07/10/07 How This Poker Blog Works
Hello to all, and welcome to my poker blog. This is the place where you can follow my less than glamorous poker career, as I work my way up from the lowest online stakes to the Big Game (hopefully). This particular blog is best suited for fellow low-stakes players who love the game but are not wealthy enough to buy-in for the big bucks. On these pages you will find some good poker-related stories, analysis, and the breakdown of hands and situations.

Some of you may not be familiar with how this type of blog works, so I will introduce you to the colloquial slang that I will use in the following posts.

T, J, Q, K, A- These letters stand for the following cards: Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Cards lower than ten will be represented by their numerical value.

NL- Stands for “No Limit,” a variety of poker where there are no limits to how much a player can bet at any given time.

PL- Stands for “Pot Limit,” a type of game where the player’s maximum bet can only be the size of the pot.

L- Stands for “Limit,” a poker game where the bets are predetermined on any given street.

s- Following a pair of cards, it signifies that the cards are of the same suit (i.e. spades, hearts, clubs, or diamonds).

o- Indicates that the cards preceding it were off-suit.

SB- The small blind, one position to the left of the dealer.

BB- The big blind, two spots to the left of the dealer. The big blind also represents the minimum bet any player can make.

The Button- The dealer position.

The Cuttoff- One seat to the right of the dealer.

Under The Gun- Also signified as “UTG,” This is the first player to act before the flop, and acts only after the blinds postflop. UTG is located 3 seats left of the dealer.

EP, MP, LP- Early, Middle, and Late Position. These abbreviations signify where a given player is acting in relation to the dealer. Players in early position are usually within three seats to the left of the dealer, and late position is within the last three seats to the right of the dealer. Middle position is somewhere in between.

Insta-call- To call a player’s bet immediately, without any hesitation.

Tank- To think for an extended period of time before making a decision.

Minraise- To raise a bet the very smallest amount, usually double the bet in Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit games.

Rolled Up- In stud games, to have three cards of the same value to start a hand. Ex: A player is dealt the 7 of spades and the 7 of hearts down, and the 7 of clubs up.

Monster- Used to describe a big hand, a big draw, or a big pot.

Push- In a No Limit game, to put all of your chips in the pot. Also known as “all-in.”

Muck- To throw your hand away without revealing your cards.

Over pair- Two cards of the same value that are higher than any community card on the board. Ex: KK would be an over pair on a board of J 4 5 Q 2.

Rags- Cards that obviously aren’t the best hand.

Hero Call- A call of a bet when it may seem to other players that you don’t have the best hand. A Hero Call is usually a call intended to pick off a player overplaying a weak hand or a complete bluff.

I think that covers about everything. If there is a term I use in my blog that you are unfamiliar with, e-mail me at Thegerk@arabianmonkey.com and I will promptly respond and identify it for you.

Happy reading, I hope you enjoy what I have to say.

P.S. You can follow my progress by looking me up online. I play primarily on Pokerstars.com under the username $pade Flush. I will also sometimes play on UltimateBet.com under the name TheLibrarian1. I used to play on Party Poker, but don’t anymore. My username on that site was TheGerk.