Sandbag

To check a good hand with the intent of raising later.

To Sandbag is a strategic move.

Sandbagging

One who sandbags and is often met with disapproval of others.

“Jon was driving me crazy. He wouldn't stop Sandbagging .”

Satellite

A mini tournament to gain entry into a larger tournament.

“To play in the city tournament, I had to play in a Satellite .”

Scare Card

  A card that could turn a player's best hand into trash.

“The turn card was a Scare Card that turned my hand to absolute garbage.”

Scoop

To win the entire pot.

“Mike Scooped the pot.”

Second Pair

A pair with the second highest card on the flop.

Making a Second Pair can't always guarantee a win.

Sell

In a spread-limit game, to bet less than the maximum when one has a very strong hand, hoping players will call whereas they would not have called a maximum bet.

“I tried to Sell , in order to increase the pot size.”

Semi-Bluff

To bet with a mediocre hand.

“Her Semi-Bluff was a success!”

Set

To have a pocket pair that matches the one of the cards on the board.

A set is a strong holding that you should want to raise with.

Seventh Street

The final round of betting in Seven Card Stud and Stud 8 or Better.

When Seventh Street rolls around, you should have a fairly large pot.

Shootout

A tournament with no rebuys. As in, when you lose all your chips, you're out.

A Shootout is an opportunity to make BIG MONEY!

Short Stack

To have very few chips in relation to the other players at the table.

"Deke was worried that he might have to leave the game, as he had a Short Stack. ”

Show Cards

The exposed cards in a game of Stud.

Show Cards are the table cards.

Showdown

When all active players turn their cards face-up to see who has won the pot. This happens at the end of the final betting round.

Showdown !!! Things get intense around this time.

Side Bet

A bet made outside the pot.

“Dan made a Side Bet .” 

Side Pot

When one player is all-in but other players are still sitting with chips, any additional bets made by those other players will be placed in a side pot, which will be contested between those players only.

Rob bet his last $100 chips, Sally raised to $250, and Joe called the $250. Sally and Joe now had a $300 side pot going.

Sitting Out

When a player chooses to leave the poker table for a few hands.

“I decided to Sit Out for a few hands, as I had been on a losing streak.”

Sixth Street

In Seven-card Stud, this is the fourth face-up card dealt to the player. It is also the fourth round of betting.

“At Sixth Street , I decided to raise.”

Slow Play

To play a good hand slowly to keep more players in the pot.

“This is going to be a large pot – Andy was Slow Playing his great hand to try for a big win.”

Small Blind

The amount put in the pot by the player to the immediate left of the dealer prior to the cards being dealt.

One player must post a Small Blind .

Smooth Call

To call. To make a smooth call implies that a player is playing a good hand.

“Oh baby, that Smooth Call I made earned me some serious coin.”

Snow Job

When a player bluffs successfully.

“Nice Snow Job!”

Solid

An excellent poker player.

“Alexis is a Solid player.” 

Splash the Pot

To toss the chips into the pot as opposed to placing them into the pot.

My opponent Splashed the Pot. The dealer did not like that… uh oh!

Split Pot

A pot that is shared by two players because they share equivalent hands.

“Even though it was a Split Pot, Mike and Adam made some sweet coin.”

Spread Limit

A particular betting structure where a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round.

Rick had to choose between betting $5 and betting $15 because it was a spread limit game.

Steam

Playing wildly; calling and betting frequently. 

"Steam filled the room.”

Straight

Five consecutive cards of any suit.

“Mac's Straight brought him home a big win!”

Straight Flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

A Straight Flush is an excellent hand.

Streak

A run of winning or losing streaks.

“I hope this winning Streak never ends.”

Street

Cards dealt on a particular round in stud games.

“What Street are we on?”

Stop and Go

To call, rather than re-raise, but bet on the next card.

“Alexis made a Stop and Go .”

Straddle

A blind bet that is usually double the size of the Big Blind.

“The game last night has so much action, there was always a straddle on.”

Strategic Bluff

A bluff made with a long term goal in mind.

Usually, it's just advanced players that make Strategic Bluffs.

Stuck

To lose in a game.

“James was pretty much Stuck on that hand.”

Structured

The limits put on the blinds/ante, bets, and raises in any game.

A Structured game is sometimes not as profitable as an unstructured game.

Suit

A characteristic of a playing card (heart, diamond, club, spade)

Hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades – they're all Suits .