I have been told by several people that they are unfamiliar with the vernacular and shorthand I use in describing certain poker and math concepts. I hope this page explains a lot of what I have written and I will update it frequently.
Texas Hold’em is a game of poker where the best 5 card hand wins according to the poker hand rankings found here. Everyone receives two cards and there is a round of betting. Then 3 cards are dealt in the middle of the table for everyone to use, called the flop, and there is another round of betting. Another card is dealt, the turn, and there is another round of betting. Finally, one final card is dealt, known as the river, and there is another round of betting.
No limit Texas Hold’em means that you can bet any amount that you have on the table at any time. You cannot bet more than that, but you can bet any amount you wish. If someone has less than the amount you bet, the amount that you bet is reduced to the amount that they have(a term called “effective stacks.”) What this means is that if I have $1000 on the table and you have $50, the most you can win is $50 and the most I can lose is $50.
The shorthand used to describe the cards is A for ace, k for king, q for queen, j for jack, T for ten, down to 2. D is for diamonds, h for hearts, c for clubs and s for spades. So a flop of AhQs4c refers to the ace of heart, queen of spades and the 4 of clubs. An “s” after a hand that is dealt to an individual person(known as the preflop starting hand) means that it is suited and an “o” after means that it is not suited. So, AKs means that someone is dealt an ace and a king of the same suit. Sometimes the description will be more specific as in AhKh or AsKc, but the “o” or “s” is generally used when the suit is not important to the hand.
Variance refers to variation in results. Because of the luck involved in poker, some once all the cards have been dealt, some situational, there is a lot of fluctuations in results. It is good for the game, as it lets bad players win frequently, but it can often be difficult for winning players to deal with prolonged losing streaks.
Tilt means that players let their emotions take over and they play less than their best. It is often caused by bad luck, aka variance.
