Liar’s Poker Terms: The Ultimate Glossary for SLIPS

Here is the complete, combined Liar’s Poker Terms, organized A–Z. This version merges traditional Wall Street terminology with the modern digital features of the SLIPS app, perfect for a comprehensive resource page.

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A

• Asymmetric Payout: A scenario where a successful bid wins more than an unsuccessful one loses. On each hand the payout starts out symmetric but will go asymmetric with high bid levels or if 6s are bid (doubles everything) or if special bids win the hand (None or Hero). The asymmetry can rise quickly e.g. 2x, 4x, 8x. 8x for example means a made bid wins 8 times more than what an unsuccessful one loses.

B

• Base Multiple: What the hand starts out at, the initial stakes, shown by the multiple e.g. 1x or 2x or higher at the start of each hand and logged in the Bid History window. It’s the most an unsuccessful bidder can lose to each player on the hand. Also known as the Starting Multiple.
• Best I Got: Famous SLIPS Quote often uttered when a bidder is about to take the plunge and initiate a Count, in some sense hoping other players will provide more of the same digit to help their cause.
• Bid: How many of a specific digit exist across all the serial numbers in play. For example “5 7s” means there are 5 or more occurrences of a 7 across all hands. A bid has two parts, the bid level (how many), followed by the bid number (which digit). Bid number is conventionally appended with an s for bid levels above 1.
• Bidder: The person whose turn it is. They must either make a bid, challenge a previous bid, or possibly initiate a count if their bid was challenged by all the other players.
• Bid Digit: Which specific digit (which number) is currently in play, also known as Bid Number.
• Bid History: A scrolling record that tracks game activity. It includes the Hand number, a row identifier, your hand and the base or starting multiple of the hand. It then displays Bids, Challenges, Counts, Count reveals and the outcome (did the Bid win/lose) along with a Slip PL Summary at the end of each Slip.
• Bid Level: How many of a specific digit is currently in play. When the bid level reaches 3 more than the number of players, asymmetry kicks in via the Level Multiple and the payoff on a successful bid doubles.
• Bid Loss: A bid generally loses when there are less of the bid digit present across all hands than however many were bid on e.g. the bid was 5 7s but the count only turned up 4.
• Bid Number: Which specific digit (which number) is currently in play, also known as Bid Digit.
• Bid Order: The turn order. May be set by the Host in Session Setup. In-person games typically proceed in clockwise fashion.
• Bid Probability Gauge: Shows the percentage chance of a bid succeeding given the number needed to make a particular bid, taking into account what’s in the player’s own hand. Controlled by a Settings toggle, it appears between the -/+ steppers at the bottom of the game console.
• Bid Rank: Identifies where a bid stands relative to another e.g. a bid of 4 0s ranks higher than 4 9s.
• Bid Win: A bid generally wins when there are as many or more of the bid digit present across all hands.
• Bluff: An attempt to deceive your opponents, either by making a bid on a digit you don’t actually have or perhaps challenging a digit that you do actually have.
• Bottom Fisher: Famous SLIPS Quote categorizing a player that challenges almost every bid.

C

• Call: Another term for challenge.
• Carry over: Describes the process of stakes from the previous hand moving to the next by way of the Base Multiple. Outgoing Hand multiple becomes the Base Multiple on the next hand.
• Challenge: Announcing that you don’t believe the current bid will be successful, meaning the total count of the bid digit doesn’t actually exist across all hands.
• Cheaper to Raise: Famous Slip Quote indicating a situation where raising the bid and potentially losing would result in less of a loss than challenging and losing.
• Count: A count ends the hand and determines if the bid was successful or not. It reveals how many of the bid digit each player had and how much the bidder and challenger(s) won/lost.

D

• Digits: The individual numbers (0–9) found on a serial number that make up a player’s “hand.”
• Digit Count: The total number of a specific digit currently held by all players at the table combined.
• Donor: Famous SLIPS Quote for a player who always seems to contribute one or two in their hand to the pot.
• Dream Slip: A Slip filled with multiple high value (3,4,5 of a kind) hands. Also, a Slip where you manage to win all ten hands.

E

• Edge: The statistical or psychological advantage a player has, often based on superior math or reasoning skill and the ability to “read” other players.
• Eight-of-a-Kind: Same digit across all eight places in a hand. Highly unlikely statistically, 10 million to 1 odds of ever seeing one.
• Extra!: Famous SLIPS Quote often uttered by a gleeful successful bidder when there are more of the bid digit present after a Count than however many were bid.

F

• Face Value: The numerical value of a digit e.g. “8” is higher than a “4”, “0”, meaning 10, is higher than a “9”).
• Famous SLIPS Quotes: a collection of phrases that became part of Slips lore.
• Final Final: Famous Slip Quote intended to announce the very last hand to be played, the end of the Session, no more Slips (for now).
• Final Hand Doubled: The Base multiple for the tenth and final hand on a Slip is double the Hand multiple of the ninth hand, naturally increasing the stakes for the last hand to be played.
• Fisted: Throwback term used to describe not getting any of the Bid digit in the Count. Players used to hold up fingers to show how many they were contributing and a fist when they had none.
• Five-of-a-Kind: A rare and high-ranking hand consisting of five identical digits; in the SLIPS app, this is a very strong hand.
• Four-of-a-Kind: A hand containing four of the same digit, also considered a strong hand.

G

• Game Console: Where SLIPS action for a Session takes place. Each Session opens up to its own instance.
• Go For It: Exhortation by another player who has likely challenged to someone thinking about whether to increase the Bid or Challenge, of course favoring the increase.

H

• Hand: The specific set of numbers (8 digits) assigned to a player for a single round.
• Hand History: A record of previous actions and outcomes, used to track what is going on, aka Bid History.
• Hand Identifier: The letter A thru Q to the left of a Hand, throwback to the paper days when it was used to track which of the fifteen rows on a Slip was in play.
• Hand Multiple: Starts at 1 on every hand and then may increase by way of the Level Multiple and Sixes Multiple. Hand Multiple = Level Multiple (starts when Bid Level reaches #Players + 3) x Sixes Multiple (2x if 6s are bid, 1x otherwise). It also carries over to become the Base or Starting multiple for the next hand.
• Hero: A rare way to win. The bidder has none of the bid digit in their hand but the Count is still made from the other players hands. For example the player bids 5 4s with no 4s in their own hand and this is challenged around by the others who then reveal 5 or more 4s.
• Hero Bid: A none bid that hopes to win the hand by garnering enough of the bid digit from the other players.
• Hidden: Typically refers to digits 6 through 10 (shown as 0).
• Hide Count on Bid Loss: Settings toggle that replaces what the bidder has with “Not Enough” when the Count is revealed on an unsuccessful bid. For a winning bid what the bidder has is always shown.
• High Digits: Typically refers to digits 8 through 10 (shown as 0).
• Host: The player that initiates a Session, sending out invites to other players and deciding the turn order and custom name in Session Setup.
• Hop On: A term used to describe when a player not previously involved in the bidding decides to make one as the true number in play emerges. 

I

• iMessage: SLIPS uses iMessage to send out invites to Contacts in the form of a rich link with a preview image. Invitees tap on the image to accept.
• I Smell Them: Famous SLIPS Quote playfully announcing that in their opinion there may be plenty of the bid digit present among all hands.

L

• Last Defense: Famous SLIPS Quote for the last person to go before a bid is challenged around. Meaning if they don’t raise the bid it may (or will if 2nd time around) go to a Count.
• Letter next to Hand: aka Hand Identifier. The letter A thru Q shown to the left of a Hand, throwback to the paper days when it was used to track which of the fifteen rows on a Slip was in play.
• Level Multiple: Increases the payout on a successful bid as the bid level (how many of a particular digit) rises. Doubles when bid level reaches #Players + 3 and increases by 1 from there for every 2 more in level. For example, in a 4-player game stakes will 2x when the bid level gets to 7, 3x at the 9 level, 4x at the 11 level, and so on. The Level Multiple combines with the Sixes Multiple to determine the Hand Multiple (Hand Multiple = Level Multiple x Sixes Multiple).
• Liar’s Poker: A strategic betting game where players bid on the frequency of digits in the serial numbers of dollar bills, which serve as hands.
• Liar’s Poker SLIPS: The mobile application used to generate “virtual bills,” ensuring randomized serial numbers for fair play and special rules and features that elevate the game above basic Liar’s Poker.
• Linear Bidding: A style of play where players increase the bid digit by only one increment at a time e.g. 3 1s, 3 2s, 3 3s.
• Low Digits: Typically refers to digits 1 through 3. 1s are often employed to go up to the lowest value above the previous bid level e.g. 4 0s >> 5 1s.

M

• Missed by One: Famous SLIPS Quote lamenting missing out on a successful bid by just one.
• MMS Messaging: Stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. Must be set to on in Settings > Apps > Messages (along with iMessage) for SLIPS Game Center invites to reach their destination as a rich link. Tap the picture to accept the invite.
• Multiple: The mechanism by which stakes vary within and across hands, defining how many units are won/lost in each hand and appended by an x in SLIPS. Below are formulas for the various multiples used in SLIPS:

Payoff Multiple = Base (Starting) Multiple times Hand Multiple

Hand Multiple = Level Multiple times Sixes Multiple

Hand Multiple becomes Base (Starting) Multiple for next hand except after a None Bid when Base (Starting) Multiple is 2x or 4x if it’s the tenth hand 

N

• Natural: A player that has innate ability to read others and consistently infer just how many of a particular digit they may be holding.
• Need Help: Famous SLIPS Quote, basically a plea by a bidder going for the count and hoping for digits from the other players.
• Next Hand Logic: To determine the next hand to be played SLIPS skips rows equal to the count of odd numbers in the last digit of everyone’s hand, cycling back through to the top after reaching bottom and also skipping hands already played. Note there are 15 hands on a Slip but only 10 will be chosen for play.
• None Bid: When a player bids on a digit that’s not in their hand. A none bid wins when either the count is made from other player’s hands (a Hero) or there are none of the bid digit present across everyone’s hand. The none bid Hand Multiple is calculated as max(0, 2n – 6) where n is the number of players. Note it cannot win in 2-player (other than Hero) and results in a tie in 3-player (unless Hero). The multiple increases with the number of players but the odds of everyone having none of a particular digit in their hand decreases dramatically. Although not a high percentage play, the none bid can be an effective bluffing tool.
• No Tears: From Liar’s Poker the book, a phrase uttered by Salomon’s CEO John Gutfreund in advance of a fictitious $1MM hand with top arbitrage trader John Meriwether.

O

• On The Nose: Famous SLIPS Quote describing a successful bid at the exact number specified by the Bid Level e.g bid was 5 6s and there are 5 6s present across everyone’s hand.
• Opening Bid: The first bid made in a round. First player to go must make a bid e.g. The host opens the bidding with 3 1s
• Over-bid: Bidding a quantity that is statistically unlikely to be present across all hands.

P

• Pair: Two of the same digit within a single serial number.
• Payoff: The units that can be won in a particular hand, either by the bidder on a successful bid or the challenger(s) on an unsuccessful one.
• Payoff Multiple: Shown to the right of the hand in the game console, appended with an x and color coded, it details what a successful bid will cost each challenger. By formula

Payoff Multiple = Base (Starting) Multiple times Hand Multiple

• Payout: The amount won/lost by each side (bidder vs challenger(s)) after the count.
• Pot: How many of the bid digit exist across all player’s hands.
• Probability Table: A reference showing the likelihood of certain digit counts based on the number of players. See Bid Probability Gauge, which encapsulates the statistical odds of a bid succeeding.
• Push: Same as a tie, no units in either direction. In SLIPS the only way to push a hand is with a successful 3-player None Bid.

R

• Rank: The hierarchy of a digit. In Slips 1s are the lowest and 0s (representing 10s) is the highest. When a bid gets to 0s the next higher bid must increase in level e.g. 4 0s >> 5 1s.
• Rarity Tiers: A construct used in digital play to categorize hands based on mathematical probability e.g. “Ultra Rare”.
• Restrict Excessive Bids: A Settings toggle designed to prevent rogue players from making outlandishly high bids in order to drastically boost the multiple for the next hand. 
• Reveal: Upon a Count ending a hand, the Bid History window shows what everyone had and how the bidder fared.

S

• Serial Number: The unique 8-digit code on a dollar bill (or virtual slip) that acts as a player’s hand.
• Session: A continuous period of play consisting of multiple rounds between the same group of 2 to 12 players.
• Session Name: Descriptor automatically assigned to each new Session that make be customized by the host at Session Startup e.g. “Dream Slip”
• Session Startup: Staging screen where SLIPS Sessions are ultimately started by the host once all participants are checked in.
• Settlement: Allows players to balance out unit totals on a per session basis. Once processed it appears as a gold row in Sheet Detail with values negated to balance out the Sheet. In the app Settings see How To Play Reference > SLIPS 106 – Settlement/Removal for more information.
• Seven-of-a-Kind: Extremely rare hands with seven of the same digit out of eight. Considered “jackpots” of the system.
• Sheet: Where gain/losses and settlement are tracked for each session.
• Six-of-a-Kind: Extremely rare hands with six of the same digit out of eight. Considered “jackpots” of the system.
• Sixes Multiple: Doubles the hand multiple whenever 6s are bid. But returns to 1 when the bid digit moves off of 6s.
• Slip: A slip of paper or digital representation thereof containing 15 randomly generated hands for use in play, 10 of which are chosen.
• SLIPS: Shorthand for Liar’s Poker SLIPS. Doubles as an acronym for Super Liar’s Poker SLIPS.
• Slip PL: Profit Loss. How far up/down you are unitwise on a particular Slip.
• Slip Popup: Activated by a double tap on the hand in the Game Console, it pops up to show all 15 hands on a Slip with additional notation for completed hands and the hand in play.
• Solly Rules: The convention used at Salomon Brothers aka “Solly” to play Liar’s Poker Slips.
• Sorting: A single tap on your hand in the Game Console sorts the digits in ascending order.
• Stakes: What a unit is worth in currency terms e.g. we’re playing for $2 units.
• Starting Multiple: What the hand starts out at, the initial stakes, shown by the multiple e.g. 1x or 2x or higher at the start of each hand and logged in the Bid History window. It’s the most an unsuccessful bidder can lose to each player on the hand. Also known as the Base Multiple.
• Statistical Reasoning: An ability to analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions from data by understanding concepts like variability and probability.
• Steal: When a player with less of or even none of the bid digit manages to win the hand.
• Snake-in-the-Grass: A bluffing strategy of making an early challenge on a digit that you actually have in high volume.

T

• Three-of-a-Kind: A hand containing three of the same digit.
• There’s Got To Be Some Numbers: Famous SLIPS Quote generally uttered by a bidder not performing well in part due to paltry digit counts from other players.
• Tilt: When a player “loses their mind” and starts bidding excessively in every hand, only to suffer greater losses.
• Tie: No units in either direction. In SLIPS the only way to tie a hand is with a successful 3-player None Bid.
• Turn Order: The fixed order of play in a Slips Session, managed by the Host in Session Startup. Note the final bidder in a hand keeps the turn and opens the bidding in the next hand.

U

• Unit: How gains/losses are measured in SLIPS. Players decide what a unit is worth e.g. a dollar, a euro or points toward a prize. 

V

• Virtual Bill: A randomly generated 8-digit number provided by the SLIPS app to replace physical currency and facilitate play.

W

• Wall Street Rules: The most common high-stakes variation of the game, characterized by 2nd chance bids, asymmetric payouts via a multiple, variable stakes and novel ways to win.
• Whale: A player with a large appetite for risk, for who the stakes are trivial. They often play aggressively in high value hands, without fear, “No Tears”.

Z

Zero-sum: What is won by one is borne by everyone else and vice versa. Gains and losses are balanced, resulting in a net change of zero across all players. SLIPS is a zero-sum game.