E

(n) Seven-card stud 8-or-better, when part of a designation like H.O.R.S.E. or H.O.S.E.

(v) 1. To bend the corner of a card so it can be recognized from the back by a cheater. — (n) 2. A corner so bent.

(n phrase) The ace of diamonds, the card of lowest value in the Irish game maw. (Also known as spoil five, it is a trick-taking game.) Supposedly the Earl of Cork (Boyle family) was the poorest nobleman in Ireland, but this is only supposition (because he’s not and never was).

(n phrase) In online poker, an option to select an action (such as fold or raise) before it is one’s turn to play. Also, preselect button.

(n phrase) The first bet in a stud game, often set artificially low, that is, lower than the normal betting limits for the game, and often a forced bet, one made by, for example, in seven-card stud, the lowest face-up card showing. In a $2-$4 game, the lowest face-up card on the first round (at the point that two face-down cards and one face-up card have been dealt) might be required to make a 50-cent early bet. Sometimes called bring-in bet. Also see end bet.

(n phrase) 1. In a cardroom, being permitted to have one’s last break from work at the end of the shift, thus allowing the employee (usually a dealer) to leave early. If breaks are 20 minutes, having early out permits the dealer to get off 20 minutes before the shift is over, that is, before the other dealers are done. Often called E.O. 2. Leaving a shift early because there is not enough business to support all the dealers. The shift boss may say, “Who wants early out?” A dealer who wants to go play (cards) may volunteer.

(n phrase) In a poker game, the first few positions to the left of the dealer, or to the left of the obligatory blinds. Compare with late position. Some claim early position, in a game with eight or more players, is the first three positions.

(n phrase) Play in a manner such that when one bets or raises, opponents give one credit for holding a strong hand as opposed to having a weak hand, such as might be held by a bluffer or overly aggressive loose player.

(n phrase) A series of tournaments that take place on the East Coast of the US. Sometimes rendered as the initialism EPT.

(n phrase) Easy pickings in a poker game; money won from inexperienced players.

(n) 1. The advantage (attributed to skill) a good player has in a poker game. 2. Thievery; usually as part of the phrase take a little edge. In this sense, also advantage. 3. The built-in house percentage in most casino games. For example, in American-style roulette (with its 36 numbered slots plus the two “house numbers” 0 and 00), a bet on any one number would pay correct odds (definition 1) of 37:1 but actually pays 35:1. This difference is known as the house edge, or, simply, edge. 4. Age. — (v) 5. Barely beat another hand. Sometimes, in this sense, edge out.

(n phrase) A cheater who uses border work.

(n phrase) The bet made by the edge (age), often a forced bet.

(n phrase) A player’s expected value over time.

(n phrase) See edge (definition 5).

(n phrase) Border work.

(n phrase) A cheater who uses border work.

(n; imitative) Yoleven.

(n; imitative) Yoleven.

(n phrase) Implied odds.

(n) 1. The card whose rank is 8, of which a standard deck contains four, one each in the spades (♠), hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), and clubs (♣) suit. 2. A low hand topped by an 8, that is, whose high card among five unpaired cards is an 8. “I’ve got an 8 for low” might be heard in any high-low split game. In an ace-to-five lowball game, you might hear the following exchange: “I’ve got an 8.” “No good; I’ve got a 7.”

(n phrase) 1. The requirement in high-low split games that the low half of the pot be awarded only to a hand that is 8-high or lower. This is known as a qualifier. 2. A game having this requirement.

(n phrase) A full house consisting of three 8s and a pair.

(v phrase) Eight-to-go. One of those supposedly cute rhyming phrases poker players love.

(n phrase) 1. 8s up. 2. 8s full.

(n phrase) Two pair, the higher of which are 8s.

(n, adj, adv phrase) Describing a (usually) no-limit game whose minimum bet is $8.

(n, adj, adv phrase) Eight-to-go (rhyming slang).

(n phrase) Eight-way straight.

(n phrase) 1. In the 52-card deck, open-ended straight. 2. In the 53-card deck, the joker plus three to a straight with two “holes,” so that any of eight cards makes it a straight. For example, 3-4-7-joker of mixed suits can be made into a straight by drawing any 5 or 6, of which there are eight altogether.

(v) 1. Bar. “He’s been 86ed from every club in the Bay Area.” — (n) 2. The act of 86ing someone. “He’s been given the 86 from every club in the LA area.” The term comes from bartending slang; while its origins are obscure, it may be rhyming slang for nix.

(adv) Barred.

(n phrase) Age.

(n phrase) Age.

(n) 1. A cheating move during shuffling of cards, in which the dealer offers the pack to be cut, but then restores the deck to its original sequence. 2. A form of widow game found only in home games, in which each player is dealt five downcards, as in draw, followed by a betting round, and then seven cards are arranged in two columns of three, with each turned face up one at a time, plus one card between the two columns (the elevator), turned up last, which can move up or down such that a player can use three across from either column, or either of the three diagonals formed when the elevator is in the middle. Each card exposed is followed by another betting round. Each player makes the best hand possible by using any combination from his five and up to three from the widow in the manner described. Some play that each player may use only two cards from his hand and must use three from the widow. 3. The movable widow card described in definition 2. — (v) 4. Perform the move of definition 1. Also called elevator the cut and hop the cut.

(v phrase) See elevator (definition 4).

(adv) In a tournament, having lost all one’s chips and thus being knocked out of play.

(n phrase) A hand with three 10s. The origin of the term is obscure.

(v phrase) Sucker. (Rhyming slang, from “Elmer Tucker.”)

(expression) “I pass.”

(n phrase) In a high-low split game, a hand being played primarily to win the high half of the pot but that also has low potential, albeit not a very good low on its own. For example, in the Omaha 8-or-better starting hand A-A-K-8, the A-8 combination would be considered an emergency low. If the board ended up 2-3-4-K-Q, the three low cards might counterfeit everyone else’s hand and the A-8, forming a low of 8-4-3-2-A, might win the low half of the pot.

(n phrase) Bet or play in such a way as to entice other players into calling or raising, that is, putting more bets into the pot.

(n) 1. The making of a bet in the last round of a pot. “He went all in on the end.” 2. The betting during the final round of betting, as, for example, $2-$4 hold’em with $8 on the end permits a last round at double the stakes. 3. Any share of a poker pot. “I made a seven on the last card and I got the low end of the pot.” 4. A share given by a cheater to an accomplice. 5. When referring to a straight or a draw to a straight, the card that fills the straight at its top or bottom. For example, a 4 or a 9 forms either end of 5-6-7-8. Often part of a phrase like open-ended straight.

(n phrase) The final round of betting, usually coming at the point all the cards have been dealt in a stud game or the last community card has been turned up in a hold’em-type game. Some forms of poker permit a special end bet, as, for example, at a larger limit than in preceding rounds, or with more raises permitted than on earlier rounds. Also see end (definition 2).

(n phrase) Cards whose ends have been shaved by a thief so they can be located by feel during manipulation of the deck. These cards are somewhat shorter than ordinary cards, allowing the thief to find them easily. Compare with belly strippers, side strippers, which are shaved on their sides (long edges). Also seestrippers.

(n phrase) The deck of cards used by the English — and later, North Americans — and probably based on the designs of the French deck. The graphics of the English deck appear often somewhat different in design. The face cards of the English deck probably do not represent anyone in particular.

(n phrase) Any of several poker variations, such as London lowball, or stud poker with a final draw permitted.

(n) Buy in to or participate in a tournament. “I’m going to enter the main event.”

(v phrase) Get involved in a pot by opening or calling.

(n) 1. Entry fee. 2. Buy-in (definition 4) to or participation in a tournament. “I won an entry to the main event.”

(n phrase) The cost, over and above the buy-in (definition 4), to participate in a tournament, usually collected by a cardroom or casino. For example, in a $1,000 + $50 tournament, the buy-in is $1,000 and the entry fee is $50. When you see a description of a tournament in the form of $X + $Y, the part after the plus sign is always the entry fee. Sometimes shortened to entry.

(n phrase) In house-banked casino games, such as Fortune Pai Gow or Texas Shootout, a bonus paid to those players who earlier placed a side bet when any player gets some high-value hand, usually at least four of a kind; so called because the others envy the person who got the good hand.

(n) 1. Early out. 2. A game or tournament format in which two forms of poker are played in rotation, usually either half an hour of each or one round of each. The games are seven-card stud high-low (the e standing for 8-or-better) and Omaha/8. Also see half-and-half game, H.O.E., H.O.R.S.E., H.O.R.S.E.L.,H.O.S.E., R.O.E.

(n, initialism) 1. European Poker Tour. 2. Eastern Poker Tour.

(n) Your expected value in a pot.

(n) 1. Get away cheaply; dodge a bullet. “He had a set when I flopped top two but I managed to escape.” Also, get away from, stay out of trouble. 2. Get even after having been stuck. “I was down 10 dimes, but I escaped.”

(n phrase) Outs.

(n) A BARGE-like convention, Extraordinary Southern California Annual rec.gambling Outing and Tournament

(n) See poker etiquette.

(n) In hold’em, 8-6 as starting cards. Supposedly comes from the saying, “If you play these, you be broke.”

(n) A poor player from Europe. Many snobbish American players consider all European players to be donkeys (see donkey). Like most stereotypes, this is not true.

(n phrase) A series of tournaments that take place in countries of the European Union, culminating with the Grand Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Sometimes rendered as the initialism EPT.

(n) Expected value. Positive EV is sometimes written EV+, and negative EV, EV-.

(n)) Positive expected value

(n) Negative expected value.

(n; imitative) 11 (same as eeyo and yoleven). “How much to get in this pot?” “Evelyn.” (It sounds like 11. Sort of.)

(adv) 1. Neither winning nor losing; often preceded by get. “If I ever get even, I’m never going to play again.” (The rejoinder to this always is, “You were even when you sat down.”) — (adj) 2. Describing odds of approximately 1-to-1. “I had an even shot on the pot.”

(v phrase) 1. A bet in which each of two participants has about an equal chance of winning. “I was even money on the pot.” 2. A bet that pays $1 for every $1 wagered. Both usages have wider application in gambling than poker, but both are commonly heard in poker.

(n) One in a series. Often preceded by a descriptive term, such as the amount of the buy-in or the format of the event, as the $5,000 event or the Omaha event.

(n) An online banking service. In the world of online poker, one that specifically allows players to fund their accounts at online poker sites.

(v) In draw poker, draw cards.

(v phrase) In draw poker, draw cards.

(v phrase) See lights.

(n) 1. The average profit or loss of a particular bet, in the long run. Also called return. Example: In no-limit hold’em with blinds of $5 and $10, the pot contains $400 on the turn, of which you have put in $150. You have been calling all the way with K♦ Q♦. The board reads A♦ 9♦ T♥ 7♥. An opponent goes all in for $200, and the bet is to you. You call and the K♣ comes, and your hand loses to the bettor’s A♥ 9♠. Your having lost this particular pot is immaterial to your expectation on calling the $200 bet. You can figure this out exactly for this situation once you see the other player’s cards. You are getting effective oddshere of 400-to-200, or 2-to-1. You would have won with any diamond or any of the three remaining jacks (the J♦ is one of the already counted diamonds), 12 Of the 44 unseen cards, that is, 12 cards beat the opponent’s two pair, and 32 don’t. Nearly 3/4 of the time (72.72 percent of the time) you lose this bet, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call the bet. In every 100 times that this situation comes up, 72.72 times you lose your $200 call; that comes to $14545.45. In every 100 times, 27.27 times you win $600; that comes to $16363.64. Your net profit for the 100 times is $1818.19. Divide that by 100 to find the expectation for each call. That comes to $18.18. Your expectation, then, on the $200 call is $18.18. Had you folded, you would have lost $150. The average difference in this exact situation between folding and calling the raise is a $168.18 positive expectation. The reason we don’t say that your expectation on the play is only $18.18 is that in some situations you expect to lose money overall, but you lose less by calling than by folding and abandoning what you have already put into the pot. In situations that result in a net loss, you have a negative expectation. (The calculations neglected the cards in the hands of the players who folded. If you do not see those cards, you cannot take them into account for the calculation. Sometimes they worsen your expectation; sometimes they improve it.) 2. Average hourly winnings (for a winning player, or losses, for a losing player), calculated by adding up your winnings over a time long enough to eliminate short-term statistical aberrations and dividing that by the number of hours played. For example, in 1,000 hours of play, your meticulously kept books show that you won $17,853; your expectation is $17.85 per hour. If you continue to play in the same games and limits, you can reasonably expect that expectation to continue. Of course, you may have some hours in which you lose hundreds of dollars, and others in which you win that much, but over the long run it should average out. Also see variance.

(n phrase) Expectation (definition 1) expressed as a dollar amount. For example, if your chance of winning a $100 pot is 50 percent, your expected value in that pot is $50. Also, equity. Sometimes shortened to EV.

(n phrase) One who has played a lot of poker, probably for many years. Since experience does not necessarily equate to skill, this term is not synonymous with expert player.

(n phrase) An experienced player whose superior skills give him a winning expectation (definition 2) against most opponents; professional player.

(n phrase) Feeler.

(v) Partially or completely reveal one or more cards to one or more players.

(n phrase) 1. Any card dealt face up, as any of the upcards in a stud game. 2. A card that inadvertently appears face up during the deal in a draw game, or that gets accidentally turned face up. Cardrooms have various rules for dealing with such accidental exposures, such as ruling the card dead (that is, not legally playable), dead at some times but not others, perhaps signaling a misdeal, and so on. For example, in draw poker (high), an exposed card during the initial deal is often not declared dead, but is dead at any time during the draw. In ace-to-five lowball, during the initial deal, sometimes any exposed card 6 or higher is declared dead (and replaced with another card, usually after all the other cards have been dealt out), but any card A through 5 can be kept by the player to whom it is dealt; during the draw, usually any exposed card is deemed dead. In stud and flop games (see flop game), downcards inadvertently exposed by the dealer are usually ruled dead.

(n phrase) In stud games, any open or visible pair, as opposed to a hidden pair; two cards of the same rank in the face-up position in one player’s hand.

(n phrase) Cards that improve a hand in more ways than the self-evident outs. Both terms (outs and extra outs) are usually used with reference to a hand that needs to improve to win the pot (because it is currently beat by some other hand). For example, in seven-card stud, on sixth street you have A♥ K♥ 7♥ 5♥ 4♣ 3♦, while another player has J♦ J♠ Q♣ Q♥ 9♥ 10♦, two pair. You can’t win unless you improve, which you see as making the flush, so you count the remaining hearts as the number of outs you have. Perhaps you didn’t notice that you can also make an inside straight, by catching any 6. This gives you fourextra outs. If you make the flush, your opponent needs to make a full house to win; if you make the straight, he can win with a full house, but he, too, has extra outs, because any 8 or K makes him a higher straight.

(n phrase) A bet or raise that forces a player to call one more bet to continue in a hand. “He managed to get an extra bet in every round.”

(n phrase) See casino stud poker.

(n) In hold’em, a pair of aces, particularly when they constitute a player’s starting cards. May come from snake eyes in dice, one pip on each die. Also called eyes of Texas.

(n phrase) Eyes. Comes from the song of the same name.