Lingo from the Most Popular Card Games

 

The longer a hobby has been around, the more specialized lingo will be tacked on to it. Imagine an industry like horseracing. Because horseracing is one of the earliest forms of athletic competitions in the world, and horse riding remains a common pastime, the industry has a ton of lingo that newcomers might raise their eyebrows at. 


The same goes for highly specialized positions. Professionals in the medical or finance fields are going to rely on abbreviations and other acronyms in order to communicate effectively... and save a bit of time. Even peripheral industries, like medical transcription, also involve long lists of specialized terms.


And for anyone who has spent time at a table playing card games with friends, there are usually a few words that need to be explained. In some cases, such as with poker and blackjack, two separate terms might be referring to the same thing. In other cases, such as with casual games like Uno, those phrases might be even wilder and more varied between friend groups. 


Think you know the most popular lingo tacked on to games like poker, blackjack, and Uno? Test your knowledge with the vocabulary lists below.

 

Poker Lingo


If you want to talk about poker lingo, then you’ll need to get specific. The game has been around for over a century, which means players usually stick to one of their favorite variations. If you can’t name a few types of poker games, then you’re probably familiar with Texas Hold'em poker, which is the world’s most popular variation.


It’s more direct and exciting than other popular types, including Omaha and three-card stud. Below, you can dive into some of the most amusing poker terms used by pros today, along with special phrases tied to each variation.

 

Three unique poker terms:

 

  • American Airlines: (Specific to Texas Hold'em) This has nothing to do with air travel. Instead, it covers pocket aces, which are abbreviated as ‘AA’. Another common term related to jet engines is ‘pocket rockets’.
  • Big Slick: (General poker hand) This refers to an Ace-King, a high-value hand no matter the suit. Other lingo attached to this hand stems from the abbreviation of ‘AK’ (for Ace-King). These include Korean Airlines and, best of all, the Anna Kournikova.
  • Dolly Parton: (General poker hand) This refers to a 5-9 starting hand. It gets its name thanks to Dolly Parton’s hit song ‘9 to 5’. For this reason, it’s also called a ‘full-time job’.

 

 

 

Blackjack Vocab


Similar to poker, blackjack includes a long list of specialized terms. These also vary slightly depending on the game’s variation, the most popular of which include American and high roller blackjack. However, the differences in these styles are less extreme than Texas Hold'em and three-card stud.

 

Three unique blackjack terms:

 

  • Five-Card Charlie: Though it doesn’t happen often in the game, a five-card Charlie scenario covers five low-value cards that add up to 21—or blackjack. Back in the day, players who hit 21 with a five-card Charlie were paid out at a rate of 2:1.
  • DAS: This abbreviation isn’t too glamorous, but it’s very beneficial for players. DAS stands for ‘Double After Split’, which means that a player is allowed to double down on their bets after splitting their cards.
  • H17: Once again, we see a highly technical blackjack term. This time, it’s an abbreviation for ‘Hit 17’. This means that the dealer must hit (or ask for another card) when they have a soft 17, making them more likely to bust.

 

Uno in the Real World


As a recreational game that isn’t played for money (only glory), Uno slang varies greatly depending on the region—and even the group of friends, just like social media lingo. Still, that doesn’t mean that the game isn’t highly nuanced, and especially when it’s played correctly. However, one of the most interesting aspects of Uno slang is that some words have made it into everyday vernacular. 

 

One of the best examples is the Uno reverse card. This is a term used by non-Uno players to describe a situation that changes quickly. Today, it’s been immortalized in meme culture as the ‘No U’ meme.