Orbit
Also: round
One full rotation of the dealer button around the table, so that every player has paid the blinds once. It is the natural unit for measuring what a seat costs and how long a stack will survive without playing a hand.
An orbit is how tournament players think about pressure. At a nine-handed table with antes, the blinds and ante together might cost two and a half big blinds per orbit; a stack of twelve big blinds therefore has roughly five orbits of life left if it never plays a pot, which is why the decision to act arrives sooner than it feels.
In cash games the same unit answers a different question: how many hands you are getting per hour, and whether a table's rake and time charge are worth the seat.
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How much does an orbit cost?
The small blind plus the big blind plus any antes — at a full table with antes that is commonly two to three big blinds.