Poker Acronyms
AO - Add-on - in a MTT at the first break sometimes you are allowed to add on another set of chips to your existing stack
BB - Big Blind - The seat two to the left of the dealer, the second person to receive a card and must post a forced bet that is twice the small blind before even receiving a card
EP - Early Position - The worst position at the table, starting hand selection should be the tightest here.
EV - Expected Value - Used as a negative or a positive value to express whether a certain move or game is more likely to allow the player to win or lose. Calling and all-in pre-flop with AA is a +EV move, since you are going to win the majority of the time.
FL - Fixed Limit - when the bet size is fixed to a certain amount
HE - Hold'em - limit Texas Hold'em
HH - Hand History - A stored record of a played hand, usually stored on the hard drive. Can be reviewed later to analyze game play.
HORSE - a mixed game that switches between:
Hold'em
Omaha hi/lo
Razz
7 Card Stud
7 Card Stud 8 or better (hi/lo)
Games change every orbit, or after a fixed amount of time. Typically all games are limit, but pot limit versions do exist.
HUD - Heads Up Display - A heads up display is the set of measured numbers that is put as an overlay on a poker table, showing a players VPIP, PFR, and various other statistics that can help a player 'read' another player's playing style to play against them. Popular HUDs include Gametime+ and PokerAce.
ITM - In The Money - Either an expression used to say that you have burst 'the bubble' and will receive some money in a tournament, or a percentage used to help measure how successful a player is at tournaments, either STTs or MTTs. To calculate it divide the number of tournaments in which you have won money over the total number of tournaments that you have played.
LAG - Loose Aggressive - used to describe a style of play where a player sees a lot of flops and makes a lot of raises
LHE - Limit Hold'em - see HE
LP - Late Position - The seats closest to the button. They have better position on the table because they are closer to the last to act.
MP - Middle Position - In between the BB and the button, but not really close to either. The are early to act pre-flop but this is not a good position so starting hand selection should be tighter.
MTT - Multi Table Tournament - A tournament that starts at a set time, and usually does not have a restriction on the number of entrants. Players buy in for a fixed amount of money and receive a set number of tournament chips, typically 1,000-2,500. Due to the large fields of players, there is usually a 5 minute break taken every 1 hour.
NL - No Limit - when there is no fixed or maximum bet size
NLHE - No Limit Hold'em - no limit Texas Hold'em
O8B - Omaha 8 or Better - Limit Omaha where the betting size is fixed and if a player has a low hand (5 cards 8 or lower with no pairs) they can win half the pot
PFR - Pre-Flop Raise - A statistic calculated by dividing the number of hands a player raises before the flop over the total number of stored hands for that player. This gives you an idea of how aggressive the player is. A weak/tight player raises less than 5% of the time, the average is 5-15%, and anything more than 15% is a very aggressive player.
PL - Pot Limit - when the maximum bet size is the current size of the pot (including all bets)
PLO - Pot Limit Omaha - Omaha where the maximum bet is the current size of the pot
PLO8B - Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better - Omaha where the maximum bet is the current size of the pot and if a player has a low hand (5 cards 8 or lower with no pairs) they can win half the pot
PP - Pocket Pair - two hole cards that are the same, i.e. two 9s
PT - Poker Tracker - A very good poker tool used to store and analyze hand histories as well as track and calculate vital poker statics. Used with a HUD, a PT database can be used to capture and display information on your opponents as well as yourself.
RB - Rebuy - In a MTT, sometimes you can rebuy if you bust out and get another set of chips
ROI - Return On Investment - A percentage that is calculated to determine how much money you are making as a percentage of total expenses. For example, if you play 100 tournaments at $10 each and win a total of $1,200, you would have made $200 on $1,000 of entry fees, for an ROI of 200/1000 or 20%.
SB - Small Blind - The seat to the left of the dealer, the first person to receive a card and must post a forced bet before even receiving a card.
SNG - Sit'n'Go Tournament - See Single Table Tournament (STT)
STT - Single Table Tournament - aka Sit'n'Go (SNG) this is a mini-tournament where each player buys in for a fixed dollar amount (i.e. $10 + $1 fee) and receives a set number of chips, typically 1,000-2,500. Blinds start low and go up over time, as in a normal tournament. There are fixed number of entries allowed, and the tournament starts once all seats are filled. Normally STTs are 9-10 players, but larger STTs exist up to the popular 180 man STTs on PokerStars.
TAG - Tight Aggressive - used to describe a style of play where a player does not see very many flops and raises aggressively only with premium hards
TPGK - Top Pair Good Kicker - when your hole cards match the highest card on the board and you have a high kicker
TPTK - Top Pair Top Kicker - when your hole cards match the highest card on the board and you have the best possible kicker
UTG - Under the Gun - the first player to act, one seat left of the big blind
VPIP (VP$IP) - Voluntarily Put Money In Pot - a calculated statistic to measure how often a player is paying seeing flops. It is calculated by dividing the number of hands that a player voluntarily put money in the pot by the number of hands that player has been dealt. This calculates a % that help give you an idea of how tight or loose a player is. Someone with a high VPIP is seeing a lot of flops and is probably playing loosely. It takes quite a large number of hands before statistics like this become significant. Typically < 20% is very tight, 20-35% is average, and anything over 35% is loose.
