poker

¹ American  

[poh-ker] / ˈpoʊ kər /

noun

1. a person or thing that pokes.

2. a metal rod for poking or stirring a fire.

---

poker ² American  

[poh-ker] / ˈpoʊ kər /

noun

1. a card game played by two or more persons, in which the players bet on the value of their hands, the winner taking the pool.

---

poker ¹ British  

/ ˈpəʊkə /

noun

1. a metal rod, usually with a handle, for stirring a fire

2. a person or thing that pokes

---

poker ² British  

/ ˈpəʊkə /

noun

1. a card game of bluff and skill in which bets are made on the hands dealt, the highest-ranking hand (containing the most valuable combinations of sequences and sets of cards) winning the pool

---

poker Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing poker

• stiff as a board (poker)

---

Etymology

Origin of poker¹

First recorded in 1525–35; poke ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of poker²

1825–35, perhaps originally braggart, bluffer; compare Middle Low German poken to brag, play, Middle Dutch poken to bluff, brag

Explanation

Poker is a card game that involves betting with chips and keeping a straight face. You can also play poker online and make any kind of face you want. Additionally, a poker is a tool you keep by a fireplace. Two or more people with a deck of cards can play poker, which has many variations. Some poker games involve several rounds of betting, discarding, and being dealt new cards. Having a "poker face" means remaining expressionless, as if you were hiding the fact that you've got a winning hand of cards. A completely different kind of poker is the long metal fireplace tool that you use to stir up the fire, also called a fire iron.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poker

While prosecutors alleged he raked in roughly $50 million in poker winnings in 2016 alone, Goldstein estimated that he ultimately lost about $10 million through the peaks and valleys of his gambling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Franklin’s expansive property was designed with entertainment in mind as it comes with spacious bedrooms, a poker room, a large aquarium, and sweeping views of the ocean and mountains.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Then in April of that year, a friend of Gerstner’s, professional poker player Phil Hellmuth, bumped into Sen. Ted Cruz at a tournament in Las Vegas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

There’s an old gambler’s aphorism beloved by wise souls from Amarillo Slim to Warren Buffett that warns: “If you look around the poker table and can’t identify the mark, it’s you.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

She had a brooch on her lapel that looked like a spread of poker chips, with WINNER’S in shiny gold across the arch, but it was pinned crooked.

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth