Tilt is the term used to describe being angry while at the poker table. A tilted player often makes questionable decisions since intense emotion has the ability to shut down the more rational side of our brain. Although primarily associated with anger, bad decisions made as a result of other emotions such as fear, boredom and tiredness may also be described as tilt. The expression “on tilt” is frequently used to indicate that a player is tilted.

Tie in poker means that two (or more) hands are identical at showdown (including kickers). When hands are tied it means they split the pot equally at showdown (known as a ‘split pot’).

Three of a Kind is made when we hold three cards of identical rank. The strength of our three of a kind is determined by it’s rank value where Aces are high. This leaves room for two kickers in regular poker variants that use 5-card hands. Three of a Kind beats two-pair but loses to a straight. Three of a Kind is also frequently referred to as a ‘set’ (when made with a pocket-pair) or ‘trips’ (when two of the cards are on the board).

Texture in poker typically refers to the relationship between visible cards, especially community cards in Hold’em and Omaha variants. For example, a flop of King Seven Two rainbow (all of different suits) is often described as flop with a drytexture due to the fact that there is no connectivity between the cards. The term texture may also be used to describe other sets of cards, such as the texture of a player’s upcards in Stud games.

A tell in poker is a piece of information that gives us additional clues about the type of hand our opponent is holding. For example, perhaps a player’s hands tremble when they pick up a big holding. Tells can cover a wide range of different areas including, timing, bet-sizing, verbalization, posture, eyes, hands, chip tricks and even use of a card protector. In the classic movie Rounders Teddy KGB has a (somewhat unbelievable) tell where he eats an Oreo every time he has a big hand.

To tank in poker means to spend time thinking about the best play in a hand. It is presumably a contraction of the words ‘time bank’, the option to request more time on a decision when playing online poker. A player can be described as ‘tanking’ or ‘going into the tank’ when they spend time pondering a decision rather than acting immediately.