Villain

When describing a poker hand from the first-person perspective, i.e., the perspective of the “hero,” the term villain describes the opposing player(s). Simply put, the villain is your opponent in the hand.

For example, you could come across a hand description like this: “Hero raises from the button. Villain 1 calls on the button, and Villain 2 3-bets to 15 big blinds.”

If you’re new to poker, it’s important to understand that the term “villain” doesn’t have any negative connotation to it, nor does it tell you anything about a particular player’s skills and playing style. It is simply an expression that is used to differentiate all other players involved in the hand from the main protagonist, who is termed the “hero.”