Backer
– the person who finances a player. If there are any winnings, the backer and the player usually split them.
Backraise
– a re-raise made by a player who originally called
Bad Beat
– a situation when a player loses with a highly favoured hand due to a lucky draw
Bad Bead Jackpot
– a jackpot offered by a poker room for bad beats
Bankroll
– the amount of money a player uses for playing poker
Beat the board
– to have a hand that is better than all the other hands showing
Bet
– to place chips into the pot
Bet in the Dark
– to make a bet before the cards are dealt or before looking at the pocket cards
Bet Odds
– the odds a player gets as a result of evaluating the number of callers to a raise
Bet the Limit
– to bet the maximum allowed amount
Bet the pot
– to make a bet equal to the amount of chips in the pot
Betting pattern
– the betting habits of a player in different situations
Betting structure
– the rules of how bets are made in a game
Big Blind
– a forced bet placed by the player sitting in the second seat left to the dealer (clockwise) before the cards are dealt
Big Pair
– a pair with a value of 10 or higher
Blank
– a useless board card
Bleed
– win a lot of money a little at a time
Blind
– a forced bet made before the cards are dealt. To learn more, read our article on Blinds and Antes.
Blind Defense
– an attempt to prevent the blinds from being stolen, often with a weak hand. The defense takes the form of a raise in order to take the initiative or to force the attacker to fold or call.
Blind Steal
– a raise with a weak hand from a late position when all other players have folded. The purpose of a blind steal is to make the blinds fold, leaving the thief with the blinds without having to play for them.
Blocker
– a card that a player needs to complete their hand but that is already in the opponent’s hand
Bluff
– a move that a player makes trying to convince their opponents that the player has a stronger hand than they actually have
Bluff Call
– a series of moves a player makes in order to pretend they have a hand that they don’t hold
Board
– all the community cards in a game with communal cards
Boat
– a full house
Bonus
– extra money that the player can get from the poker room when they make a deposit
Bonus Code
– a specific code that a player should use with their deposit to activate a bonus
Bonus Whore
– a player who switches from one poker room to another in order to benefit from deposit bonuses
Bot
– a software program that plays poker. Bots are prohibited by most online poker rooms.
Bottom Pair
– a pair made by the lowest of the community cards and one of the player’s pocket cards
Break Even
– the point where the investment and winnings are equal, e.g. the player has not recorded any net loss or profit
Bring-in
– a forced bet that is made in the opening round of a game
Broadway
– an Ace-high straight
Bubble
– the highest place in a tournament that gets no prize money
Bubble factor
– the factor by which a player’s odds in chips differ from their odds in dollars
Bullets
– a pair of Aces. Also called “American Airlines”.
Burn Card
– a card, which is dealt face-down before dealing the round of cards
Bust
– a worthless hand
Bust Out
– to lose the player’s entire stack or be eliminated from a tournament
Button
– also dealer button – a chip that is moved from player to player in a clockwise direction following each hand to indicate the dealer of each hand
Buy
– to place a large bet with the purpose of discouraging the other players
Buy-in
– the minimum amount of money a player needs to join a particular game. In tournaments: the amount of money a player must pay into the prize pool.
WPT
– abbreaviation for World Poker Tour, a series of televized tournaments on the tournament trail, held throughout the year at various casinos and cardrooms and online. The winners of the individual events advance to a $25,000 invitation-only buy-in final event that crowns a world champion.
WSOP
– abbreviation for the World Series of Poker, one of the biggest live poker events around the world.