Poker is one of the most popular gambling games by far, especially for players who prefer a challenge and the thrill of besting other players in friendly competition. Today, thanks to the availability of the Internet and smartphone penetration in Canada and globally, players can relish the game on the go via native casino applications of regulated iGaming sites. An excellent example is the GGBet mobile app, which lets players relish over two dozen poker variants, including live dealer options.

Given that the game has existed since the early 1800s, it has undergone many different transformations over the decades that ultimately worked to make the game more exciting. With such a rich history, it isn’t a surprise that poker pundits use a few localized terms to describe different game scenarios. Here’s a closer look at the evolution of the game’s jargon and the history behind the popular slang terms.

Poker 101: Terminologies and Slang

While the game’s origin can be traced to the early 19th Century, one of its ancestral games, primero (Spain), appears in literature at least as early as 1526. In the said game, each participant had three cards, and the counting combos were three of a kind, a pair, and a flush (then referred to as flux).

Meanwhile, the word “poker” itself is a derivative of the German word “pochen,” which translates to “to brag as a bluff.” From that, in 1829, it was continued in New Orleans by French settlers adopting the French word “Poques.” Earlier adaptations of the word saw the game being called “brag” for a while. As the decades passed, the terms that became part and parcel of the game are as follows:

• The nuts – This word refers to the best possible hand in a given situation. It originated from the Old West when people used to bet literally everything, including their wagons’ nuts. A player would only make such a bet if they had an unbeatable hand;
• Nut Nut – It is a derivative of “the nuts” and is associated with hi/lo variations of the game. It refers to having the highest and lowest hands at the same time – a case that lets a player get the whole pot;
• Grinding – This means constant and frequent playing. Typically, it involves betting on a lot of games that are way below your proficiency level and accruing your wins afterward. Thus, a grinder makes a living by tiny profits over an extended period of steady, conservative play. Back in the day, grinding referred to using a hand mill to grind grain. It was a tedious job, hence the resemblance to the grinder’s job;
• Baller – Refers to a successful player who likes spending money to prove that he is rich and makes insane bets. In comparison to the other words, this is a relatively new term. Initially, a baller was used to refer to someone very successful in basketball. Now, it can be used to denote almost anyone who’s rich and likes showing off their wealth;
• Busto – It means to lose all your money. It literally comes from the word “bust,” as in blackjack, where you automatically lose the hand when you go over 21;
• Brunson – When you have hole cards of a 10 and a 2 of any suit in Texas Hold ’em, this is called a Brunson. It was named after Doyle Brunson, who won both the 1976 and 1977 No Limit Hold’ Em events at the World Tournament with a ten and a two, completing a full house in both cases;
• Robusto – Opposite of “busto”. Robusto means to win lots of money in a short period. There are two possibilities to this term’s origins:
  • If you go on a good run, you might open an expensive bottle of champagne, Dom Perignon, and whip out a Cuban Robusto, which is quite as expensive as well, to celebrate;
  • The word robust means “exhibiting vigour, strength, or firmness.” To a poker player, the term is a peculiar antonym of busto, and its definition also exhibits the opposite.

Keep Learning the Lingo for a Deeper Understanding of the Game

With the glossary above, we’ve just scratched the surface of the game slang; you can learn plenty more game-specific terminologies along with their different origins. Moreover, with more new players joining the exciting world of poker every day, people are bound to continue inventing new vocabularies, especially thanks to the occurrence of significant events such as Brunson’s Full House.

Are there any poker terms you know that have some fascinating origins? Drop a comment right here in the comments section. We love hearing from our readers, whether you are a loyal subscriber or just bumped into this post online.