Table stakes

The rule that you can only wager the chips in front of you at the start of a hand — no reaching into your pocket mid-hand, and no being bet out of a pot you cannot cover. It is why side pots and all-ins exist, and it applies in every regulated poker game.

Example. Under table stakes, a player with $50 who faces a $200 bet can call all-in for $50 and win only that much from each opponent.

Related terms

Full glossary

All-in

Betting every chip you have in front of you. You can't be forced out of the hand after that, but you can only …

Side pot

A separate pot created when one player is all-in and others keep betting. The all-in player can only win the m…

Ratholing

Taking chips off the table during a cash-game session — pocketing part of a stack after winning a big pot and …

2-7 Triple Draw

A lowball draw game with three drawing rounds where the best hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (not of one suit). Aces are hig…

Ante

A small forced bet every player at the table posts before the deal, on top of the blinds. Common in tournament…

Big blind

The larger of the two forced bets posted before the cards are dealt, by the player two seats to the left of th…

Blinds

The two forced bets (small blind and big blind) posted by the players to the left of the button before any car…

Board

The community cards in the middle of the table that every player can use: the flop (three cards), the turn (fo…