Notation and Basics
Basic poker notation, combo language, and compact labels used in study material.
10NL
10NL is the online shorthand for $0.05/$0.10 No-Limit Hold'em cash, the top rung of micro stakes. A full 100bb buy-in is $10.
2NL
2NL is the smallest online No-Limit Hold'em cash tier: $0.01/$0.02 blinds and a $2 buy-in at 100 big blinds. The label names a stakes tier by its buy-in.
5NL
5NL is the $0.02/$0.05 No-Limit Hold'em online cash level, where a 100bb buy-in is $5. It is the second rung of micro stakes, one step above 2NL.
Bankroll management
Bankroll management is the discipline of keeping poker money separate from living expenses and large enough to absorb normal swings. It decides which stakes you can play.
Card Code
Compact card notation: rank letter plus suit letter, no space. Ah is the Ace of Hearts, JTs is jack-ten suited, 7c2d is the seven of clubs and the two of diamonds.
Cash Game
A cash game is poker where the chips on the table represent real money at face value. The blinds stay fixed for as long as the table runs, you can buy in, sit out, and rebuy at...
Combo
A "combo" (short for combination) is a specific two-card arrangement that makes a hand or draw. It describes which exact starting hands in a player's range produce a given holdi...
Hand history
A hand history is the saved record of one poker hand: who played, what they did on each street, the cards shown, and the pot. The raw material every honest review starts from.
Hand review
Replaying one hand from a session away from the table, street by street, to compare your in-game decision against the one you would make with time to think.
Micro Stakes
Micro stakes are the lowest real-money cash-game limits, almost always online, where blinds run from about $0.01/$0.02 up to roughly $0.05/$0.10. Common shorthands like 2NL, 5NL...
NLHE
NLHE is the standard short for No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Each player gets two private hole cards, the dealer puts five community cards on the board across the flop, turn, and rive...
No-Limit
No-limit is the betting structure where the maximum bet or raise is your entire remaining stack, subject only to the table's minimum-bet and minimum-raise rules. It is the struc...
Plus Notation
The plus sign in range shorthand meaning 'this hand and every higher one.' TT+ covers TT through AA; AQ+ covers AQ and AK. Compact preflop range notation.
Pot-Limit
Pot-limit is a poker betting structure where the largest legal bet or raise is capped at the size of the current pot, including the call you'd have to make first if you're raisi...
Ring Game
A ring game is an ongoing cash poker table with fixed blinds and chips that hold real money value. You buy in for a chosen amount, sit down whenever a seat opens, and leave when...
Session review
The post-session study habit of marking the hands you were unsure about, re-deciding them away from the table, and writing down what to change next session.
Small Stakes
Small stakes is a band of cash games that sits above the very smallest micro-stakes games but below mid-stakes. The exact dollar cutoffs vary by site, room, and live versus onli...