beginner
Heads Up
Heads up means that only two players are involved in a hand or in a game. It is a pot contested by two players.
Hearts
Hearts is one of the four suits in a standard deck, with diamonds, clubs and spades. There are 13 hearts in the deck, and the suit is red.
Heater
A heater is a winning streak or a long run of good cards. A player who is on a heater is winning a lot of pots, often in a row.
Heinz
Heinz is a nickname for a starting hand of five and seven, 5-7, after the '57 Varieties' slogan of the Heinz company.
Help Card
A help card is a card that improves a player's hand. When it comes, your hand is stronger than before.
Hero
Hero is the name for the player whose point of view is used in a hand discussion. The hero is you or the player you are following, and the opponent is the villain.
High Hand
The high hand is the best hand in a round of poker. In hi-lo games, the high hand wins one half of the pot, and in some casinos a high hand jackpot pays the best hand of the hour.
High‑Card
A high card is a hand in which no other combination is possible, so the highest card decides the value. It is the lowest-ranked kind of poker hand.
Hijack
The hijack is the seat two places to the right of the button, immediately before the cutoff. In a six-handed game it is the third player to act before the flop, after the under the gun player. It is usually written HJ.
Hit
Hit means that the flop contained cards that help your hand, as in 'the flop hit me'. It can also be used for the turn and the river.
Hitchhiker
A hitchhiker is a player who comes into a pot cheaply as the victim of a trap. He enters because the price is low and does not know that a strong hand is waiting.
Hockey Sticks
Hockey Sticks is a nickname for a pair of sevens, 7-7. The number 7 looks like a hockey stick.
Hold’em
Hold'em, usually called Texas Hold'em, is the most popular form of poker. Each player gets two private cards, and five community cards are dealt face up in the middle.
Hole Cards
Hole cards are the cards dealt face down to each player that only that player can see. In Texas Hold'em each player gets two, in Omaha four. They are combined with the community cards to make the best hand.
Home Game
A home game is a poker game played in a private home, not in a casino or a card room. It can range from a friendly low-stakes game among neighbors to a large private game with high stakes.
Hook
Hook is poker slang for the jack, because the letter J looks like a fish hook.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.