Poker Idioms

Often, the best way to learn is through direct experience; witnessing a true application of an idea. Let’s teach some idioms starting with their original application, then see what we can derive from that.

Place students in groups of four to seven and have them play poker with one another. Ideally, each group will have at least one person who already knows how to play. Alternately, you can play with one group as you teach the rules while everyone else watches, then switch out players after each round. Betting is important for this, so you should provide each player with a number of chips to start with (note that we do not condone gambling with real money).

You can play whichever variant you prefer, or whichever your students are already familiar with. You may need to teach the rules to some or all of them, and I’ll let you figure that out for yourself, but what we’ll focus on in this article is the terminology. After you’ve played a few rounds and the students have gotten comfortable with it, start explaining whatever terms you haven’t covered already in the rules, and hopefully as situations arise, you’ll have opportunities to demonstrate the terms.

Poker Terminology

Beyond the basics like ‘cards’ and ‘deal’ and specific cards like ‘ace’ and ‘jack’, here are some terms to define for your students:

  • dealto pass out the appropriate number of cards to the players

  • handthe cards a player currently possesses and controls

    • holethe collection of cards in one’s hand that are not revealed to the rest of the players (in some variations, certain cards in your hand are revealed)

  • foldgive up for that round

  • bet to submit money in the hopes of gaining more money if you win the round; if you lose the round, you also lose the money you bet

    • checkto bet nothing

    • raise to bet more than the person before you bet

    • callto bet as much as the person before you bet

    • potthe total money collected from every players’ bets during the round

    • stakesthe initial amount that each player must bet in order to participate in a round

    • bluffa large amount of money bet when the cards in the better’s hand are very likely not good enough to win

It’s also good to teach the plays one can make, such as a ‘full house’ or a ‘flush’, and there may be other terms you’d like to share with them. You can find more definitions elsewhere if you need to, but we simply wanted to cover the terms that would be relevant for our idioms.

Poker Expressions

When you’re finished playing, take some time to cover some common expressions. For each expression or group of expressions, talk about the literal meaning within a game of poker. Then ask your students what that same sentiment would mean outside of the poker context (you may want to have some example situations ready). Students should be able to see how the idea is the same in other applications, even if it isn’t literal anymore.

ADVANTAGES

  • an ace in the holean advantage that others don’t know about

  • an ace up one’s sleeve an advantage that others don’t know about, except that this one is illegitimate

  • hold all the aces have all the advantages

BAD SITUATIONS

  • dealt a bad handbe placed in a bad situation through no fault of one’s own

  • play the hand you’re dealt do the best you can with whatever situation or resources are available to you, even if they aren’t very good

  • know when to fold accept that things are not going well for you and remove yourself from a situation before things get even worse; similar to ‘cut your losses’

EXECUTION

  • know when to hold ‘em (instead of taking the next available opportunity,) waiting for the right moment to make your move to maximize your chance of success or maximize the rewards

  • play your cards rightout of various opportunities, act on the one(s) that will end in the best outcome

  • overplay your hand act as if you are in a better situation or have more of an advantage than is true; often, you’re in a good position, but acting in overconfidence might lead you to lose a lot instead of gaining a little

EXPOSURE

  • put your cards on the tablereveal to everyone (purposefully) what your situation is (what resources, advantages, and disadvantages you have)

  • show your handreveal to someone (or everyone) the details of your situation; this could be intentional, but is often accidental

  • play (it) close to the chestbe careful not to reveal the details of your situation to anyone; keep your secrets

DECEPTION

  • poker facea way in which you compose yourself so that no one can tell what you’re truly thinking

  • call one’s bluffto take a chance on the belief that your opponent has risked too much and is less likely to benefit from taking that same chance; commonly, this expression can mean more simply to accuse someone of being deceitful

ENTICEMENT

  • raise the stakesto make the baseline cost of taking a risk greater, often done to encourage those involved to put forth greater effort in order to win

  • sweeten the potto increase the potential for gain, again to encourage others to invest more themselves

UNKNOWNS

  • all bets are offwhen a situation reaches a point of great uncertainty

  • wild cardany type of factor that has the potential to change the outcome in unforeseen ways

Insights to English does not endorse gambling in the classroom or any learning environment.  We recommend you bet with chips that are worth nothing.

Get more with Insider Access

INCLUDING

Extra Video Content

more How-to-Teach grammar videos*

with intros, instructions, and summaries

*compared to free resources

AND

Exclusive Supplemental Resources

slideshows

posters & handouts

bonus notes

AND

Advanced Features in Student Projects

search and filter

planning info

teaching tips

Save ‘To Be’ for Later

‘To be’ so often is drilled into students’ minds that they end up using it far more that they should, as if it’s a requirement for every sentence.  Starting off with some simple sentences that don’t have am/is/are might be a better way to get started.

Read More »
teaching tips

Why Playing Games isn’t just Playing Around

Playing games is fun, and it can also be relaxing! But that doesn’t mean they have no educational value or that students don’t learn anything through games. In fact, games can – and often do – provide environments for learning and growth.

Read More »
teaching tips

Great Vocabulary Board Games

Whether you want to do a nice vocabulary review or you just want your students to have fun for a day, here are some games we recommend for finding, creating, explaining, demonstrating, and guessing words.

Read More »
language illuminated

The English Alphabet is Confusing

While our alphabet has only 26 letters, it has about 40 unique sounds.  There’s a lot of different sound-spelling combinations to remember, which makes spelling and pronunciation difficult for non-native speakers.

Read More »

Share This Post