Glossary of Poker Terms

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Terms starting with H

Hand
A hand is also everything that happens between shuffles - cards are dealt, betting is done, a winner is declared, and the pot is pushed. To "play a hand" sometimes means to be dealt in, and sometimes means to at least call the initial bet. Use context to figure out which.
A hand also refers to the cards you hold - in games where you have more than five cards (e.g., seven card stud or Texas hold'em), it's your best five cards.

For your enjoyment, here are the different types of hands you can make in poker, in increasing order of strength: no pair; pair; two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush.

Lastly, sometimes the phrase "a hand" means specifically a good hand or a playable hand.

I've played (been dealt) two thousand hands in a row without making a flush.

I haven't played (seen the flop with) a hand in hours.
I didn't get a hand for the next six hours.
Lemme see your hand.

Heads-Up
Play between only two players.
We decided to play a heads-up freezeout to settle the argument.

I raised on the turn and managed to get it heads-up.

Help
Someone who says they need help means they need their hand to improve in order to have a chance at the pot. Or that they've just pawned their pacemaker to fund a few more hours of poker. Use context to figure out which.

High
The high hand is simply the best hand. When playing a high-low split game, one is said to "win the high" when one has the best hand, while another player wins the low. In seven card stud, the player with the strongest up cards is said to be high, and is usually first to act on fourth and subsequent streets.

High-Low Split
In high-low split games, half the pot goes to the best hand (the high), half to the worst (the low). The criteria for deciding the low vary - see low. Split games are also often played with a qualifier that the low hand must be "8 or better." This means that the low hand must have five unpaired cards 8 or lower. Omaha and Seven Card Stud are the most popular high-low split games.
Note that if there is a sole winner of one pot and a tie for the other, the sole winner wins half the pot while the other half is split evenly among the tied hands.


Hit
To hit (or miss) the flop means to match (or not to match) the flop in some way, usually to pair one of the flopped cards. You can also hit or miss on a draw, depending on whether or not the cards you were drawing for showed up. Players whose bluffs are called when they miss their draws on the river often mutter "I missed," as if to point out that they weren't betting completely insanely.
The reason I bet with overcards was because I didn't see how anyone who called my raise could've hit that flop.


Hit and Run
A player who leaves the table shortly after scooping a big pot is sometimes described as playing hit and run poker, especially if they'd only been at the table a short time. It's loosely implied that they would not have left if they hadn't won the pot.

Hold'em
See Texas Hold'em.

Hole
Your first two down cards in seven card stud. If they're both jacks, you have a pair of jacks "in the hole." See also pocket.

Horsing
Another word for scooting - the practice of passing a small amount of money to another player after winning a pot.

House
The cardroom (management, owners, etc.) is the house. The house rakes money from the pot, has house rules, and when someone walks in, you might say they're "in the house." If you're so inclined. See also full house.

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