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Hand ranking simply refers to the order of poker hands based on their strength. For example, a flush beats a straight but loses to a full house. While many variants of poker use the same hand rankings, some variants use different hand rankings. “Lowball” games such as Razz and 2-7 triple Draw make use of a low hand ranking system. The easiest way of explaining low hand rankings is “worst hand wins” although hand ranking rules are not the same across all lowball variants. Whichever variant of poker we look to play, it makes sense to be very familiar with the exact hand rankings of that variant before sitting down at the table.

Hand for Hand is a stage in poker tournaments where every table must finish their current hand before the tournament moves on to the next hand.

Gutshot is the nickname for an inside straight draw. For example, we hold 5679 and are waiting on an 8 in order to complete our straight. The nickname gutshot is so popular that the term ‘inside straight draw’ has almost entirely faded from use. Gutshotis essentially the new official name for this type of draw.

Grinding refers to playing long hours at the poker table, often in the hopes of making a living. It’s not a term that originated with poker – the dictionary definition of grind is “hard dull work”. It conveys the idea of doing something repetitive and boring – in exchange for a monetary reward in the case of poker. However, poker players often just use the term grinding interchangeably with “playing poker” – it no longer necessarily implies long hours or a dull experience.

Gap refers to the distance in rank between two cards. In Hold’em, the starting hand 79s (seven nine suited) is referred to as a suited one-gapper because there is a gap of one rank between the two cards. 96s is hence referred to as a two-gapper while 95s is referred to as a three-gapper. The term can be applied to other scenarios. The starting hand T876 in Omaha is referred to as “ten-high rundown top gap”.

A full house is a 5-card poker hand made up from three-of-a-kind and one-pair, for example KKKQQ. They are named using the following expression - “X’s full of Y’s” - where X is the three-of-a-kind component and Y is the pair component. As an example, KKKQQ is called “Kings full of Queens”. In the vast majority of poker formats, a full house beats a flush, but loses to four-of-a-kind.