In poker "to gamble" or "gambling" has a common and specific meaning aside from the general definition of gambling. It generally means putting up abnormally large amounts of money in risky situations. It most commonly occurs when a player has a poor read on an opponent who has just made a large bet or raise.

Unlike simply making a mistake of pot odds or implied odds, making a gamble generally implies the player is aware of the situation. That is, the player is unable to accurately calculate their odds as there is too much uncertainty in the other players hand. It would further indicate that the player believes his opponent may be bluffing.