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Poker jargon starting with D

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dark: Describing an action taken before receiving information to which the player would normally be entitled. I'm drawing three, and I check in the dark. See "blind".

dead blind: A blind that is not "live", in that the player posting it does not have the option to raise if other players just call. Rarely used.

dead button: A dealer button placed in a position where there is no player. This occurs in some casinos when the player who would otherwise be entitled to the button leaves the game (other casinos move the button forward to the next player).

dead hand: A player's hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal for some reason, such as having been fouled by touching another player's cards, being found to contain the wrong number of cards, being dealt to a player who did not make the appropriate forced bets, etc.

dead money Money placed into a pot that does not represent equal bets and calls by active players in the pot. This can be the earlier bets of players who have folded, or money placed in the pot before the deal. By extension, it is used as a derogatory term for money put in play by unskilled players who are legally eligible, but unlikely, to win it back. Can also refer to the player: Let's play that stud game--Joe and Diane are dead money.

deal To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played. A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a "hand" (though both terms are ambiguous). An agreement to split tournament prize money differently from the announced payouts. See "business".

dealer: The person dealing the cards, or the person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game, even though someone else might be physically dealing. In the latter case, that player is often marked with a button, and may be called "the button".

deal twice: A "business" deal between players made before the last card is dealt. The players agree to divide the present pot into two, then deal the last card as normal, awarding half of the pot to the winner. The last cards dealt are then discarded, and a different set is dealt. The winner of this second deal (which may be the same) is awarded the other half of the pot. Such deals are made to reduce variance.

decloak: To raise after having sandbagged[?] for a time (making it clear that you were, in fact, sandbagging). See "in the bushes".

deep: Describing a large amount of money, either in play or having been lost. How deep are you? (meaning "How much money do you have", in anticipation of making a very large bet). I won that large pot, but I'm in much deeper than that.

defense Playing to minimize investment or loss rather than maximize a win; for example, with a drawing hand that is risky but that you think should call an opponent's bet, you might make a smaller "defensive bet" yourself that you think your opponent will just call, rather than checking and calling a larger bet, or showing weakness. Occasionally calling with weak hands to discourage opponents from bullying, especially when in the blinds.

deuce A 2-spot card. Any of various related uses of the number two, such as a $2 limit game, a $2 chip, etc.

deuce-to-seven: A method of evaluating low hands. See Deuce-to-seven lowball[?].

discard: To take a previously dealt card out of play. The set of all discards for a deal is called the "muck" or the "deadwood".

dog: Underdog; that is, a player with a smaller chance to win than another specified player. Frequently used when the exact odds are expressed. Harry might have been bluffing, but if he really had the king, my hand was a 4-to-1 dog, so I folded.

dominated hand: A hand that is extremely unlikely to win against another specific hand, even though it may not be a poor hand in its own right. Most commonly used in Texas hold'em. A hand like A-Q, for example, is a good hand in general but is dominated by A-K, because whenever the former makes a good hand, the latter is likely to make a better one. A hand like 7-8 is a poor hand in general, but is not dominated by A-K because it makes different kinds of hands.

donation: A call made by a player who fully expects to lose; made either out of boredom or irrational optimism.

door card In a stud game, a player's first face-up card. Patty paired her door card on fifth street and raised, so I put her on trips. Window card.

double-ace flush: Under unconventional rules, a flush with one or more wild cards in which they play as aces, even if an ace is already present. See Double ace flush[?].

double-board, double-flop: Any of several community card game variants (usually Texas hold'em) in which two separate boards of community cards are dealt simultaneously, with the pot split between the winning hands using each board.

double-draw: Any of several Draw poker games in which the draw phase and subsequent betting round are repeated twice.

double gutter, double belly buster: In games involving six or more cards, a draw to a straight that can be filled by two ranks, but that is not an open-ender. For example, K-J-10-9-7, which can become a straight with any Q or 8.

double through, double up: In a big bet game, to bet all of one's chips on one hand against a single opponent (who has an equal or larger stack) and win, thereby doubling your stack. I was losing a bit, but then I doubled through Sarah to put me in good shape.

down to the felt: All in, or having lost all of one's money. Refers to the green felt surface of a poker table no longer obscured by chips.

draw Draw poker. To replace one or more cards in one's hand with new ones from the deck stub, as in draw poker. A drawing hand.

drawing hand: In any game, an incomplete hand which is not likely to win unless future cards, received by whatever means the game specifies, improve it. For example, having four club-suited cards but no pair in a stud game, hoping that one of the cards to come will be a fifth club, making a flush. See draw[?].

drawing dead: Playing a drawing[?] hand that will lose even if successful (a state of affairs usually only discovered after the fact). I caught the jack to make my straight, but Rob had a full house all along, so I was drawing dead.

drawing live: Not drawing dead; that is, drawing[?] to a hand that will win if successful.

drink pot: A pot won by a player with the agreement that drinks will be bought from the proceeds. See "pot".

drop To fold. Money charged by the casino for providing its services, often dropped through a slot in the table into a strong box. See "rake".

dry pot: A side pot with no money. Created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. Bluffing into a dry pot is a play that cannot possibly earn a profit, so doing so is considered foolish. It may also be unethical, because it serves to protect the all-in player at the expense of the bettor and the other players, and so is a form of collusion.

duplicate: To counterfeit[?], especially when the counterfeiting card matches one already present in the one's hand.

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