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Welcome to the GGPoker Poker Glossary — your complete reference for poker terms and concepts. Use the jump links below to navigate, or browse the full list alphabetically.

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Sandbag | Satellite | Scare Card | Scoop | Second Pair | See | Sell | Semi-Bluff | Session | Set | Set Mining | Seven Card Stud | Shark | Shootout | Short Buy | Short Deck | Short Stack | Short-Handed | Shove | Showdown | Showdown Value | Shuffle | Side Bet | Side Pot | Sit & Go | Slow Play | Slow Roll | Small Blind | Smart Betting | Smart HUD | Smooth Call | Snap Call | SnapCam | SnG | Snowmen | Soft Play | Solver | Speed Limit | Spin & Gold | Splash the Pot | Split | Split Pot | Split Two Pair | SPR | Spread Limit | Squeeze | Squeeze Play | Stack | Stack-to-Pot Ratio | Stakes | Staking | Staking Platform | Starting Hand | Steal | Steam | Steel Wheel | Straddle | Straight | Straight Flush | Stop and Go | Street | String Bet | Strip Poker | Structure | Stub | Stuck | Stud | Suck Out | Suicide King | Suit | Suited | Suited Connectors | Suited Gappers

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Sandbag	See Slow Play.
Satellite	A tournament where the prize is a seat in a larger event rather than cash. Satellites are a common way to enter major tournaments at a fraction of the direct buy-in cost.
Scare Card	A card on the board that appears likely to have improved one or more players’ hands, typically completing a draw or pairing a high card.
Scoop	To win both halves of a pot in games such as Omaha Hi-Lo, on a double board, or after running it twice.
Second Pair	Pairing the second-highest card on the board with one of your hole cards. On a K-9-3 board, making a pair of nines is second pair.
See	See Call
Sell	A form of Slow Play, but more specific to spread-limit. Putting in a smaller than maximum bet with a strong hand, with the hopes that others will call.
Semi-Bluff	A bet or raise with a drawing hand that isn’t currently the best, but could improve to the best hand on a later street
Session	A period of continuous play, starting when a player sits down to play and ending when they stop.
Set	Three of a kind where a pair is in your hole cards and the third card is on the board. Distinct from trips, where the pair is on the board. Sets are harder for opponents to read and generally more valuable.
Set Mining	Calling a preflop raise with a small or medium pocket pair, hoping to hit a set on the flop. The call is justified by the implied odds if the set completes.
Seven Card Stud	poker variant where players are dealt seven cards over several rounds, and the best five-card hand wins. Each player receives three cards face-down and four face-up, in this order: two down cards and one up card to start (Third Street), followed by a betting round, then a single up card and a betting round on each of the next three streets (Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth), and a final down card and betting round on Seventh Street, the river.
Shark	A highly skilled, experienced player who consistently profits by exploiting weaker opponents. Often, but not necessarily, a professional. The opposite of a Fish.
Shootout	A tournament format where players at each table play down to a single winner, who then advances to the next round. Tables don’t merge, you play out your full table before moving on.
Short Buy	Buying into a game for less than the standard buy-in amount, usually allowed down to a set minimum. The player starts at a chip disadvantage relative to others at the table.
Short Deck	A Hold’em variant played with a 36-card deck, twos through fives removed. The shorter deck increases the chance of making strong hands, which shifts the rankings: flushes beat full houses, and the nut low straight runs A-6-7-8-9. Also called 6+ Short Deck.
Short Stack	A chip stack significantly smaller than the average at the table or relative to the stakes. A short stack limits your options, many spots become shove-or-fold decisions.
Short-Handed	A game or table with six or fewer players.
Shove	See All-In.
Showdown	When more than one player remains after the final betting round, they reveal their cards to determine the winner. The best hand takes the pot.
Showdown Value	A hand strong enough to win at showdown on its own, without needing to improve or bluff. It beats missed draws and weak hands, but isn’t strong enough to bet for value, so it’s often checked instead.
Shuffle	To randomize a deck of cards.
Side Bet	An additional wager players make between themselves, separate from the main pot, on outcomes such as who lasts longest in a tournament or the color of the flop.
Side Pot	A separate pot created when one player is all-in and others continue betting beyond that amount. The all-in player can only win the main pot, additional chips go into a side pot contested only by players who matched the full bet.
Sit & Go	A poker tournament with no scheduled starting time. It begins when the predetermined number of players have bought in to the event.
Slow Play	To play a strong hand as if it were weak, in order to trick opponents into betting more. Also called Sandbagging or to Trap.
Slow Roll	Delaying the reveal of a winning hand at showdown, sometimes while pretending to be unsure or beaten, when the player already knows they’ve won. Widely regarded as poor etiquette.
Small Blind	The smaller of the two forced bets (blinds) that occur in flop and draw games. Usually, the small blind is half the value of the big blind. The small blind sits between the button and the big blind and is the first player to act after the flop. Also known as the Little Blind.
Smart Betting	A GGPoker exclusive feature designed to enhance betting sizing for mobile users. It suggests bet size options based on the player’s personal betting patterns.
Smart HUD	GGPoker’s built-in, exclusive alternative to third-party HUDs. It displays real-time stats on opponents, such as VPIP and PFR, based on the current session, helping you read their playing style at the table.
Smooth Call	See Flat Call
Snap Call	An immediate call made without hesitation, signaling that the decision is straightforward, typically either a very strong hand or a spot where pot odds make calling clearly correct.
SnapCam	A GGPoker exclusive feature. Use your camera to express yourself to your tablemates by recording a 15-second clip, sharing your excitement of winning a big pot or disappointment at missing all of your outs.
SnG	See Sit & Go
Snowmen	Slang term for pocket 8’s. Named for the resemblance of an 8 to a snowman.
Soft Play	Intentionally going easy on another player, checking instead of betting, or not raising when you should. Soft play between associates is considered a form of collusion and is prohibited in most card rooms.
Solver	Software that computes game-theory optimal (GTO) strategies for a given poker situation. Solvers are a standard tool for studying and reviewing hands away from the table. Using one during play is considered cheating and is banned by GGPoker and virtually every major operator, with penalties including permanent account bans and confiscation of funds
Speed Limit	A starting hand consisting of a pair of 5’s. This stems from the common speed limit in the United States, which is 55 mph.
Spin & Gold	A GGPoker exclusive format based upon the Spin & Go tournament format. After selecting a number of options, players spin a wheel to determine the prize pool multiplier, the speed of the game and the starting stacks. More details are available in the GGPoker games section.
Splash the Pot	To recklessly toss one’s chips into the pot during a bet. This is considered bad etiquette, as it makes for a messy pot and makes it challenging for the dealer to assess the size of the bet.
Split	See Split Pot.
Split Pot	When two or more players tie for the best hand at showdown, the pot is divided equally between them. In Hi-Lo variants, the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand.
Split Two Pair	Two pair where one card of each pair comes from your hole cards and the other from the board. For example, holding 8-6 on an 8-6-K board gives you a split two pair.
SPR	See Stack-to-Pot Ratio.
Spread Limit	A betting structure with a set minimum and maximum bet size that applies to every betting round in a hand. Players can bet or raise any amount within that range, though a raise must be at least as large as the previous bet or raise. Less common than fixed limit or no-limit formats.
Squeeze	1) To slowly reveal one’s cards, whether physically at a live table or digitally via GGPoker’s Card Squeeze feature, which also allows squeezing board cards in some all-in showdown situations. 2) Shortened term for Squeeze Play.
Squeeze Play	A pre-flop bluff, where one raises after there has been an earlier raise and one or more calls.
Stack	The total chips a player has in front of them at a given moment. Also used as a verb, ‘I stacked him’ means you won all of his chips in a single hand.
Stack-to-Pot Ratio	The ratio of a player’s effective stack size to the current pot, calculated at the start of a betting street. An SPR of 1 means the remaining stack equals the pot; an SPR of 10 means there’s ten times the pot left to play. Low SPR generally favors strong made hands and simplifies commitment decisions, while high SPR favors drawing hands and allows for more complex multi-street play. Exact thresholds vary, but SPR under 4 is commonly considered low, and above 10 is considered high.
Stakes	The blind levels or buy-in amounts that define a game’s scale. For example, a $1/$2 game has a $1 small blind and $2 big blind.
Staking	An arrangement where one person, the backer, provides some or all of the buy-in for another player, the horse, in exchange for a share of any winnings. Common at higher stakes, where the cost of entry makes having a backer practical. GGPoker offers a built-in staking feature, letting players buy and sell action directly in the client, and requires all backing arrangements to be declared through its Designated Backer system.
Staking Platform	GGPoker’s built-in feature for buying a piece of another player’s action or selling a share of your own, directly within the client.
Starting Hand	A player’s hole cards or initial draw.
Steal	To raise preflop, typically from a late position, and win the pot uncontested when everyone folds. Also called stealing the blinds.
Steam	A synonym for tilt, sometimes used specifically for the aggressive, loose-betting form of it. The player is letting bad results push them toward reckless decisions.
Steel Wheel	An Ace-to-Five straight flush, the lowest possible straight flush. In Hi-Lo games it’s simultaneously the best low hand and a strong high hand.
Straddle	A voluntary bet, usually twice the size of the big blind, posted by the player to the left of the big blind before looking at their hole cards. Straddling allows that player to act last preflop.
Straight	Five cards in sequential rank, regardless of suit. Example: 3-4-5-6-7.
Straight Flush	A five-card hand consisting of cards in sequence and all of the same suit. The second-best hand in most forms of poker.
Stop and Go	A pre-flop call by an out-of-position player, followed by a bet on the flop. The idea is to take the initiative on the flop rather than let the in-position player continuation-bet unchallenged.
Street	A dealt card or betting round. For example, the Turn is also known as Fourth Street and the River is also known as Fifth Street.
String Bet	A string bet occurs when a player fails to place a bet in one swift motion, and reaches for chips multiple times. This action isn’t permitted and can be seen as a form of angle shooting. It is perpetuated by media to dramatize scenes in poker movies (“I see your $100… and I raise a thousand.”), leading many beginner players to unwittingly perform string bets in their first live games.
Strip Poker	A variation of poker in which participants use clothing in place of currency.
Structure	The schedule of blind levels and their increases throughout a poker tournament, determining how quickly the game speeds up.
Stub	The remaining cards that have not been dealt in a hand, usually placed face-down on the table.
Stuck	The amount that a player has lost in a given session or over a specific period of time.
Stud	A type of poker game in which players are dealt a mix of face-up and face-down cards over several betting rounds, without any option to discard or exchange cards.
Suck Out	To win a hand as the clear underdog by catching a needed card on a later street, beating an opponent who had the best hand for most of the way. Variance guarantees this happens to everyone at a regular enough pace. The opposite of a Bad Beat.
Suicide King	A nickname for the King of Hearts. Named as such due to the appearance of the King’s own sword going through his head.
Suit	One of the four categories a playing card belongs to, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, or Spades, based on the symbol printed on it.
Suited	Having hole cards of the same suit.
Suited Connectors	Hole cards that are the same suit and sequential in rank, such as 8-9 of hearts.
Suited Gappers	Cards of the same suit that have a missing rank in between each card. For example, Js-9s and 7h-5h are suited gappers.

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About the Author: Shawn Altbaum has been writing and editing in the online gaming industry since 2007, reporting live from the WSOP Main Event and conducting interviews with professional players. An active poker player, he combines industry expertise with firsthand knowledge of the games he covers. He currently serves as Global Head of Copywriting at NSUS Group, overseeing brand voice and content strategy across GGPoker.