The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You're Dealt

Poker Lingo	Explanation	Business Equivalent

All in	When a player puts his last chips in a pot.	Fully leveraged.
Bad beat	Losing a hand when the odds were heavily in your favor.	Making a sale only to have the deal fall through because of bad credit.
Cold deck	When a new deck is put into a game in order to cheat a player.	Receiving payment in cash from an IRS informer.
Drawing Dead	Drawing to make a hand that even if you made it, would lose to a better hand.	Enron trying to make a comeback.
Floorman	The person in charge of a poker game in a casino.	The office manager.
Flop	The first three community cards in Texas Hold’em.	The first quarter.
Call	To match or see a bet.	To hold a position.
Fade	Pay a little extra for something.	Suck it up.
Going Light	Not having enough chips to cover your bets.	Not paying the employees on Friday.
Houseman	The person in charge of a private poker game.	Your spouse.
Live One	A bad player, also known as a mark, a fish or a sucker.	A customer who pays retail.
Muck	To discard or fold.	To divest.
Nuts	The best possible hand based on the available cards. Also referred to as "the lock," "the joint," or at times, the "stone-cold nuts."	Holding the patent for the next miracle drug that just got FDA approval.
The Pit	The "pit" refers to games of chance in the casino such as blackjack, craps, roulette and slots. In the long run, it’s impossible to win in the pit, and could be better described as the "money pit."	Day trading.
Rail	The outside of a poker game. Also, a bystander, typically broke, who stands on the rail. "Railbirds" are people who hang around poker casinos.	Management Consultants.
Stuck	When a player is stuck, he or she is losing.	Chapter 11.
Tell	An action, often involuntary, that gives away information about a player’s hand.	A CEO talking up his company just as he’s selling his own shares.
Tilt	To lose your composure and play recklessly, like a pinball machine going "on tilt."	Buy more stock on margin right after taking a big loss in the market.
Vig	Also called the "rake"–the amount of money taken out for the house.	Overhead.