Notation and Basics
Basic poker notation, combo language, and compact labels used in study material.
Card Code
Card code is the short notation players use to identify cards in written hands and analysis, pairing rank and suit without spaces. Use this concise format to share hands, descri...
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...
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 rais...
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...
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...