CALL: Betting the minimum amount to stay in the hand
CHECK: Staying in a hand, but declining to bet. If another player bets, however, you will be forced to call or fold.
CHIP: A troublesome object sometimes found upon one’s shoulder, or a yummy morsel of chocolate, or a colored plastic disc used to represent an amount of money
FLOP: The first three community cards in Hold ’Em games
FOLD: What is done with laundry, or dumping a bad hand
HEADS UP: Play between only two players
HOLE (AS IN, “IN THE HOLE”): Facedown private cards
POCKET (AS IN, “IN THE POCKET”): Facedown cards; see “hole”
POT: A metal vessel for cooking which you will not be using tonight, or the big pile of chips in the middle of the table that the winner of the hand will claim while whooping
RAG: A dishtowel you will not be using to clean up with tonight, or a low- or off-suit card that does not help you make a winning hand
RAISE; RERAISE: Adding to the bet another player has made
RIVER: The fifth community card in Hold ’Em games
SHOWDOWN: When players reveal their pocket cards to see who won the hand
STEAM: What happens when a player gets frustrated and starts making emotional, reckless bets
TURN: The fourth community card in Hold ’Em games
WINNER: What you will surely be if you (1) understand the rules, (2) practice your poker face to Lady Gaga-esque perfection, and (3) accept risk as part of poker and life. As winner’s say, “Bet big or go home.” Since you are, possibly, already home, you’ve got nothing to lose.
Dedicated to
Dana Isaacson,
my hero
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
VALERIE FRANKEL received critical acclaim for her bestselling memoir, Thin Is the New Happy. She was Joan Rivers’s co-writer on Men Are Stupid … and They Like Big Boobs and she collaborated with Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi on the New York Times bestselling novel A Shore Thing. Val is the author of fifteen novels, including The Accidental Virgin, and is a journalist much in demand. Her writing has appeared in O Magazine, Allure, Self, and The New York Times, among other publications. Her Q&A Love column in Mademoiselle was a popular favorite for many readers. She lives in Brooklyn Heights with her two daughters and husband, opera singer Stephen Quint.
www.valeriefrankel.com.
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