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Poker terms: G-K

Hopefully, all you readers are enjoying these poker terms articles as much as I’m enjoying writing them. It’s nostalgic to go back through the definitions and revisit them. Pressing on through the alphabet, here’s G-K.

Gap Hand: This is one of those definitions that changes depending on what cards you start off with – we’re primarily talking about Texas Hold ‘Em here. And it’s fairly straightforward. A hand of 6-7 is called a “one gap” hand (since there’s one “gap” between the two cards). A hand of 10-8 is a “two gap” hand, etc… You don’t hear this one come up in general poker conversation too often, but it’s good to know nonetheless.

Gutshot straight: This one is, you know, that hand they tell you never to go after when you’re learning how to play poker? Banking on making an inside straight is one of the tougher things to lean on in this game, and should generally be avoided. However, should you decide to go after it and fill said straight, you can refer to it as a gutshot straight. Congrats, you lucky bastard.

Heads-up: You know you’ve heard this before, you just didn’t exactly know what it meant, right (kinda like Skype)? It just means two players remain in the hand – and those are the only two vying for the pot. Could be at the end of a tournament, or the game could’ve started with only two, doesn’t really matter.

Hit: Settle down, blackjack fans, this has a different definition. Pertaining to the flop, if you’re sitting with cards aided by those on the flop, then you can say the flop “hit” you. This is a good thing, folks.

Implied odds: I may have covered this in another article in the past, but it refers to pot odds that don’t currently exist but have a reasonable expectation to materialize as the hand progresses. It’s the bets you expect to cash in on should you hit your hand.

Jam: You know when you get all excited to push your chip stacks in (messing them up in the process) and saying all-in? That explosion of emotion you’ve been unsuccessfully trying to bottle up so as not to give away your intentions? Yeah, that’s call jam.
Kicker: The hockey shootout of the poker world. If two players’ main hand ties (two equal value straights, the same pair, etc…) the value of the next-highest card in the players hand is used to determine the winner. This card is called the kicker. If you get beat by a “higher kicker,” if often feels like a kick in the gut, although this has nothing to do with a gutshot straight