Common Poker Jargon (Part I)

First of series of posts defining some poker jargon that regularly does, or should, show up at H.G.P.A. events. These are terms in addition to the basic glossary available on Neil's HGPA site. A related series of H.G.P.A.-coined jargon may follow.

all day: The total current posted bet. Used to indicate that the speaker is referring to the total bet, versus the difference the acting player would need to post. Equivalent to "the total amount is".

Action is on Neil; two bucks all day.

back into: To win a pot with a hand that would have folded to any bet. For example, two players enter a pot of draw poker, both drawing to flushes. Both miss, and check after the draw. The player with the ace-high draw "backs into" winning the pot against the player with only a king-high draw. Also to make a backdoor draw, for example, a player who starts a hand with three of a kind, but makes a runner-runner flush, can be said to back into the flush.

I can't believe I backed into the pot with that pair of queens last night.

berry patch: A game with many unskilled or "live" players; a lucrative opportunity for profit.

One of the starting tables at that last tournament was a real berry patch.

dry pot: A side pot with no money. Created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. Bluffing into a dry pot is a play that cannot possibly earn a profit, so doing so is considered foolish. It may also be unethical, because it serves to protect the all-in player at the expense of the bettor and the other players, and so is a form of collusion.

Considering the number of all-ins we get, it's funny that I don't think I've ever seen a dry pot in weekly play.

idiot end: The bottom end of a straight.

I was on the idiot end, but my read on the table was that no one else had straightened. My read was wrong.