Basic Terms:
Hand: A player’s hand is the combination of cards he holds.Play: A single game, from one shuffle to the next is called a play.
Pot: The pot is the accumulated pool of money bet by players over the course of a game. A round of poker is a battle for the pot, and the winner of any round wins it as a prize.
Hand Tie or Split Pot: If two players have the same hand then they divide the pot equally between them. When the pool is not exactly divisible then the left over amount goes to the player who called the highest bet.
Ante: An enforced bet that must be made by all players before any cards are dealt. An ante encourages action in a game.
Rake: A commission charged by a poker room for every hand played. The rake is usually taken as a percentage of the pot in a given hand. For example, if the rake is 10%, and a pot reaches a final of $10, the rake will be $1. Poker rooms generally use rake as their sole source of revenue.
Showdown: After the last round of betting in a round of poker, a showdown occurs- players must turn over their cards, and compare their five-card poker hands.
