Poker
Home Run Hitter
A home run hitter is a player who makes risky calls and wins. He takes long shots, hoping for a big hit, and sometimes they come in.
Hook
Hook is poker slang for the jack, because the letter J looks like a fish hook.
HORSE
HORSE is a mixed game that rotates through five poker variants: Hold'em, Omaha hi-lo, Razz, seven-card stud and seven-card stud hi-lo (eight or better). It is usually played with fixed limits, and the letters of its name are the first letters of the games.
Horsing
Horsing is the habit of passing a small amount of money to another player after winning a pot. It is also called scooting.
Hot Deck
A hot deck is a period when a player is dealt strong hands again and again. It implies a streak of good luck, as if the cards favored one player.
Hot Hands
Hot hands are a run of high-value hands. A player who gets many strong hands in a short time has hot hands.
Hot Seat
A hot seat is a seat in a poker game where the players have had winning hands, so it looks lucky. Players may want to sit there.
Hot Streak
A hot streak is a run of good luck or winning hands. It is also called a spinner.
House
The house is the casino or card room that runs the poker game and makes its money from the game. At a casino table, players do not play against the house but against each other, and the house takes a fee called the rake.
House Rules
House rules are the specific rules set by the person or place that hosts the game. They differ from one poker room or home game to another.
HUSNG
HUSNG is short for heads-up sit and go, a tournament for two players that starts as soon as both have registered. The winner takes the whole prize pool, after the site's fee.
Hyper Turbo
Hyper turbo is a very fast tournament format in which the blinds rise rapidly, sometimes every three minutes. Stacks are small compared with the blinds, so most of the play is short-stacked.
Ice
Ice is slang for a cold deck, a deck in which the cards have been arranged secretly by a cheater.
ICM
ICM, the Independent Chip Model, is a method that turns the chips in a tournament into their cash value based on the prizes that remain. It shows that chips are worth less than their face value when the payouts are fixed.
Ideal Edge Odds
Ideal edge odds are the theoretical maximum edge odds, which are impossible to achieve. The phrase describes the best advantage a player could have, in theory.
Idle Card
An idle card is a card that adds no value to a hand. It does not help make a pair, straight, flush or any other combination.
If
If is an older name for Gambler's Last Charge, a home poker game with five hand cards, five table cards and a wild-card rule set by the final table card.
Ignorant End
The ignorant end is the lower end of a straight in a game with community cards. A straight that uses the low end of the sequence can be beaten by a higher straight.
IIRC
IIRC is chat shorthand for 'if I remember correctly'. A writer uses it when he is not sure about a detail, such as a rule or the result of an earlier hand. It is normal forum and chat language.
Image
Image is how a player is seen by others, as an indicator of the playing style that he is likely to use. Someone who folds a lot has a tight image, and someone who plays many hands has a loose image.
Immortal
An immortal is the best possible hand, or a certain winner.
IMO/IMHO
IMO and IMHO are chat shorthand for 'in my opinion' and 'in my humble opinion'. They tell the reader that what follows is a personal view and not a fact. They appear very often in poker forums.
Implied Odds
Implied odds are the odds that include the money you may win on later streets if you hit your draw. They allow a call that looks bad on the current pot odds alone to be profitable.
Improve
To improve is to make your hand better with the cards that come later, for example on the flop, turn or river. Your hand improves when it gets stronger than it was.
In
In means to remain in the pot, which means that you have put in the money needed and you have not folded. A player who is in is still in the hand.
In a Row
In a row, or in a line, describes a sequence of cards: a straight. Five cards in a row make a straight.
In Action
In action means to be involved in playing a hand: you are one of the players who is still in the hand and can act. The time when a player is in action is the time when he is involved in the play.
In Position (IP)
Being in position means acting after your opponent on each round of betting after the flop. The player in position has the advantage of seeing what the opponent does before making a decision.
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.
In the Middle
In the middle has two meanings. It can mean a player who acts after some players but before others, or it can mean the pot, which is the money in the middle of the table. It can also mean posting the blind out of turn.
In The Money (ITM)
In the money means that a player finishes in a tournament high enough to win a prize. The point at which the first payout is guaranteed is when the bubble bursts, and all remaining players are in the money.
Index
An index is the number or letter printed on the corner of a card. A cheater can also add an index, which is a mark on the edge of a card.