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T

T [Poker] Abbreviation for a 10, usually found only in written text about cards.

T&S [Motor Sports] Timing and Scoring staff. They take and record laptimes and produce race results.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan [Martial Arts] Usually known simply as "tai chi," this Chinese martial art emphasizes slow, smooth movements and is commonly practiced to improve self-control and teach calmness. However, it does also have martial applications.

T-Bone [Motor Sports] Occurs when a car is hit ,during a wreck, in the door. The two cars make a T shape. Is a very dangerous type of wreck for a driver to be involved in.

T-Boning [Motor Sports] An accident where one car runs into another, hitting it square in the left side.

T-Head [Motor Sports] Exhaust valve on one side and inlet valve on the other side of the cylinder. (Twin-camshafts).

T-Ne [Motor Sports] During a wreck, when a car is hit in the door. The two cars make a T shape.

T.E.D. [Bingo] An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.

T.S.W. [Horse Racing] This Season's Wins: The number of wins by the horse in the current racing season.

T.S.W.$. [Horse Racing] This Season Win Only $: The amount of Winning prizemoney accumulated from Licensed Trotting Meetings by the horse this season.

Tab [General] Totalisator Agency Board. The body appointed to regulate off-course betting (bets made by people who are not present at the race track).

Tab Card [Poker] A credit account available in some clubs to favored customers (generally those on whom a credit check has been run), to which a player can charge chips to play on. This is a convenient means for a player to get around the difficulty of carrying large amounts of cash on his person. The tab card is usually kept track of on a ledger card with transactions initialed by the player or a house official or both. The cashier is usually responsible for keeping the records straight. In most clubs, a player is supposed to leave a check for the amount charged at the end of a playing session if he does not cash in as much as he charged. Frequently a player with charging privileges does so against a blank, signed check. If he loses, he fills out the check for the proper amount; if he wins, the blank check remains attached to his tab card, to be used the next time. When such a player calls for chips at the table, he usually fills out a charge slip, called a ticket, for the amount requested.

Tabernacle [Sailing] A hinged support for the bottom of a mast so that the mast can be lowered easily when passing under bridges.

Table [Poker] 1) A poker table. 2) Any surface on which players play poker (such as a kitchen table). 3) A complete poker game, players and all. "Seat open on table four." 4) Figuratively, the players in a particular game. "The table took a break." 5) The board, that is, the up cards of all players.

Table Captain [Poker] A humorous name for the player who takes it upon himself to arbitrate in all matters requiring decisions, settle all disputes, and interpret all rules. Such a role is generally only required in a private game, because most card room games are dealt by house dealers; even where they are not, usually a floor person is available to make decisions. Nonetheless, someone often takes it upon himself to arbitrate every decision even in a card room, and the other players call him the table captain.

Table Cards [Poker] 1) Community cards. 2) Spread one's cards on the table (as opposed to discarding them or holding them in one's hand off the table) at showdown time for all to see; usually rendered table one's [your, my, etc.] cards. Some clubs require the winning hand to be tabled. Some sometimes rule that if a hand is tabled and then thrown away and the pot inadvertently awarded to a lesser hand, and it is discovered later that the best hand was actually tabled, that the pot should be awarded to that hand even if it is no longer technically live.

Table Change [Poker] If you're playing at a public card room, and you'd like to play at a table other than the one you're currently at, you can ask the floor for a table change. Different card rooms handle this differently, but typically you'll be moved as soon as an opening develops, and a player from the seating list will be moved into your seat.

Table Charge [Poker] A portion of each pot taken by the house, for the purpose of paying expenses and making a profit. Also, rake.

Table Cop [Poker] A player who calls with the intention of keeping other players honest (e.g., to snap off bluffs) is said to be playing table cop. Also a player who makes an effort to point out violations (significant and otherwise) of casino rules (e.g., reminding other players to act in turn, which is properly the responsibility of the dealer).

Table Fee [Poker] An amount of money collected either on the button or every half hour by the card room. This is another way for the house to make its money.

Table Holdout [Poker] A holdout machine, a spring or clip attached to the underside of a table to hold one or more cards until the thief who put them there can retrieve them for reintroduction into the game for cheating purposes.

Table Hopping [Blackjack] Moving from one table to another in rapid succession while playing. Often used in conjunction with wonging.

Table Setter [Baseball] Batter whose job is to get on base for other hitters to drive him in. Usually a leadoff or No. 2 hitter.

Table Stakes [Poker] 1) Table stakes is simply the (nearly universal) rule that a player may only wager money they have on the table at the beginning of a hand. Usually it also implies that money may not be removed from the table at any time (exceptions are made for tipping), although money may be added to one's stacks between hands. A player who goes all-in at a table stakes game may not continue to bet, and is eligible only for the main pot. 2) Sometimes "table stakes" also implies no-limit play.

Table Stakes Limit [Poker] The original term for what is now usually called table stakes

Table Talk [Poker] Any discussion at the table of the hand currently underway, especially by players not involved in the pot, and especially any talk that might affect play. Depending on the nature of the discussion, table talk is often considered somewhere between rude and an act of war. The most common example of table talk to be avoided is announcing what cards you've folded.

Table Test [General] See Audition.

Tachi [Martial Arts] A Japanese long sword worn slung from a sword belt. Like the katana, the tachi had a single-edged curved blade.

Tachi Rei [Martial Arts] "Standing bow." A salutation common to numerous Japanese martial arts.

Tachometer [Motor Sports] The instrument gauge that shows engine speed, or revolutions per minute. On a vehicle with manual transmission, the driver can use the tachometer to tell when to upshift or downshift. Also called tach.

Tack [Sailing] (1) The lower forward corner of a triangular sail (2) The direction that a boat is sailing with respect to the wind. See also port tack and starboard tack. (3) To change a boat's direction, bringing the bow through the eye of the wind.

Tack Rooms [Horse Racing] Name given to rooms in the barn area of a race track in which items necessary for the training and racing of horses are kept.

Tacking [Sailing] (1) To change a boat's direction, bringing the bow through the eye of the wind. (2) To tack repeatedly, as when trying to sail to a point up wind of the boat.

Tacking Turning [Skiing] An uphill turn connecting two uphill traverses, maintaining a diagonal rhythm, with a lesser variation of the kick turn.

Tackle [Football] A player position on both the offensive and defensive lines; there is usually a left and right offensive tackle, and a left and right defensive tackle; See also tackling.

Tackling [Soccer] The act of taking the ball away from a player by kicking or stopping it with one's feet; only a minimal amount of shoulder-to-shoulder contact, called a charge, is permitted to knock the ball carrier off balance.

Tae Kwon do [Martial Arts] "Way of hands and feet." The primary form of Korean unarmed combat, named during a conference of chung do kwan masters in 1955. It is considered the most popular martial art in the world.

Taffrail [Sailing] A rail around the stern of a boat.

Tag [Horse Racing] Claiming price.

Tag 1. [Baseball] An action runners must perform before they can advance on a fly ball. Runners must touch the base they occupy after the ball is caught before they can try to advance. Runners can leave their base before a ball it hit, but must return and touch the base if the ball is caught. 2. An action executed when a defensive player touches a runner with the ball in an attempt to get them out.

Tag Up [Baseball] A rule allowing the base runner to return to his originating base when a fly ball is hit, who can then advance to the next base once the ball is caught by a defender.

Tagamet [Horse Racing] Trade name for the drug cimetidine, a medication used to treat ulcers.

Tahoe [Poker] A variant of pineapple in which players do not discard any of their three down cards. At the showdown, players can use none, one, or two of their down cards (but not three) to form their best five-card hand in combination with the five community cards. When played high-low split, a different set of cards can be used for each direction, but no more than two for either direction. Also called lazy pineapple.

Tahoe High-Low [Poker] Tahoe pineapple, played high-low split.

Tahoe Pineapple [Poker] A variant of pineapple in which players do not discard any of their three down cards. At the showdown, players can use none, one, or two of their down cards (but not three) to form their best five-card hand in combination with the five community cards. When played high-low split, a different set of cards can be used for each direction, but no more than two for either direction. Also called lazy pineapple.

Tahoe Split [Poker] A poker game, seven-card stud high-low split, with an 8 qualifier for low.

Tai [Martial Arts] Body

Tai Chi Chuan [Martial Arts] "Grand ultimate fist." An internal system of kung fu, also called soft boxing, characterized by its deliberately slow, continuous, circular, well-balanced and rhythmic movements.

Tai Sabaki [Martial Arts] Dodging techniques

Taihen-Jutsu [Martial Arts] (Japanese) Martial Art composed of low stances, sweepings, dodges, falling and rolling exercices. Taihen-Jutsu makes part of the Ninpô-Tai-Jutsu.

Taijutsu [Martial Arts] "Body art." A generic term for a system of empty-hand combat.

Tail [Sailing] (1) The end of a line. (2) A line attached to the end of a wire to make it easier to use. (3) To gather the unused end of a line neatly so that it does not become tangled.

Tail Fin [Powerboating] An aerodynamic surface mounted vertically on the superstructure, near the transom, to improve directional stability; sometimes called the air rudder.

Tail-Hopping [Skiing] Unweightingof the tails of the skis, most easily performed on Alpine skis.

Tailed Off [Horse Racing] A horse that drops so far back during a race, that it is out of touch with the rest of the field.

Taisho [Martial Arts] The captain of a team.

Taiso [Martial Arts] Warm-up exercises

Take [Rugby] A good catch of a kick.

Take (Or Takeout) [Horse Racing] Commission deducted from mutuel pools which is shared by the track and local and state governing bodies in the form of tax.

Take (Takeout) [Horse Racing] Commission deducted from mutuel pools which is shared by the track, horsemen (in the form of purses) and local and state governing bodies in the form of tax.

Take a Bath [Poker] Lose heavily.

Take a Flyer [Cycling] See flyer.

Take a Price [General] A wager on the underdog in a money line contest.

Take a Shot [Poker] 1) Use an angle (Any technically legal but ethically dubious way to increase your expectation at a game; a trick.).2) Look for a chance to play. "I'd sure like to take a shot in that game." 3) Make a cheating move. "He has to get a little booze in him before he takes a shot."

Take Care of [Poker] Toke, that is, tip the dealer, often implying with a good tip. If you win a big pot, you want to take care of the dealer

Take Down [Roulette] To recall a wager before a decision.

Take in [Sailing] (1) To remove a sail. (2) To add a reef to a sail.

Take it in the Middle [Poker] Sit down at the precise moment it is your turn to put in the middle blind. Some clubs do not let a new player (new to the particular game) be dealt in until it is his turn to put in a blind, supposedly to prevent his getting any "free" hands. Some clubs permit a player to receive his first hand, if he is too late to get the big blind, in the middle position. In such case, the player must in the next three hands still put in an amount equal to how much he would put in if he sat through all three blinds. This requires putting in the dealer's blind when the deal is one position to his left, so that the dealer does not end up having to put too much in. Also, when the player takes it in the middle, the player to his left puts in an amount equal to that of what the middle blind ordinarily is. To take the middle blind is also called come in in the middle.

Take it or Leave it [Poker] A form of five-card stud, found only in home games, a high-low game in which, after each player has been dealt one down card, each player gets a choice, in order, on each succeeding card. When each player has one down card, there is a betting round. The dealer then offers a card off the deck to the first player. If the player wants that card, he keeps it. If he does not want it, he immediately gets the next card off the deck, and the first card is offered to the second player, who has the same options. He can take the card, or immediately get the next card off the deck, in which case that card is offered to the third player, and so on. This continues until everyone has one up card, at which point there is a second round of betting. Any card that goes all the way around the table without stopping at anyone, including the dealer, becomes dead. After the betting has been equalized, the operation starts all over, with a card being offered in turn to each player. After each time of each player having the same number of upwards another round of betting comes. After each player has four upwards, each player has the opportunity of replacing an upward with an upward, or the down card with another down card (the twist), followed again, of course, by another round of betting, and then a declaration, and then the determination of the two winners. This game is sometimes called take it or leave it, shove 'em along, or push. It is also sometimes called pass the trash, although that name is more often reserved for Anaconda.

Take Off a Card [Poker] To call a single bet in order to see one more card.

Take Off the Gloves [Poker] To use an aggressive betting strategy to bully opponents.

Take One for the Team! [Baseball] Response from offensive batting side when their batter is nearly hit by the pitched ball. If he had been hit, he would have been able to get on base automatically. Often a flippant or joking comment. This phrase is often used in Australian club baseball in this situation but may originate from America.

Take the Body [Ice Hockey] To body check an opponent.

Take the Lead [Poker] 1) Bet or raise, generally when passed to, or sometimes in an aggressive fashion. 2) Make the first voluntary bet in any round.

Take the Middle Blind [Poker] Sit down at the precise moment it is your turn to put in the middle blind. Some clubs do not let a new player (new to the particular game) be dealt in until it is his turn to put in a blind, supposedly to prevent his getting any "free" hands. Some clubs permit a player to receive his first hand, if he is too late to get the big blind, in the middle position. In such case, the player must in the next three hands still put in an amount equal to how much he would put in if he sat through all three blinds. This requires putting in the dealer's blind when the deal is one position to his left, so that the dealer does not end up having to put too much in. Also, when the player takes it in the middle, the player to his left puts in an amount equal to that of what the middle blind ordinarily is. To take the middle blind is also called come in in the middle.

Take the Odds [Craps] An additional wager on come, don't come, place, and don't place bets after the come-out roll. This is called to wager behind or to take the odds. You can wager behind x times the amount you could win, where x is the number of odds allowed. If you are playing craps with 2x odds it looks like this: you bet $10, you could win $20 and hence wager $40 behind. Some casinos offer up to 100x odds. To wager behind is what a good craps player will do and a criteria of a good craps game is how many odds the casino offers you. As the amount of allowed odds increases, the house advantage decreases considerably. When making the odds bet 1x the house edge is 0.85% / 0.68% (pass / don't pass). When making the odds bet 2x the house edge is cut down to 0.61% / 0.45% already.

Take the Points [General] A wager on the underdog in a point spread contest.

Take the Worst of it [Poker] Fighting the odds; usually preceded by take the or have the; a situation in which a wager has an unfavorable return. Opposite of best of it.

Take-Off Point [Equestrian Sports] The best point at which a horse should jump in order to clear an obstacle.

Take-Off Shot [Croquet] A croquet shot in which the strikers ball travels a great distance, but the croqueted ball moves very little.

Takeaway [Golf] The beginning of the backswing, when the club is taken away from the ground.

Takedown [Wrestling] A takedown occurs when, from a neutral position, a wrestler gains control over his opponent down on the mat and is inbounds.

Taken Down [Craps] A bet that is removed and returned to the player, either at his request or by the rules of his play.

Taken on [Horse Racing] See attacked. The leader of the race is sometimes "taken on" by another runner.

Taken Up [Horse Racing] A horse pulled up sharply by his rider because of being in close quarters.

Takeoff [Diving] The moment at which the diver lifts from the board or platform to begin execution of the dive.

Takeout [Horse Racing] The percentage taken out of every dollar wager, and split between state, track and purses; generally, in pari-mutuel racing, the percentage taken out is usually between 15-20% for straight wagers and 20-25% for exotic wagers.

Takhsh [Archery] An Indo-Persian multi-bolt crossbow.

Taking [General] Wagering on the underdog; taking the odds.

Taking a Lead [General] An early bet with a favorable price in anticipation of a subsequent movement in the line.

Taking a Price [General] Betting an underdog

Taking a Set [General] When a bookmaker increases the odds of a favoured horse, which he or she believes can't win the race, in order to receive more bets.

Taking Air Off the Spoiler [Motor Sports] A condition that occurs when one car pulls up behind another car making the lead car get loose. The lead car then must slow down allowing the second car to pass.

Taking the Air [Motor Sports] Occurs when one car pulls up behind another taking the flow of air off the spoiler. This affects the downforce of the lead car making it loose. The lead car then must slow down allowing the second car to pass.

Taking the Points [General] Betting the underdog and its advantage in the point spread.

Taking the Price [General] Betting the underdog and accepting money odds.

Tako [Archery] A blunt arrow tipped with horn, used of hunting bird, India.

Talent [Motor Sports] Television announcers.

Talking Chips [Poker] Winnings. That is, winners can afford to waste time gabbing, while the losers want to concentrate on playing. "He's got talking chips" means he's winning. Also called lobbying chips, walking chips.

Tall Buoy [Sailing] Also called a Dan buoy. A float with a flag at the top of a pole. Used to mark a position such as for a race or a man overboard.

Tall Pot [Poker] A large pot waiting to be won by someone; a large stack of chips in the center of the table, caused by excessive betting, that will look nice added to the stack of whoever wins it.

Talon [Poker] The un-dealt portion of the cards, sometimes also called the deck, stock, or stub.

Tame Shiwari [Martial Arts] Breaking techniques

Tan Tien [Martial Arts] Sea of chi." The psychic center located just below the naval, which protects the center of gravity and produces a reservior of force upon which to draw. Also known as "tan den.

Tandem [Skydiving] Parachute jumps in which two skydivers, usually an experienced skydiver and a passenger, share one parachute system. The student is in a separate harness that attaches to the front of the instructor's harness.

Tandem Rig [Rowing] A rowing arrangement in which each set of two adjacent riggers is on the same side of the boat.

Tandem Skydiving [Skydiving] The passenger and Instructor are harnessed together and use a the same main parachute, all controlled by the instructor so that the passenger can enjoy the ride.

Tandem Sprint [Cycling] The tandem sprint is like a match sprint, but it's ridden on two-man tandem bicycles over a 1,500-meter course.

Tanden [Martial Arts] Abdomen.

Tang [Sailing] A metal fitting on the mast that the spreaders are attached to.

Tang Soo do [Martial Arts] "Art of the Chinese hand." A Korean combative differing only slightly from Tae Kwon Do.

Tanto [Martial Arts] A Japanese dagger with a blade eight to sixteen inches long and carried by the samurai in addition to the katana.

Tap [Poker] Go all in, that is, bet all one's chips. Usually called tap off.

Tap City [Poker] To go broke.

Tap in [Golf] A very short putt; as a verb, to make such a putt.

Tap Off [Poker] Bet all your chips, or all the other guy's.

Tap Out [Blackjack] Losing your whole bankroll.

Tap Someone [Poker] In a no-limit game, bet all the other guy's chips. "I'll tap you" means I'm betting all you've got on the table, and you must either fold or put all your chips in the pot.

Tap you. [Poker] In a no-limit game, this means, "I bet all your chips."

Tap-Off [Poker] A bet of all your chips, or all the other guy's; usually followed by bet

Tap-Penalty [Rugby] A penalty kick on which the player taps the ball with the foot, then picks it up and passes it to a teammate.

Tape [Horse Racing] See barrier.

Tape-Measure Blast [Baseball] An extremely long home run.

Taped Off [Motor Sports] Usually refers to applying racer's tape to the brake duct opening in full bodied cars.

Taper Tip Shaft [Golf] One of a number of shafts manufactured with a tip section that varies in length and thickness below the first step. This type of shaft requires that a specific length, known as a discreet length, shaft be made for each club in a set. Taper tip shafts are more commonly used by OEM’s as compared to custom clubmakers.

Tapioca. [Poker] 1) "I'm tapping off," that is, betting all my chips. 2) Broke.

Tapoff [Poker] A bet of all your chips, or all the other guy's

Tapped [Poker] Broke.

Tapped Out [Poker] Out of money. Can refer to a player running out of money in the course of a hand, thus still active for the main pot; or can refer to a player who has lost his bankroll and can no longer play.

Tappet [Motor Sports] A pivoting actuator that opens and closes cylinder intake and exhaust valves.

Tarbil [Archery] A pellet crossbow, Malaysia.

Target / Target 21 / T.a.R.G.E.T. [Blackjack] Acronym for Table, Research, Grading and Evaluation Technique. An alternative system, originally formulated by Eddie Olsen and Jerry Patterson, to beat multi-deck Blackjack. TARGET's basic premise is that casino shuffling routines are non-random and tend to create biases in shoes, sometimes favoring the player (5% of the time) but mostly favoring the house (70%). The player must therefore identify and play in tables that show evidence of excess players' wins while avoiding tables which are "dealer-biased". A set of table-selection rules is provided, which focus on signs of players crowding the table (a lot of cigarette butts in the ashtrays, etc), for specific card sequences ("clumping") observed, etc. The system has been totally and convincingly shown to be pure snake oil, by a number of blackjack authors, through computer simulations, statistical analysis & logical arguments. [References: See Break the Dealer 1986 and BJ: A Winner's Handbook 1990, both by J. Patterson, for the system's presentation. Also see the comprehensive Sims on biased shoes in Blackjack Essays by Mason Malmuth, 1987. Also see Abdul Jalib's analysis of biases in his "In Search of Clumping" post archived in bjmath.com. See also Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong 1994, for simulations and exhaustive analysis of streakiness & bias resulting from various shuffling procedures.]

Tarkash [Archery] A quiver form Central and Northern India. Cylindrical or elliptical in section covered with cloth or velvet.