Poker Glossary - J - O

Jackpot - A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten. In hold’em, the “loser” must typically get aces full or better beaten. In some of the large southern California card clubs, jackpots have gotten over $50,000. Of course, the jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake.Kicker - An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in hold’em.

Live Blind - A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The “live” means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them.

Maniac - A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous.

Muck - The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer. Example: “His hand hit the muck so the dealer ruled it folded even though the guy wanted to get his cards back.” Also used as a verb. Example: He didn’t have any outs so he mucked his hand.”

No-Limit - A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of him) whenever it is his turn to act. It is a very different game from limit poker. The best treatise on no-limit poker is in Doyle Brunson’s Super/System.

Nuts - The best possible hand given the board. If the board is K-J -T-4 -2, then A -X is the nuts. You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn’t the overall nuts. For the above example, somebody with A-Q might say they had the “nut straight.”

Offsuit - A hold’em starting hand with two cards of different suits. A hold’em starting hand with two cards of different suits.

One-Cap - A hold’em starting hand with two cards two apart in rank. Examples: J9s, 64.

Open-Ended Straight Draw - Seeking one of two card values to make a straight. For instance, a player holding 9-8 with a board of 2-7-6 can make a straight with either a ten (6-7-8-9-T) or with a five (5-6-7-8-9). This is also known as an up-and-down straight draw.

Out - A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural. Example: “Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs.”

Outrun - To beat. Example: “Susie outran my set when her flush card hit on the river.”

Overcall - To call a bet after one or more others players have already called.

Overcard - A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you have AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you don’t have a pair, but you have two overcards.

Overpair - A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair.