Definition of Welcher

What does the term "welcher" mean in the world of poker? What is meant by a "welcher"?

In poker, or in the world of gambling in general, a "welcher" is somebody who does not pay up on a bet.

For instance, let's say that two professional poker players enter into a "last longer" bet at a World Series of Poker tournament. The player who exits the tournament first must pay the other player a total of $5,000 cash.

Player #1 exits the tournament almost immediately due to a bad beat. Instead of waiting to settle up with player #2, player #1 leaves. Unfortunately for player #2, player #1 has almost no cash to his name and is being backed in tournaments due to his current financial position.

Instead of coming up with a repayment plan, player #1 cuts off all contact with player #2. This results in some bad blood, and player #2 elects to tell the rest of the poker world about the unpaid debt.

In the poker world, reputation is everything. Thanks to the unpaid $5,000 wager, player #1 will now have trouble entering into other bets or receiving backing deals, as he has proven himself to be untrustworthy.

In this case, player #1 was "freerolling", meaning that he entered into a wager with no intention of paying if he lost.

As Warren Buffett says, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only five minutes to destroy it. Nothing destroys a poker player's good name faster than welching on a wager.

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