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Welcome to the GGPoker Poker Glossary — your complete reference for poker terms and concepts. Use the jump links below to navigate, or browse the full list alphabetically.

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Under the Gun | Underdog | Underfull | Underpair | Up | Up Card | Upswing | Up the Ante | Value | Value Bet | Variance | Villain | VPIP | Wake Up | Walk | Wash | Wayne Gretzky | Welcome Bonus | Weak Ace | Weak Player | Wet Board | Whale | Wheel | Wild Card | Window Card | World Poker Tour | World Series of Poker | WPT | Wrap | WSOP

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Under the Gun	The first player to act preflop, the seat directly to the left of the big blind. Acting first is a positional disadvantage, since you have no information on how anyone else intends to play.
Underdog	The hand or player with lower odds of winning a given matchup. Going in as an underdog doesn’t mean losing, it just means you’re behind on the math. Also called a Dog.
Underfull	A full house that isn’t the strongest possible on the board, because a higher-ranking three-of-a-kind could be made using the same pair.
Underpair	A pocket pair that ranks lower than every card on the board. Holding 4-4 on a 9-7-5 board means you have an underpair, a made hand, but a vulnerable one.
Up	Used to name a two-pair hand by its higher pair. ‘Aces up’ means two pair with Aces as the top pair; ‘nines up’ means two pair with nines as the dominant pair.
Up Card	A card dealt face-up and visible to all players at the table. Common in stud games, where some cards are dealt face-down and others face-up throughout the hand.
Upswing	A stretch of results running above expectation. An upswing means winning more than projected, whether from running well, playing well, or some combination of both.
Up the Ante	Increase the stakes.
Value	Betting or raising with a hand believed to be the best, in order to win money from worse hands that continue. Distinct from Expected Value (EV), which measures long-run profitability of a decision.
Value Bet	A bet made with the expectation of being called by a weaker hand. The goal is to extract additional chips from opponents who won’t fold, the opposite intent of a bluff.
Variance	A measure of how much short-term results deviate from long-run expected outcomes. Even strong players run below expectation for extended stretches; even weak players run above it. High-variance formats, tournaments, PLO, produce wider swings than lower-variance ones like cash games or fixed-limit. The variance itself isn’t controllable; bankroll management and game selection are.
Villain	In hand histories and poker analysis, any opponent other than the hero – the player whose perspective the hand is being examined from. The term is a neutral labeling convention, not a moral judgment. If multiple opponents are involved, they may be labeled Villain 1, Villain 2, and so on. The hero/villain framework is standard across training content, poker forums, and coaching materials. See also: Hero.
VPIP	Voluntarily Put In Pot. The percentage of hands in which a player voluntarily contributes chips preflop, excluding forced bets like blinds. A high VPIP signals a loose player; a low VPIP signals a tight one.
Wake Up	To be dealt a strong starting hand, particularly after others have already raised or re-raised. Waking up with Aces after heavy preflop action in front of you is a welcome situation.
Walk	When all players fold to the Big Blind, who wins the pot without further action. Also called a walk-in.
Wash	A shuffle technique where the dealer spreads all the cards face-down across the table and mixes them randomly before gathering them back up.
Wayne Gretzky	Slang term for Pocket Nines. Named for Wayne Gretzky’s jersey number.
Welcome Bonus	A promotional offer provided by an online poker site to attract new players by giving them a bonus on their first deposit or sign-up.
Weak Ace	An Ace paired with a low second card, like A-3 or A-7. Also called an Ace-Rag, Small Ace, or Soft Ace. Strong enough to make top pair if an Ace hits the board, but the kicker can become a liability against another Ace with a better one.
Weak Player	A player who gives up too easily to pressure after the flop, someone who can be pushed off hands without much resistance. Not necessarily a bad player overall, but predictably foldable.
Wet Board	A community board with many possible strong hands and draws available, typically one with several suited or connected cards. Also called Coordinated.
Whale	A high-stakes recreational player who brings significant money to the table relative to their skill level. Whales are valuable to the poker ecosystem, since the money they introduce circulates to other players and the house.
Wheel	A five-high straight, A-2-3-4-5, with the Ace playing low. In standard high poker, it’s the lowest-ranking straight; in Ace-to-Five lowball games, it’s the best possible hand. Also called a Bicycle.
Wild Card	A card that can be played as a card of any value, usually only in home games or private cash games. Jokers are often designated as wild cards, but any card can serve as a wild in ‘Dealer’s Choice’ variations.
Window Card	The first card shown when the dealer places the flop face-up on the table. Because it’s briefly visible before the rest of the cards land, it can draw a reaction before the full picture is revealed.
World Poker Tour	A globally televised series of international poker tournaments, founded in 2002. It pioneered the hole-card camera, letting TV viewers see players’ hands in real time.
World Series of Poker	The most prestigious poker tournament series in the world, held annually. While its flagship series takes place in Las Vegas each summer, the WSOP brand also includes WSOP Europe and the WSOP Circuit, with stops around the world. Winners of individual events earn a coveted gold bracelet, with the Main Event, a $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, crowning the year’s World Champion.
WPT	See World Poker Tour
Wrap	An Omaha straight draw that uses more cards than a standard straight draw, resulting in a higher number of outs. Because Omaha players hold four hole cards, wraps can cover up to 20 outs, significantly more than a typical Hold’em draw.
WSOP	See World Series of Poker

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About the Author: Shawn Altbaum has been writing and editing in the online gaming industry since 2007, reporting live from the WSOP Main Event and conducting interviews with professional players. An active poker player, he combines industry expertise with firsthand knowledge of the games he covers. He currently serves as Global Head of Copywriting at NSUS Group, overseeing brand voice and content strategy across GGPoker.