Courtesy Bet - A bet that one is fairly sure the opponent will call, usually a bluff (although rarely large)
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Court card - A jack, queen or king.
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Cow - A player with whom one is sharing a buy-in, with the intent to split the result after play. To go cow is to make such an arrangement.
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Cowboys - A starting hand of pocket kings.
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Crack - To beat a hand; especially a very good hand.
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Cranberry - A player who calls against the pot odds.
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Crap shot - A term applied to describe less skillful tournaments with loose action.
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Cripple - When one player has most of or all of the cards that someone would want to have with the current board. To cripple the deck.
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Crying call - A call made reluctantly on the last betting round with the expectation of losing (but with some remote hope of catching a bluff).
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Cut - To divide the deck into two sections so that the order of the cards is altered.
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Cut it up - To split the pot after two hands are revealed to be of equal value.
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Cut card - Another term for the bottom card in the deck.
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Cut off -The seat immediately to the right of the dealer button.
lexicon4poker.com