Baby – A card of low rank (2, 3, 4, or 5)
Back Into (a hand) – To complete a hand using the last two hands dealt
Backdoor – Improving a player’s hand using both of the final two cards dealt
Backdoor Flush – When a player completes a flush with the turn and the river
Backdoor Straight – When a player completes a straight with the turn and the river
Backer - A person who finances an active player
Backraise – To call a bet or re-raise from a person who originally called
Bad Beat - When an originally good hand loses due to a draw favorable to the opponent
Bad Beat Jackpot - A protection against bad beats being offered by some card rooms wherein the player defeated by a bad beat gets to
Bankroll – The amount of money one has
Barn - Short for Full Barn: slang for a Full House
Battle of the Blinds – That situation where everyone folds to the players who have already placed mandatory bets
Beat the Board – To own a hand better than what the other players at a table are showing
Beat the Table – Synonymous with Beat the Board; to own a hand better than what the other players at a table are showing
Beer Hand - Refers to the hand 7-2, the worst hand in poker
Behind – An underdog; a player with lesser chips at a particular table
Behind a Log - That situation where a player is already winning a game, and hence is playing only the best hands that he encounters
Belly Buster - Four cards forming a straight where both the lowest and the highest cards are already on hand; synonymous with “Gut Shot”
Bet - The act of putting chips into a pot; a player’s action during his turn to act; the amount of chips placed as wager
Bet After the Declare – To place a bet at any time after the declaration and prior to the showdown
Bet Blind - To bet without seeing one’s cards first
Bet for Value – To bet a hand with the intention of getting callers in players with lesser hands
Bet in the Dark – To announce a bet before the cards are dealt; synonymous with “Bet Blind”
Bet Into – To snatch the opponent’s initiative in betting strongly by betting instead of merely checking
Bet Odds – A ratio of the possible bet or raise and the amount in total to be placed in the pot as a response to that wager
Bet the Limit – To bet the maximum amount of chips or money agreed upon
Bet the Pot – To bet the same amount of chips as that in the pot
Bicycle - The straight A-2-3-4-5: the lowest possible straight; synonymous with “Wheel” and “Bike”
Big Blind – (1) That player seated two seats away from the dealer; (2) The amount of bet required of the player in the Big Blind
Big Bobtail – Four consecutive cards of the same suit with either the lowest or the highest card missing to form a straight
Big Chick – The pocket cards A-Q
Big Dog – The player with the lowest chance of winning: the underdog
Big Full – The hand A-A-A-K-K: the highest possible Full House
Big Pair – A pair of 10s or of cards of greater value
Big Slick - A hand with an Ace and a King (A-K)
Black Chip Game – A high-stakes game
Blank – A card that does not affect the outcome of a hand; a card that the players find useless
Blaze – A hand with five face cards (i.e.: K-K-Q-J-J)
Bleed – To lose chips due to ill decision-making
Blind – The mandatory bet made by the two players positioned to the left of the dealer (Small Blind and Big Blind) prior to the dealing of the cards
Blind Bet - A bet made before the players see their hands
Blind Raise – A forced raise
Blind Robber - Someone who steals the blind by opening a pot without really having a good hand then raking in the blinds after the other players have folded
Blistering – To mark a card using one’s fingernail or device; a form of cheating
Blow Back – To lose all or most of the money a player has won
Bluff - The act of making one’s opponents believe that he/she has a better hand–done with the intention of making the other players fold
Board – The collection of cards visible to all of the players at a table; the community cards in Texas Hold’em and Omaha, and the players’ face-up cards in stud games
Boat – A hand with a three of a kind (three cards of the same number or face value) plus a pair (any two cards with the same number or face value); synonymous with “Full House” and “Full Boat”
Bobtail – Four cards of the same suit or of consecutive numbers or faces, forming either a flush or a straight
Bobtail Straight - Four cards forming a straight in denomination sequence; synonymous with “Open End Straight”
Boss – The strongest hand at a stage in the betting
Bottom Deal – A form of cheating: to use cards from the bottom rather than from the top of the deck when distributing cards to the players
Bottom Pair – A pair made with the board card of lowest value and a pocket card
Bounty – A prize given to a player who knocks a pre-determined player out of the tournament
Bounty Hunter - A player who aggressively knocks his/her opponents out of the tournament
Bounty Tournament – A tournament wherein a prize awaits one who knocks out a specific player or a number of pre-determined players
Boxed Card – A card turned the wrong way in a deck–that seen face-up in the assembled deck during a deal or a hand
Brick – A card that does not affect the outcome of a hand; a card that the players find useless; synonymous with a Blank Card
Bring It In – To start the betting for the first round of a game
Bring-In – The mandatory bet made by the player with the lowest card on hand; applicable in Seven Card Stud and Stud Card or Better
Broadway – The hand A-K-Q-J-10 off suit; the highest possible straight: an ace-high straight
Broderick Crawford – The pocket cards 10-4, suited or off suit
Broomcorn’s Uncle – A player who antes himself broke
Bubble - A point in a tournament where only a few number of players are left, yet this number of remaining players would still exceed the number of spots to be filled in the prize-guaranteed finishing positions
Buck - An object used to denote who among the players at a table is to act as the dealer; synonymous with “Button”
Bug – Somewhat a wild card which can represent an ace or any other card to fill a gap in a straight or in a flush
Bull the Game - To frequently bluff in games or tournaments
Bump – To raise or re-raise: to increase the bet made by a player
Buried Pair - A concealed pair in stud games
Burn – To discard the top card from a deck before having the cards dealt
Burn Card – A card from the top of the deck that is discarded before cards are dealt to the players
Bury Card – A card taken from the top of a deck then placed in the middle
Bust – (1) to knock a player out of a tournament; (2) a hand which remained incomplete after all the other cards have been revealed
Bust Out – To lose all of one’s chips or money, then be eliminated from a tournament
Busted Hand – A worthless hand: a hand that failed to turn into a flush or a straight on the draw
Button – (1) a player sitting at the dealer’s position; (2) the position of the dealer for the round; (3) a plastic marker used to denote who among the players would act as the dealer; synonymous with “Buck”
Buy – To make a large bet intended to discourage the other players at a table
Buy-In – (1) The amount of money players must shed to sit down in poker games; (2) to make one’s first purchase of chips to be used at a particular table
Buy-In Limit – The minimum amount of money one must bring into a 1-on-1 game; applicable to Seven-Card Stud Poker