River

1. The last card dealt in Texas Hold'em and Omaha, also called "fifth street." In a five card stud game, the river is dealt face down to each player individually.
2. To make a winning hand on the river, as in "rivered." (verb)

Origin

One credible theory is that the term came from the Mississippi riverboats on which poker was played in the 1800's. Sometimes, cheaters would purposely deal a final community card that would improve their own hand. If caught, they would often be thrown overboard, into the river, thus giving the "river" card its name.

Popular Uses

I was so lucky that the board paired on the river. I had hit my set on the turn, but my opponent made a straight on the turn. That river gave me the winning full house. -Fictional poker player

That donk gave me a free card and let me hit my straight on the turn. Of course, internet poker is rigged to reward bad players, so I ended up getting rivered. -Unknown

Friggin' RiverStars! -Every bad online poker player

Related Terms

Flop, Turn