Texas Holdem Dictionary of Terms: F

Face Card- A jack, Queen or King card of any suit.

Fade- Fade or fade outs is a poker term to describe when a player has to avoid many outs in order to win a poker hand.

Family Pot- A family pot is one in which many or all of the players are involved in the hand of poker therefore contributing to the pot.

Fast- Playing fast is poker slang for playing a particular hand of poker very aggressively, quite the opposite of slow play.

FFS- Is the acronym used around poker tables to avoid abusive language standing for “FOR F**** SAKE. Words that we have all mutter after a bad beat at the poker table.

Fill Up- A slang term used to describe when a player holding two pair before a card hits the poker table giving the player a full house.

Fish- Fish is the term giving to new or inexperienced players.

Float- Floating is when a poker player calls a bet with no hand in an attempt to bluff his way to winning the hand.

Floorman- Floorman is a card room employee responsible for managing the tables and enforcing the game rules.

Flop- The flop is the first three community cards to be laid down on the table.

Flop a Set- To flop a set is to make 3 of kind when the first three community cards are laid down.

Flush- A flush is a hand made up of 5 cards, all of the same suit. A great hand.

Fold Equity- Fold equity comes into to play when there is a short stack in a game. It is based on the probability that an opponent will fold if a player moves all in.

Forced Bet- Forced bets are the blinds and antes that players must contribute in order to continue playing the game.

Four of a Kind- A golden hand referring to when a player has hold all four cards of the same value. Eg 4,4,4,4.

Four to a Straight- Four to a flush refers to when a player has four connected cards requiring one more card to make a straight.

FPP- Referring to frequent player points which are awarded to players on Pokerstars for amount of time played or rake deposited.

Free Card- A free card is one that gets seen by all those players in the hand after everyone has checked and no betting has occurred.

Freeroll- Freeroll refers to a poker tournament that is free to enter requiring no stake.

Full Barn- Slang for the hand Full House.

Full House- A full house is one of the best hands in poker made up of one pair and a three of a kind.

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Posted in: Cards,Hobbies,Online Gambling,Online Poker,Poker Dictionary,Poker Glossary,Poker Terms,Texas Holdem

Maiden Voyage to a Live Poker Event.

The first time you ever play poker at a live event a card room or casino can be a pretty intimidating place and the last thing you want to do is give off the scent of being a newbie as the poker sharks are bound to circle sensing an easy meal. Here are a few hints and tips to make your first experience all the more enjoyable.

 

The Brush:
The “brush” is the nickname given to the employee responsible for managing the seating list of the poker tables within a card room or casino. You can usually find them towards the front of the poker room next to the board of available games. The brush is the person to ask should you have any lingering questions that you need answered before being seated at a table. Unless your father is Donald Trump ask for a seat at one of the lower limit tables which is usually $1/$2 blinds so that you can gain your confidence and become comfortable with the flow of the game before you decide to make your bid for the poker millions. Learn to walk before you can run!

Starting Out:
You are going to need to buy your chips before you can take your seat at the table and this is done at the cage where you will find a cashier happy to help you out. The maximum buy-in for a no-limit cash game is usually 100 big blinds as a guide for when you make your purchase. A tip is always remember to lay your money down at the cage as the cashier will not take the money from you as all transactions need to be logged by the security cameras.

Finally you are ready to take your seat at the poker table, remember to organize your chips don’t leave them in the rack it’s not allowed and you will be advertising you’re a card room virgin. Now you are ready to play so decide if you want to post and join the game straight away or wait for the blinds to come round so you can watch a little action before you enter the battle. 

 

Betting Etiquette:
Chances are this is the first time that you will have handled real chips and made an actual bet instead of using your mouse and relying on the computer to do it for you. There is no need to rush and be cautious as how you handle your chips and bets will give your competitors the biggest indication that you are not quite the live poker veteran. Most card rooms and casinos will have their own rules regarding what constitutes a bet but if you follow these 3 rules you shouldn’t have a problem no matter where you play poker.

1)    Placing chips past the betting line.
The betting line is clearly marked circling the interior of the poker table where the pot and community cards are placed. Any chips that are placed past the betting line and released are acknowledged as a bet.

2)    Placing chips past your cards.
This rule is often in place when the poker table does not have a clear betting line. Any chips that are moved forward of your cards are once again identified as a bet, however if you are unsure then don’t be afraid to ask the dealer as rules can vary.

3)    Verbal declaration.
In poker all verbal declarations are binding so to avoid confusion and making mistakes announce your bets before moving your chips into play. Calls are straight forward, however to raise make sure you are clear as to the size of your total bet.

Betting Rules:
Each card room or casino will have its own set of rules clearly stated covering etiquette and betting procedures, it is best to familiarize yourself with the rules prior to playing so once again you don’t advertise that you are a new player. As a rule though all raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise. To give an example if the previous player makes a bet of $30, then the minimum raise would be $30 making your total bet $60.

Finally protect your cards and chips at all times so there can be no confusion or disagreements and if you are planning a long stint at the tables then it is useful to find out if mobile phones and other electronic items such as MP3 players are allowed before you start upsetting the other players.
So have fun as live poker is truly a completely different type of game from the world of online poker and most of all, good luck! Even better tell us how you got on and if you have any other tips to contribute.

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Posted in: Card Rooms,Cards,Casino,Free Poker,Hobbies,Interests,Money,Poker Etiquette,Poker Rules,Sport,Texas Holdem

Featured Player: Tow Dwan, the Baby Faced Assassin.

 

Born in 1986, Tom started his poker career at the age of 17 with the $50 given to him by his father for his birthday. Learning his trade at the $6 sit and go tournament tables Dwan progressed quickly to playing his preferred game high stakes heads up no-limit holdem poker.

According to HighStakesDB.com, a site responsible for tracking high stakes online poker action Tom earned $312,000 in 2007 before going on a rich vein of form banking winnings of $5,500,000 in 2008.

Nicknamed “Durrr”, Tom’s online poker career gives perhaps no better example of the highs and lows of no-limit heads up poker. Since 2009, Durrr has recoded some of the largest online wins reported earning $1,600,000 in as little as a couple of hours. In contrast he was on the wrong end of the largest winning run in history of online poker losing $5,000,000 to a Swedish player by the name of Isildur1. By the end of 2010 the ups and downs worked out in Toms favour allowing leaving him with a further $3,300,000.

While Durrr has numerous cash finishes in various tournaments from around the world he has yet to win one, he does however hold the current world record for the largest pot won in a live recorded game, a mere $1,100,000.

Tom is a Full Tilt Poker pro and while he is now a regular on the live poker circuit, his first passion online poker remains the place where he spends most of his time and earns the majority of his bounty.

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Posted in: Cards,Hobbies,Online Gambling,Online Poker,Poker Professionals,Texas Holdem,Tom Dwan

Featured Player: Eric Seidel, the poker machine.

If ever there were to be a person to be labeled a professional gambler then it would be Eric Seidel. Born in New York Eric began with tournament backgammon before moving on to what some people would call the biggest gamble of all the stock market. After trading in stocks and bonds Eric finally found poker or perhaps poker found him. 1988 saw Eric enter his first World Series of Poker main event where he finished runner up to Jonny Chan, not bad for a relative poker virgin! Since then Eric has never looked back and has gone on to claim 8 World Series of Poker bracelets, 1 World Poker Tour title as well as 60 cash finishes in some of the biggest poker tournaments around the world.

Earning himself the nickname ‘sly’ Eric’s checks and raises have catapulted him to number one in the all-time tournament career earning list with a fortune of $16,000,000, a that figure is only destined to increase as this poker machine continues to claim more titles and dollars with them.

He was one of the group of now famous players from the Mayfair Club, including Stu Ungar, Jay Heimowitz, Mickey Appleman, Howard Lederer, Jason Lester, Steve Zolotow, Paul Magriel and Dan Harrington. Eric and Howard Lederer both went on to be part of the design team that developed the highly successful poker site, Full Tilt Poker.  

Now a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, Eric’s name within the game of poker is assured and he can concentrate on what he does best, making the right calls and adding more titles to his already impressive collection.

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Posted in: Eric Seidel,Gambling,Gaming,Hobbies,Online Poker,Poker Players,Texas Holdem