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S

Sandbagging – To conceal the strength of a hand in order to extract more chips from an opponent.

Satellite – Single table tournaments in which players pay a reduced buy-in, with the winner getting a seat into the main event.

Scare Card – A card that seemingly diminishes the strength of a player’s hand. An example would be an ace on the turn when a player has a pair of kings.

See – To call a bet.

Semi-bluff – To bluff with a hand that still has a couple of outs to win.

Set – Three of a kind.

Sheriff – Player with a lot of chips who likes to call players down, to prevent them from bluffing.

Shorthanded – A game with six or fewer players.

Short Stack – A player with very few chips is said to have a short stack. A player is typically short stacked when they have less than ten times the big blind.

Showdown – When players reveal their hands at the end of the betting rounds.

Side Game – Cash game or ring game.

Side Pot – Separate pot that can be won by an all-in player when two other active players are also involved in the hand.

Slow Play – To check or underbet a very strong hand, in an attempt to trap an opponent.

Slow Roll – To slowly showdown a winning hand after another opponent thinks he has won the hand. A slow roll is one of the most disrespectful acts in poker.

Small Blind – The position directly to the left of the button in Hold’Em. The small blind is forced to post a bet that is half the size of the big blind.

Smooth-call – To simply call another player’s bet when holding a very strong hand, thus concealing the strength of the hand.

Solid – A tight, skilled player that plays few hands but plays them well.

Speed Limit – Pocket 5s.

Splash Around – Player making loose, undisciplined calls is said to be splashing around.

Split Pot – When two players share a pot because they have the same hand.

Stakes – Amount of money that a poker game is competing for.

Steal – To make a large bet without much of a hand, in order to win the pot.

Steal the Blinds – To make a raise with a weakish hand to win the blinds.

Steaming – A player on tilt is said to be steaming.

Steamrolling – A player making lots of raises and winning lots of pots is steamrolling the table.

Straight – Five cards in a row, for instance 6-7-8-9-10.

Straight Draw – When a player requires one card to make a straight.

Straight Flush – Holding five cards in a row that are all of the same suit. An extremely powerful hand.

String Bet – A bet or raise in which a player fails to put chips in the pot in one motion. If a player string bets they are often forced to simply call.

Structure – The time limit placed on blind levels in poker tournaments. Top players prefer slow structures because it places more emphasis on skill.

Stone-cold Bluff – To make a large bet with a hand that has absolutely no chance of winning.

Strip Poker – Popular form of poker in which players remove articles of clothing when they lose a hand. People who are extremely drunk often play strip poker.

Stuck – A player who has lost a large deal of money is stuck.

Suited – When a player’s hole cards are the same suit, i.e. two spades.

Suited Connector – Two consecutive cards of the same suit, i.e. 8 9 of hearts.

Sunset Strip – Pocket 7s.

Swing – When a chip stack goes up and down, from one extreme to another, it is called a swing.