Poker Glossary: The Terms & Stats That Matter

7 min read · Updated June 2026

A quick-reference glossary of the concepts and HUD stats every serious player should know. Bookmark it — and follow the links to the full guides.

Core concepts

• GTO — Game Theory Optimal; a balanced, unexploitable strategy.
• EV — Expected Value; the average long-run result of a decision.
• Equity — your % chance to win the pot at a given moment.
• Outs — cards that improve you to the likely best hand.
• Pot odds — the price the pot offers to call, as a ratio or %.
• Implied odds — extra chips you expect to win on later streets when you hit.
• Fold equity — value gained from the chance your opponent folds.
• Range — the full set of hands a player can hold in a spot.
• Blocker — a card you hold that removes combos from villain's range.

Betting & strategy terms

• C-bet — continuation bet; the preflop raiser's flop bet.
• 3-bet — the third bet in a sequence (a re-raise of an open).
• 4-bet — a re-raise of a 3-bet.
• Position — acting last (IP) vs. first (OOP) postflop.
• Polarized — a range of strong value hands and bluffs, little in between.
• Merged — a range weighted toward value including thinner hands.
• Semi-bluff — betting a draw: win by folds now or by hitting later.
• Float — calling a bet with a weak hand to take the pot away later.

Common HUD stats

• VPiP — Voluntarily Put $ In Pot; how often a player enters pots. Low = tight, high = loose.
• PFR — PreFlop Raise %; how often they raise before the flop. A big VPiP/PFR gap signals a passive, call-heavy player.
• AF — Aggression Factor; ratio of bets/raises to calls postflop.
• 3-bet % — how often a player re-raises preflop; a key read on aggression.
• WTSD — Went To ShowDown %; how often they see showdown after the flop.
• C-bet % — how often they continuation bet as the preflop aggressor.

Tournament & misc

• ICM — Independent Chip Model; converts tournament chips to real $ equity, changing correct strategy near payouts.
• Stack-to-pot ratio (SPR) — effective stack divided by the pot; guides commitment decisions.
• Variance — the swings around your expected results; why EV is judged over the long run.
• Rake — the house's cut; the reason a perfect GTO player still needs an edge.