Poker Talk on the Flop with a Pocket Pair

Poker talk is not as much a part of playing poker on a Saturday night with friends as doing chip tricks during the game. But because of the popularity of tournaments on TV where announcers put their two cents in and basically, give us a blow-by-blow of what's going on, poker talk or lingo has been given a higher level of attention. Since an integral part of the game is on the flop, we're going to break down some of poker talk on the flop if you're holding a pocket pair.

The flop, of course, is used to refer to the first three board cards that are dealt facing up. And a pocket pair is used to indicate same-ranked hole cards that are dealt, facing down, to players at the start of a game. So if you get two queens for hole cards, you're holding a pocket pair.

The most desired outcome when you're holding pairs for hole cards or pockets is what's called "flopping four-of-kind (quads)". That basically means seeing the remaining pair of what you're holding. Unfortunately, getting this hand is very unlikely so the next best thing is flopping a set.

"Flopping a set" in poker talk is seeing one card on the board that's the same rank as your pocket pair. In other words, it's getting three-of-kind (trips) on the flop. This makes a great hand and it's more likely to happen than flopping quads.

The next best thing to flopping a set is having an "over pair". That is, the rank of your pair is higher than the flop. An example would be if you're holding a pair of queens and the flop's a jack, nine, and five. Having an over pair is good since it's likely that you're holding the strong hand.

Holding an "under pair", in poker talk on the flop, is when you see a higher-ranked card on the board. If the flop's an ace, nine, and five when you're holding pocket queens - you've got yourself an under pair. This is not a very good flop with a pocket pair because someone else has got you beat if they've got an ace for a hole card.

Poker talk on the flop with a pocket pair covers flopping quads or trips and having an over pair or an under pair. Flopping four-of-a kind and three-of-a-kind pretty much explain themselves. It's having an over pair or under pair on the flop that lends itself to discretion. With that said, holding an over pair is what you'll want while having an under pair is not what you'll want on the flop.