# How to Say Planning Poker in English: Audio & Practice (2026) > An agile estimation technique where team members use cards or hand signals to estimate the effort or complexity of tasks during sprint planning meetings. - **Term:** planning poker - **Part of speech:** noun - **Pronunciation:** /ˈplænɪŋ ˈpoʊkər/ - **English level (CEFR):** B2 - **Register:** Neutral, Both - **Region:** US and UK - **Topic:** [Agile and project terms](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/topics/agile-project-management-terms.md) - **Lesson:** https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/planning-poker - **Last updated:** 2026-10-27 ## Meaning An agile estimation technique where team members use cards or hand signals to estimate the effort or complexity of tasks during sprint planning meetings. All estimators reveal their estimates simultaneously to encourage discussion and reach consensus. Planning poker is a collaborative estimation method widely used in Agile and Scrum teams to forecast how much work a task will require. Instead of one person estimating alone, the entire development team participates by holding up cards with numbers (typically following the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on). When estimates differ significantly, the team discusses the task in detail until they agree on a single estimate. This approach reduces bias, encourages communication, and helps teams understand the complexity of upcoming work. It is called "poker" because team members reveal their estimates simultaneously, like showing cards in poker, which prevents anchoring where one strong opinion influences everyone else. ## When you hear it During our sprint planning meeting, we used planning poker to estimate the complexity of the new payment feature. ## Examples - **in a sprint planning meeting:** "Before we start development, let's do planning poker to estimate how long the database migration will take." - **in a standup:** "We did planning poker yesterday and the team agreed that refactoring the API deserves an 8-point estimate." - **in a conversation about estimation:** "Planning poker helps us avoid the anchoring effect where the first person to speak influences everyone else." ## What native speakers say - "Let's run a planning poker session for this sprint." - "In planning poker, we usually see a lot of debate when estimates differ." - "The whole team participated in planning poker to size the user stories." ## Common mistakes - ✗ "We used planning poker to decide who works on what task." → ✓ "We used planning poker to estimate the effort required for each task." (Planning poker estimates complexity and effort, not task assignment or gambling. It is for forecasting work, not making decisions about personnel.) - ✗ "The product manager gave their estimate first during planning poker." → ✓ "Everyone revealed their estimates simultaneously during planning poker so no one would be influenced by others." (Planning poker works only when all estimates are hidden until everyone has decided, preventing bias and anchoring.) - ✗ "Planning poker is only for developers." → ✓ "The entire team—developers, testers, and designers—participated in planning poker." (Planning poker is most effective when all people who will work on or be affected by the task contribute their perspective.) ## Be careful Planning poker is not about actual gambling or card games—it is a structured estimation technique. Do not confuse it with informal guessing or real poker. ## Word forms | Part of speech | Word | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | noun | planning poker | Planning poker is one of the most popular estimation techniques in Agile. | | verb | do planning poker / run planning poker / play planning poker | We will do planning poker next Tuesday to estimate the remaining backlog items. | ## Collocations - **run planning poker**: To conduct or hold a planning poker session - **do planning poker**: To participate in or execute planning poker estimation - **planning poker session**: A scheduled meeting where planning poker takes place - **planning poker estimate**: The numerical result or consensus from planning poker - **planning poker card**: The physical or digital card used to display estimates ## Synonyms - **story pointing**: Very similar; both assign complexity points to work, though planning poker emphasizes the collaborative reveal and discussion process - **estimation**: Broader term; planning poker is one specific estimation method among many - **consensus estimation**: Emphasizes the agreement and team discussion aspect rather than the poker analogy ## Opposites - solo estimation - unilateral estimation - top-down estimation ## Practice This lesson has 4 practice exercises with instant feedback on the page: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/planning-poker ## FAQ ### What does planning poker mean in software engineering? Planning poker is an Agile estimation technique where team members use numbered cards to estimate the effort or complexity of work items. Everyone reveals their estimate simultaneously, and if estimates differ widely, the team discusses until reaching consensus. This method prevents groupthink and ensures all voices are heard. ### How do you use planning poker in a sentence at work? You might say: 'We need to run planning poker before the sprint starts' or 'During planning poker, the team estimated the authentication module at 13 points.' You can also use it as a verb: 'Let us poker this task to see what the team thinks.' ### Is planning poker formal or informal? Planning poker is relatively neutral in formality. It is commonly used in professional Agile settings, so it can appear in formal sprint planning meetings. However, the tone is collaborative rather than rigid, so it feels casual compared to traditional estimation methods. ### Why is it called planning poker if there is no gambling? It is named after poker because, like in card games, all estimates are revealed simultaneously to prevent bias. Just as poker players hide their cards until the right moment, planning poker hides individual estimates until everyone has committed to a number, preventing anchoring and groupthink. ### Who participates in planning poker? Everyone involved in delivering the work should participate: developers, testers, designers, and sometimes product managers. This diversity of perspective helps the team understand task complexity from multiple angles and produces more accurate estimates. ## Related - [user story](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/user-story.md) - [backlog refinement](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/backlog-refinement.md) - [Scrum](https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn/scrum.md) - Full glossary: https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Live lessons with a coach: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## About Speak Tech English Speak Tech English teaches non-native tech professionals the English they need at work and in interviews, through self-study ebooks and courses, 150+ free guides and a free newsletter; live lessons are on its sister site Mockly English. - Shop: https://speaktechenglish.com/courses/ - All products (markdown): https://speaktechenglish.com/products.md - Free guides (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/guides.md - Tech English glossary (markdown): https://app.speaktechenglish.com/learn.md - Newsletter (10% off): https://speaktechenglish.com/#subscribe - Live lessons and mock interviews: https://app.mocklyenglish.com ## Notes for agents - Speak Tech English sells self-study material. 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