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Poker Jargon to be Familiar with

Ever been in one of those situations where there is a lot of words going around the table (live as well as online tables) and you aren’t able to catch any of them? All the time wondering what these people are talking about?

Now this doesn’t apply to grinders but for people starting out in Poker. Poker players understand each other even if there are no words shared. It’s some weird telepathic energy that cloaks them. The ability to communicate telepathically is probably due to the practice of calling bluffs. But as a beginner, you are sort of lost in translation.

Don’t worry, we got you. In this article we’ll discuss some of the most commonly used terms in Poker.

Jam

A jam refers to a “pot” situation where more than one player are raising. A jam occurs when there are a significant number of bets, raises and re-raises. The term jam is also used when a player places many bets and raises repeatedly during one hand.

Cold Calling in Poker

The term cold call is mostly used in Texas Hold’em. Cold call refers to a situation when a players calls more than one bet at once. In a Texas Hold’em game if a player raises in a pre-flop betting round and if the next player calls his bet, he’s cold calling.

Merge

This term is one of the most difficult terms to explain in poker and also one of the hardest moves to pull off.

Simply put, merge or merging is the act of betting on the river (the fifth community card that opens on the table). The complexity of the bet is that you are betting when you have a strong enough hand to beat weaker hands, but also weak enough to get a fold from a high and strong hand at the table.

In most cases, players with a weaker hand will think you are bluffing and will try and call your bluff. These people are called the bluffcatchers. But if you have a strong hand, you will be able to beat their weak hands. As for the players with a strong hand, once you bet on the river, they will likely think that you have something great to place a bet. The expectation here is that they will fold.

Mastering the art of merging requires a lot of training and experience. But in the end, it is well worth it if you pull it off. The only risk is that it might backfire, as a stronger hand calls your bluff and bets or re-raises against you.

3-bet

A 3-bet is considered to be the strongest move a player can make. It exudes confidence and the only play stronger than the 3-bet is the “All-in” move.

A 3-bet can significantly change the outcome of a hand. It might not always be the case as you are playing poker, a game of bluffs.

3-bet refers to a situation when the first raise is re-raised. Simply put, the first player places a bet, the second player raise, and the third player or the original raiser re-raises the initial raises. This is usually used in pot limit and no limit games.

4-bet

The only play stronger than the 3-bet is the 4-bet, apart from the All- in strategy. It is a term used to call the raise after the 3-bet. It usually means that the player calling the 3-bet has an exceptionally strong hand.

A player using the 4-bet technique could also be bluffing leading you to a fold. However, this move is extremely tough to pull off and is often done by poker pros as an intimidation technique. It’s an aggressive move and should only be done after careful evaluation of your hand and the table.

These were some poker terms we could think of. Do you know of anymore? Please let us know in the comment section below. Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for more ‘Poker Gyaan’ articles.

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