Face Card - any card with a face on it (not the Joker!), in other words a Jack, a Queen or a King. Did you just get off the boat or something?

Face-up – As opposed to - erm - face down. Face-up cards are ones that are ‘on their backs’ so that others at the table can view their suits and ranks. In Holdem the community cards are always dealt face-up, but player’s hole cards are only turned face-up if and when a showdown is reached, or if Dave P is shooting an angle. Or dealing.

Family Pot - This is a pot in which all (or when it seems like all) of the players at the table call the BB (or any raise) prior to the flop being dealt, also known as a multi-way pot. Typically these pots occur when there are many ‘live’ players at the table, and the action is very loose (business as usual in Acton, in other words).

Fast – aggressive, as in ‘fast play’ - to play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible to drive out your opponents. For example you have checked in the BB with Ac, Jc and have flopped top pair (Jh-Ts-3h) top kicker in a family pot. The flop provides a flush draw and a straight draw, so you may prefer to play it fast and take the pot down right there.

Fast company – Generally taken to mean a tough table populated by good players, but can sometimes have dubious connotations (i.e. the table is full of partners, mechanics et cetera). Also the name of a card club in Milton Keynes. I have no idea whether they are all mechanics. Probaby not.

Favourite - Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that figures to be the winner, as opposed to an underdog. If you have called two all-ins with your JJ and the other two players have A-K and Q-6, then you are a small favourite to win. Until the flop comes QQ6 of course. WTF?

Fill – Normally used when referring to draw poker, to fill your hand is to draw a card or cards that make your five-card hand (i.e. a straight, flush, full house, quads or straight flush), or in the case of Triple Draw, catching that  miracle 4 to make a number 1 after the shuffle before the 3rd draw. You godamn luckbox.

Fill Up - To catch a card that makes your full house. Example: you have J-J for trip Jacks on a board of J-2-A-K. You catch a 2 on the River to fill up. Unfortunately your opponent had top set (with K-K) and you have to hit the showers early. Again.

Fifth Street - In community card games (such as Holdem) this card is the fifth community card on the table, but in Holdem this card is usually called ‘The River’. More commonly used in stud, it is the fifth card dealt (usually face up) to each active player.

Fire - To make the first bet in a betting round. Used to emphasize that the player bet when a check was possible, showing strength. “UTG fired out another pot-sized bet, apparently unconcerned by the possible straight now out there”

First to speak / first to act – also called Under The Gun, this is when you are the first player to act in a given betting round. For instance if you completed from the Small Blind and no-one has raised then you would be ‘first to speak’ after the flop. Being first to act is usually considered a disadvantage in Holdem, as all the other players get to see what you do before deciding what to do themselves.

Fish - A fish is someone who plays poorly, and one who will generally lose money as a result. Typified by loose-passive players who see too many flops, check-call too many bets, and play too many bad cards out of position in the hope of catching that miracle flop.  I might just cut and paste that into my profile…. 

Fishhooks: Or more typically ‘hooks’, this is U.S. slang for a pair of Jacks. Why? Because a J looks like a fishhook, stupid.

Five of a Kind - A poker hand consisting of five cards of equal rank, like five Queens. It should be fairly obvious that this is only possible when you’re playing with wild cards. If someone shows down a 5-of-a-kind and you’re not playing with Jokers, I suggest you release the hounds…

Fixed Limit - A betting structure where the amount of each bet is a specific fixed amount. Usually specified as A-B, where A is the amount to bet in the first (in Holdem, two) betting rounds and B (larger than A, usually double) is the amount bet in the later (in Holdem, two again) rounds. For example, in a £1/£2 game, the bets and raises preflop and on the flop are £1 each, and the bets and raises on the river are £2 each. Fixed-Limit is just another way to say Limit Poker. Why not just say 'Limit poker' then? Excellent point. I don't have a clever answer. You say potato, etc.

Flat Call - To 'just' call a bet, in other words the emphasis is that the player chose to call and not to raise. Cue the music.

Floor / Floorman - The casino representative in charge of the card room or the specific section of a card room. The floor arbitrates disputes when unusual events happen that require an official decision, like players exposing their hands during play and stuff.

                         - "Behold the power of the Beer Hand!" -