Poker Glossary

Jam in poker is an expression which means to “raise all-in”. It can be used in any situation where we raise all-in regardless of the street. Its usage is more or less identical to the term shove which also means to raise all-in.

Jackpot generally refers to the largest possible prize in a certain game. In the context of poker it usually refers to the bad beat jackpot. The bad beat jackpot is awarded when a sufficiently strong hand (usually good four of a kind or better in Hold’em) loses to an even stronger hand after the chips go all in. Since such losses are very rare, the jackpotpayout is usually very large.

Insurance is a side bet (often made with other players at the table) that our hand won’t hold up after all the chips have gone in. It functions very much like any insurance policy. If our hand holds up we pay a small fee for the policy. If our hand gets sucked out on, the granter of the insurance will typically pay us the value of our equity in the pot (or possibly even the entire pot, depending on exactly what was agreed).

An inside straight draw is a type of straight draw, more commonly referred to as an open ended straight draw. We make an inside straight draw when we have four cards in rank order, allowing us to complete a straight at either end. For example, we hold 6789 in our hand and can make a straight either by hitting the Five or Ten.

Hit, in poker means to connect with our cards in some way. In most cases it means that we have picked up a made handbut can also be used to describe a situation where we pick up a good draw. It should not be confused with the term hit from blackjack which means to ask the dealer for another card.

A high hand or high-card hand is a poker hand that doesn’t make a pair or better. As such, the value of a high hand is determined by its highest ranked card (Aces being high in most variants). In the event that two high hands have the same ranked high card, the second highest card is consulted to determine a winner (and so on, through all 5 cards). High-card hands can sometimes win the pot, but their exact strength is heavily dependent on the precise situation and the variant of poker being played.

A hero call is a call made with a very weak hand on the final betting round, especially when facing a lot of action. On the surface it appears that the call being made could never be profitable since the hero calling hand is weak enough that winning seems highly unlikely. A hero call would usually be made in a situation where a player has a strong read or “tell” on his opponent. For example, if we are very confident our opponent is bluffing we might be able to call big river bets with high card type hands.

The term heads up refers to two handed poker. This would occur either because there are only two players dealt into a hand or because all other players at the table folded, leaving just two remaining. In a tournament the action becomes heads up when all other players have been knocked out of the tournament. The winner of the heads up match will win first prize in the tournament.

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.

Freeroll essentially refers to a situation where we can never lose, but we might win. Read on as we explain exactly in which situations one may use the term freeroll in poker.