Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Card game terms

Card game terms are the vocabulary used to describe the rules, actions, and equipment of any game played with a pack or deck of cards. The shared feature is that play is organised around the use of cards.

Applies to
Traditional and proprietary card games, including trick-taking, shedding, matching, and gambling games12
Core feature
Cards are the central play medium; the exact mechanics vary by game type12
Slang example
In poker, 'pocket rockets' means a pair of aces as hole cards3

Key points

  • Card game terms cover everything from the names of suits and ranks to actions like shuffling, dealing, and trick-taking7.
  • Many terms are shared across games, but each genre — poker, bridge, solitaire — has its own specialised glossary3.
  • Playing cards slang, such as 'fish' for a weak player or 'cold deck' for a rigged deal, varies by region and game3.

Common card game terms by genre

A few representative terms from different card-game families.
Genre Term Meaning
PokerBluffBetting strongly with a weak hand to make opponents fold3
BridgeFinesseAn attempt to win a trick with a lower card when the opponent holds a higher one4
SolitaireWaste pileThe pile of cards turned from the stock that are available for play5
BlackjackBustExceeding 21, which loses the hand immediately6

Not the same as

  • Hearts card game — a specific trick-taking game, not the general category of card game terms
Card games Card game terms and phrases A broader list of common phrases used across many card games. Card games Card game terms family Terms that describe families or categories of card games, such as trick-taking or shedding. Card games Card terms boat Slang for a full house in poker, a hand with three of a kind and a pair. Card games Card terms clear Terms related to clearing the table or removing cards from play. Card games Card terms pack Vocabulary around the deck itself, such as 'pack', 'stock', and 'shoe'. Card games Flush Terms for hand rankings and combinations, including flush, straight, and full house.

Sources

  1. Card game en.wikipedia.org Provides the core definition and scope of card games.
  2. Mechanics of card games - Pagat pagat.com Confirms the central role of cards in game mechanics.
  3. Glossary of poker terms en.wikipedia.org Supplies poker-specific slang examples and the claim that each genre has its own glossary.
  4. Glossary of contract bridge terms en.wikipedia.org Provides a bridge-specific term example.
  5. Glossary of solitaire terms en.wikipedia.org Supplies a solitaire-specific term example.
  6. Glossary of blackjack terms - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Provides a blackjack-specific term example.
  7. Glossary of card game terms en.wikipedia.org General glossary of card game terms.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.