Reverse Dictionary: CARDS, POKER

ADJECTIVES
► ARCTIC said of a very poor hand or series of very poor hands → 1996 US sl.
► BACK-DOOR describing an unexpected hand produced by drawing → 1979 US sl.
► JAMMED formed by many bets and raised bets; of the collective bets in a hand of poker → 1996 US sl.
► LIGHT owing chips to a collective bet on a hand → 1967 US sl.
► ONE-EYED used of the king or jack, esp. as wild cards → 1960s US sl.
► SICK without further funds → 1988 US sl.
► UP IN THE AIR formed with help from the communal face-up cards; used of a pair → 1992 US sl.
► UPSTAIRS in the form of a raised bet → 1996 US sl.
► WOODEN in poker: said of a hand that is unplayable → 1951 US sl.

NOUNS
► ABC the ace, two, and three → 1988 US sl.
► ACES a poker hand consisting of a pair of aces → 1987 US sl.
► A-GAME the poker game with the highest stakes → 1949 US sl.
► AGE the ‘eldest hand’ in the game of poker → 1882
► AJAX in hold ’em poker: an ace and a jack as the first two cards dealt to a particular player → 1981 US sl.
► ALL VANILLA a spade-flush → 1948 US sl.
► AMERICAN AIRLINES in hold ’em poker: the ace of diamonds and ace of hearts as the first two cards dealt to a player → 1981 US sl.
► ANTE-UP the game of poker → L19 Aust. sl.
► ARKANSAS FLUSH a worthless hand consisting of four cards of a single suit and one indifferent card → 1950 US sl., jocular usage
► ASBESTOS PANTS used for describing what player on a very good streak of luck needs → 1988 US sl.
► BABY a two, three, four, or fiver → 1979 US sl.
► BARBARA HUTTON in hold ’em poker: a five and ten, as the first two cards dealt to a player → 1981 US sl.
► BAY AND A GRAY a bet involving a red chip (the bay) and white chip (the gray)→ 1951 US sl.
► BEAN in poker: a poker chip → 1900 US sl.
► BIG NIGGER in poker, a game in which the high spade splits the pot → 1979 US sl., offensive
► BIKE a sequence from five down to ace → 1978 US sl.
► BINGLE a poker or gambling chip, usually worth 10 cents or 25 cents → 1975 US sl. (Bk.)
► BLAZE a poker hand which consists of five court cards, and which, when player, beats two pairs → 1889 US
► BLIND a stake put up by a player before seeing his cards → 1872
► BOBTAILED FLUSH ► BOBTAIL FLUSH a worthless three-card flush → 1873 Amer. dial.
► BOBTAILED STRAIGHT ► BOBTAIL STRAIGHT a worthless three-card flush → 1944 Amer. dial.
► BONE a white betting chip in private poker games → 1866 US sl.
► BOUQUET STRAIGHT a sequenced hand comprised of all red or all black suits, but not a flush → 1996 US
► BUG a joker played as an ace or wild card to complete a flush or straight → 1967 US sl.
► BUST a poor hand that fails to make a flush or a straight → 1932 sl.
► BUSTED FLUSH a worthless hand that is not quite a flush → 1927 US sl.
► CHERRY PATCH a poker game being played by a group of poor players, ripe for the taking by a good professional → 1982 US sl.
► CLAM a betting chip in a poker game → 1988 US sl.
► COLD BLUFF a large bet on a poor hand designed to mislead other players → 1980 US sl.
► COLD TURKEY two kings dealt consecutively → 1988 US sl.
► COUNTRY STRAIGHT a poker hand consisting of four sequenced cards which can be converted into a five-card sequence with the correct draw at either end of the sequence → 1978 US sl.
► CYRING CALL a bet equal to the last bet made in a hesitating fashion → 1982 US sl.
► DAILY DOUBLE two consecutive winning hands → 1996 US sl.
► DEAD HAND a poker hand held by a player who has bet all of his chips or money on the hand → 1947 US sl.
► DEAD MAN’S HAND a poker hand of mixed aces and 8s, or jacks and (red) 7s or 8s→ 1888 US sl.
► DEAD MONEY money bet by a player who has withdrawn from a hand → 1992 US sl.
► DISH RAGS poor cards → 1996 US sl.
► DUCK BUCKET a poor hand that wins a pot, esp. a pair of twos → 1996 US sl.
► FAMILY POT 1. a poker hand in which most of the players are still betting at the end of the hand → 1990 US sl.
2. the low card in a five-card sequence → 1990 US sl.
► FANCY BOY a draw in the hope of completing a hand that is extremely unlikely → 1967 US sl.
► FANTASTIC BUY a card drawn to make a strong hand in a heavily bet situation → 1988 US sl.
► FIVEZIES a pair of fives → 1988 US sl.
► FLOP in hold ’em poker: the first three cards dealt face-up in the centre of the table → 1990 US sl.
► FOOD STAMPS a player’s cash reserved for household expenses pressed into action after he has lost his betting money → 1996 US sl.
► FREAK a wild card, which may be played as a card of any value → 1949 US sl.
► FRIEND any card that improves a hand → 1988 US sl.
► GADGET any special rule applied to a game using wild cards → 1967 US sl.
► GARBAGE the cards that have been discarded → 1967 US sl.
► GARDENA MIRACLE a good hand drawn after a poor dealt hand → 1982 US sl.
► GOLD RUSH in hold ’em poker: a hand consisting of a four and a nine → 1996 US sl.
► GUT SHOT a drawn card that completes an inside straight → 1951 US sl.
► GUTSER four cards retained in the hope of making a straight → c1920 Aust. sl.
► HAIL MARY a poor hand that a player holds into high betting in the hope that other players are bluffing and have even worse hands → 1996 US sl.
► HOLE CARD a card dealt face down in stud poker → 1908 US sl.
► HOLY CITY a high-value hand → 1988 US sl.
► HOOK a jack or a seven → 1949 Amer. sl.
► ICE a stacked deck → 1967 US sl.
► IMMORTAL a poker hand that is certain to win; the best possible hand → 1947 US sl.
► IVORY poker chips → a1890 sl.
► J-BIRD a jack or knave → 1951 Amer. sl.
► JUDGE DEAN ► JUDGE DUFFY three tens → 1963 US sl.
► JUICES 1. a pair of twos → 1951 US sl.
2. a very poor hand → 1951 US sl.
► KANGAROO STRAIGHT a poker hand which resembles a straight but has a card or cards missing, hence a worthless hand → 1950s US sl.
► KU KLUX KLAN three kings → 1967 US sl.
► LALAPALOOZA ► LALLAPALOOSA a special hand or game usually employed to deceive an inexperienced player → 1934 Amer. dial.
► LALAPALOOZE a poker hand that entitles the player to special payment from all other players → 1988 US sl.
► LITTLE CAT a poker hand consisting of five cards between three and eight and no pairs among them → 1963 US sl.
► LITTLE DOG a poker hand consisting of five cards between two and seven and no pairs among them → 1963 US sl.
► LOOLOO a special hand or game usually employed to deceive an inexperienced player → 1896 Amer.  dial.
► MEXICAN FLUSH a poor hand as used to bluff other players → 1928 Amer. sl.
► MITES AND LICE a poker hand consisting of a pair of threes and a pair of twos → 1967 US sl.
► MITT a hand of cards → 1896 US sl.
► MONKEY FLUSH three cards of the same suit, unpaired and without value → 1963 US sl.
► MONSTER a great hand or large amount of money bet → 1982 US sl.
► MOOSE a large pot → 1996 US sl.
► MOP-SQUEEZER in poker: the queen of any suit → 1950 sl.
► MOUTH BET a bet made without putting up the funds, binding among friends → 1889 US sl.
► MUCK the pile of discarded cards → 1990 US sl.
► NICKEL-DIME-QUARTER poker played with very small bets → 1968 US sl.
► NITS AND BUGGERS in poker: a hand with a pair of threes and a pair of twos → 1967 US sl.
► NITS AND LICE in poker: a hand with two low-valued pairs → 1967 US sl.
► NOISE POLLUTION in poker: excessive chatter at the table → 1996 US sl.
► NUT FLUSH in poker: a hand with all the cards of the same suit and an ace as the high card → 1973 US sl.
► NUTS in poker: the best possible winning hand at a given moment → 1977 US sl.
► OFFICE HOURS pairs of 9s ad 5s, or a straight from 9 to 5 → 1963 US sl.
► OLLIE, MOLLY, AND DOLLY in poker: three queens → 1948 US sl.
► OUTHOUSE in poker: a full house that is inferior to another full house hand → 1996 US sl.
► PEANUT POKER poker played for very small stakes → 1988 US sl.
► PENNY ANTE a game of poker in which the ante or basic bet is one cent → 1850 Amer.
► Q TIP a queen and a ten → 1996 US sl.
► QUADRUPLETS four cards of the same rank → 1979 US sl.
► QUADS a poker hand with all four cards of the same rank → 1996 US sl.
► QUART four cards of the same suit in sequence → 1979 US sl.
► QUINT five cards of the same suit in sequence → 1979 US sl.
► QUINT MAJOR a sequence of five cards, same suit, ending with the face cards → 1988 US sl.
► QUORUM the agreed-upon minimum number of players to continue a game → 1979 US sl.
► RAG a useless card in the dealt hand or a drawn card that does not improve the hand → 1978 US sl.
► RAINBOW HAND a poker hand with cards of all four suits → 1950 US sl.
► RIVER the final card received by a player → 2003 UK sl.
► SALOON a poker hand consisting of three cards of the same rank and a pair; a ‘full house’ → 1988 US sl.
► SATELLITE a small-stakes poker tournament, the winning of which entitles the player to entry in a higher stakes tournament → 1990 US sl.
► SCARE CARDS in poker: the strongest cards in a player’s hand, exposed to other players accidentally on purpose → 1996 US sl.
► SHORT PAIR a pair of tens or lower → 1963 US sl.
► SHOWDOWN the moment when betting is completed and the players show their hands → 1982 US sl.
► SIDE ARMS the lower value pair in a hand consisting of two pairs → 1988 US sl.
► SIX TITS three queens → 1948 US sl.
► SKEET a nonstandard hand consisting of a 9, a 5, a 2, and one cards between 5 and 9, and one card between two and five → 1963 US sl.
► SNOOZER the joker → 1950 US sl.
► STAYER a poker hand that warrants staying in the game but not raising the bet → 1949 US sl.
► TABLE MANNERS a player’s mannerisms, which may provide clues as to the relative strength of his hand → 1981 US sl.
► TABLE TALK idle chatter that does not rise to the level of intentionally distracting talk → 1979 US sl.
► TAKE-OUT the minimum number of chips that a player can buy from the bank at once → 1967 US sl.
► THIRTY DAYS a poker hand with three tens → 1963 US sl.
► TIGER a poker hand which consists of the lowest possible combination of five cards; these are two, three, four, five, and seven → 1889
► TOPS AND BOTTOMS a poker hand consisting of a pair of aces (the highest card) and a pair of twos (the lowest card)→ 1951 US sl.
► TRAP a deceptive bet → 1979 US sl.
► TRIVET a three-dollar bet → 1996 US sl.
► TROJAN HORSE an unexpectedly strong hand held by another player whose betting has successfully masked its strength → 1996 US sl.
► TWENTY-ONE DAYS IN THE COUNTY JAIL a poker hand consisting of three sevens → 1988 US sl.
► UNION PACIFIC a poker hand consisting of three sixes and a pair → 1988 US sl.
► VITAMIN P the game of poker → 1996 US sl.
► WAITER’S DELIGHT a poker hand consisting of three threes and a pair (‘treys full’)→ 1988 US sl.
► WASHINGTON MONUMENT in poker: a hand with three fives → 1988 US sl.
► WHANDOODLES in poker: a temporary increase in the betting limit after a player wins a hand with a rare hand → 1967 US sl.
► WHITESKIN in poker: any card ranked ten or lower → 1943 US sl.
► WHIZZER in poker: a successful play of an inferior hand, or the person playing it → 1988 US sl.
► WING a winning streak in poker → 1988 US sl.
► WOLF PACK a group of friends who play poker at card-rooms, taking advantage of unskilled strangers → 1996 US sl.
► X-RAY EYES the sense of intuition of poker player who can ascertain the hands held by other players → 1988 US sl.
► YELLOW PAGES in poker: a play or a bet made strictly for the purpose of creating an impression → 1996 US sl.
► ZIPPER a trap play in poker → 1988 US sl.
► ZIRCONIA FLUSH in poker: four diamonds → 1996 US sl.
► ZLOTY in poker: low-stakes betting → 1996 US sl.

NOUNS – PERSON
► AESOP a poker player who tells stories while playing → 1996 US sl.
► ANDY ROONEY a poker player, usually short, who is inclined to complain → 1996 US sl.
► ANGLE SHOOTER a poker player who exploits other players by bending the rules of the game → 1982 US sl.
► ARCHITECT a poker player who bets heavily → 1988 US sl.
► AUTOMATON a poker player who bets and plays in an extremely predictable manner → 1996 US sl.
► BLEEDER a poker player who methodically if undramatically drains money from the game by conservative, steady play → 1988 US sl.
► BOTTOM FEEDER a low-betting poker player who tries to eke out meagre winnings against unskilled players → 1996 US sl.
► BUS DRIVER a poker player who controls the betting → 1996 US sl.
► C the third player to the left of the dealer → 1988 US sl.
► CALCULATOR a poker player skilled at assessing the hands of other players → 1988 US sl.
► CALLING STATION an unskilled poker player who calls bets prematurely → 1979 US sl.
► D the fourth player to the left of the dealer → 1988 US sl.
► DEAN a skilled and experienced poker player → 1979 US sl.
► DILBERT a poker player with a strong grasp of the mathematics and probabilities associated with the game, but  a poor set of playing skills → 1996 US sl.
► DRUMMER a poker player who plays only with good hands or good odds favouring his hand → 1988 US sl.
► E ► EASY the fifth player to the left of the dealer → 1988 US sl.
► F the sixth player to the left of the dealer → 1988 US sl.
► GHOST a poker player who frequently absents himself from the table → 1996 US sl.
► GUNNER the poker player with the best hand or who plays his hand as if it were the best hand → 1951 US sl.
► HENNY PENNY a female poker player in a low-stakes game of poker → 1988 US sl.
► HERMIT a poker player wearing headphones during play → 1996 US sl.
► HIGH HAND the poker player holding the winning hand in poker → 1992 gambling sl. (Bk.)
► HORSE a poker player with a reputation for stinginess → 1988 US sl.
► LAST-CARD LOUIE a stud poker player who stays in a hand until his last card, improbably hoping for the one card that can produce a winning hand → 1951 US sl.
► LUGGER a person who physically transports players to an illegal poker game → 1979 US sl.
► MILKER a poker player who bets only on a very good hand or with very good odds → 1988 US sl.
► MINNOW a poker player who joins a no-stakes game without sufficient funds → 1978 US sl.
► MONKEY a poor poker player → 1988 US sl.
► NUT PLAYER in poker: a player who plays a hand that is excellent as dealt → 1979 US sl.
► QUACK a poker player who complains loudly when losing → 1979 US sl.
► RABBIT a poor poker player → 1967 US sl.
► RADAR CHARLIE a poker player with a strong intuitive sense of other players’ hands → 1988 US sl.
► ROCKS cautious players in casino poker who fold early; ‘rocks’ typically don’t play unless they have a pair of aces or ace and king as their beginning cards → 2006 Amer. casino sl. (Bk.)
► SNORKER a poker player who berates the other players when he wins a hand → 1988 US sl.
► VICE PRESIDENT the poker player with the second best hand → 1988 US sl.
► WEAKIE a poker player who lacks courage → 1996 US sl.
► WOLF PACK a group of friends who play poker at cardrooms, taking advantage of unskilled strangers → 1996 US sl.
► WOODEN INDIAN a poker player who does not talk or display emotion → 1996 US sl.
► YENTA a professional women poker player → 1935 US criminals’ sl.
► YOGI a poker player with the annoying habit of coaching other players → 1996 US sl.
► YOO-HOO 1. a poker player who engages in excessive and needless table talk → 1996 US sl.
2. a poker player who does not talk or display emotion → 1996 US sl.
► ZEPPELIN a poker player who contemplates long and hard before every bet or play → 1996 US sl.
► ZOMBIE in poker: an expert player who shows no emotion, no matter how good or bad his hand is → 1979 US sl.

PHRASES
► LIKE AN ARROW said of a sequence of five cards, conventionally known as a ‘straight’ → 1988 US sl.
► IN THE MOUTH said of the first player to act in a given situation → 1979 US sl.

VERBS
► ACE OUT to win a hand by bluffing while holding a relatively low-value hand → 1983 US sl.
► CHIP to bet, to wager → 1876 Amer. sl.
► DRAG to take the house percentage out of a pot → 1988 US sl.
► FADE to match the previous bet → 1920 gambling sl.
► FILL to draw the card(s) needed to complete a full house, flush, straight, etc.; to complete a full house, etc. by drawing the necessary cards → 1875 Amer. dial.
► GACK to fold holding a hand that would have won had the player stayed in the game → 1996 US sl.
► HUMP IT to raise the maximum bet allowed → 1988 US sl.
► HUNT RABBITS to go through the cards that were not played after a hand is finished in search of what might have been → 1951 US sl.
► MAKE GOOD to match another player’s increased bet → 1967 US sl.
► MEET to make a bet equal to the previous bet → 1990 US sl.
► MOVE IN to bet your entire bankroll → 1979 US sl.
► MUCK to fold, to discard your hand → 2003 UK sl.
► PAINT  to decline to raise a bet while holding a good hand in the hope of driving up the bet later in the play → 1967 US sl.
► PUMP to increase a bet made by another player → 1983 US sl.
► RABBIT HUNT to look through undealt cards after a hand is completed to see what might have been → 1967 US sl.
► RUN A SANDY in poker: to bluff → 1897 Amer. dial. (Bk.)
► SANDBAG in poker: to decline to raise a bet while holding a good hand in the hope of driving up the bet later in the play → 1947 US sl.
► SANDWICH in poker: to surround a player with two confederates whose collusive betting tactics relieve the middle player of his bankroll and drive him from the game → 1973 US sl.
► SOFTPLAY to play less than ruthlessly against a friend → 1990 UK sl.
► STAY AND PRAY to stay in a hand with a large amount of money bet, hoping for a particular card to be drawn to improve your hand → 1988 US sl.
► STEAL to win a hand with an inferior hand either through superior bluffing skills or poor estimation by other players → 1979 US sl.
► STEAL THE ANTE to bet aggressively early in a hand, driving out other players and leaving a post consisting mostly of the buy-in antes → 1975 US sl.
► WHIPSAW in poker: to surround a player with two confederates whose collusive betting tactics relieve the middle player of his bankroll and drive him from the game → 1949 US sl.
► WINDOW DRESS in poker: to accidentally on purpose let other players see the end card in your hand → 1967 US sl.