Watching a poker tournament on television is almost like watching a sport being broadcast in another language. It is filled with terms and lingo that people who aren’t pro poker players don’t know. Here are a few commonly used terms and their meanings to help you understand.

The term “donkey” means a bad player. It is a player that repeatedly makes bad moves, or amateur ones. If you are at the table being called a donkey, it might be wise to change your strategy, or find another table with less experienced players. Players also use the term, if they are going to get drunk and play badly, calling themselves the donkey player. Donkey players are also called fish, or pigeon players.

The term “kicker” is the card that is used to break a tie. If two players each have a pair of tens, then the highest unpaired card is the deciding factor and called the kicker. One player has the pair of tens and a king, and the other player has a pair of tens and a seven. The person with the king would win.

The term “paint” refers to the cards that are face cards. The king, queen, and jack of any suit are called paint cards. Paint cards are also known as court cards.

The “rake” is the fee charged by the house to play poker. Usually games at home don’t have a rake fee, but sometimes this amount is used to offset the cost of snacks in a poker home game. Casino rakes are usually a fee based on a percentage of the total amount won.

“On tilt” is the term that means a player is letting emotions rule how they play. This is common after a player looses a few hands, but can also be done when they win too many in a row, getting overly confident. Other players will refer to the on tilt player as “going on tilt.”

“Tight” and “loose” are terms that refer to a players style of play. A tight player plays very few hands, only choosing to play when they are all but certain of winning. A loose player is the opposite. They play every hand or almost every hand whether or not they have a good chance of winning or not. Both styles of play have advantages and disadvantages. Tight players are also called rock players.

A “string bet” is a term used either for cheating, or for changing your mind at the poker table. Saying you call, and raise for example is not allowed. Old western movies that say I call your bet and I raise you a thousand dollars, is a string bet. Saying I raise you twenty, no wait I mean fifty is another example of a string bet. Making string bets in a casino is a good way to get thrown out.

There is a poker term for almost every move, but these few terms should get an amateur player understanding what is going on, on the screen or in the casino a little better. There are hundreds more poker terms, but its like learning another language, the more you use it, the more natural it will become.