In the Hole
In the hole means the cards dealt face down to a player, called the hole cards. In Hold'em and Omaha, these are the private cards.
The simple explanation
If a player says 'I have aces in the hole', he has two aces as his private cards. Other players do not see them.
A closer look
The phrase is also used for a hand that is partly hidden in stud games: for example, 'a king in the hole' means a king that is face down. The words 'hole' and 'pocket' are used for the same cards. A player who is 'in the hole' in another sense is losing money, so look at the context.
A practical example
A player says that he has A♥ A♦ in the hole.
Full explanation
In the hole means the cards dealt face down to a player, called the hole cards. In Hold’em and Omaha, these are the private cards.
In the hole means face-down cards.
These are private to the player.
It is used in both Hold’em and stud.
Hole and pocket mean the same cards.
Preflop
No-limit Hold’em · Blinds 1/2 chips · No rake
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
Read the example transcript
Player A has the button (BTN) and posts the 1-chip small blind (SB). Player B posts the 2-chip big blind (BB).
- Preflop · Pot: 3 chips
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of diamonds (Kd) · Stack 199 · In this round 1
- Player B BB 99 of clubs (9c)88 of clubs (8c) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 8 chips
Before the flop, Player A raises to 6. The betting round before any community cards is called preflop.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of diamonds (Kd) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB 99 of clubs (9c)88 of clubs (8c) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
Cards are shown for learning; totals are displayed before pot collection.