Terminology

Here’s a list of poker terms and abbreviations that I use frequently on this blog.

NLHE No-Limit Hold ’em A wildly popular 7-card stud variant where each player is dealt two cards (“hole” cards) shares 5 community cards that are dealt face-up in the center of the table. There are 4 betting rounds: Pre-flop (when everyone has two hole cards, but no community cards have been dealt), Post-flop (after the first 3 community cards have been dealt), on the Turn (the 4th community card has been dealt), and on the River (the 5th and final community card is out).

UTG Under the gun The first player to act on any round of betting is “under the gun” or UTG. It is generally considered a disadvantage to play cards from this position.

LAG Loose Aggressive A player is considered Loose Aggressive if they play a lot of hands and make a lot of raises. This playing style is powerful since it makes it difficult for your opponents to guess what cards you’re playing and requires them to pay to find out. It can be highly volatile, however, often resulting in large losses as well as large wins.

TAG Tight Aggressive A Tight Aggressive player is one who players a smaller range of starting hands but plays them aggressively (i.e., bets strongly).