I am a little confused. When someone says a righthanded reel do they mean the crank is on the right side of the reel or do they mean it is for a right handed person? Because I am righthanded but prefer to reel with my left hand so I can work the pole with my right.

it sort of evolved , verbally backwards...  "typically" if you say a right hand reel, you mean right hand retrieve.  

it refers to the retrieve.

I am a little confused. When someone says a righthanded reel do they mean the crank is on the right side of the reel or do they mean it is for a right handed person? Because I am righthanded but prefer to reel with my left hand so I can work the pole with my right.

Your first notion is correct.  It also makes sense. A right-handed reel is labeled as such by reel manufacturers because the angler will use his or her right hand to turn the handle. Regardless of the angler's hand dominance, his or her right hand will always turn the handle of a right-handed reel when the reel is used in the conventional way (i.e., not holding it upside down ;D)>

You are not alone. I definitely prefer LH over RH reels but can use both now.

Right ---> handle on the right side

Left ---> handle on the left

Nowhere it says with which hand you have to crank the handle.

Nowhere it says with which hand you have to crank the handle.

Good point! How many people do you see holding a spinning reel upside down, reeling backwards  

Nowhere it says with which hand you have to crank the handle.

Good point! How many people do you see holding a spinning reel upside down, reeling backwards

I 've seen them, at first it 's one of those things that you look but you don 't see and the image stays there in your brain, since it don 't make no sense you can 't process it right away and then -------> ah !  

That is why I mentioned whent the reel is used in the "conventional" way.  :-*

Watching someone retrieve upside down or backward is unsightly and amusing to say the least.

I like left handed for both spinning and casting, this way, I can cast more coordinately with my good arm and I don't have to switch the pole form hand to hand. With a Right handed reel you also can't get as good of a hook set, (lemme rephrase that, I can't get as good of a hook set).

Just what works for me.

Right handed retrieve means that you reel with the right hand. And left retrieve means you reel with left hand.

Way back when, almost all spinning reels were right handed, with the handle on the left.  All casting reels had the handles on the right.

My father, being left handed, special ordered left handed Mitchells, with the handle on the right.  Nowadays, its been long forgotten that it was this way

When I went from casting reels to spinning reels, I had trouble with learning to reel in with my left hand, so I used one of my dad's old lefty Mitchells.  Eventually, I got sick of casting with my right hand and switching, so I forced my self to use a left side handled (a righty model) reel.

For obvious reasons, you cannot design a casting reel that is convertible, like a spinning reel, and that is why I think this comes up. I think its just easiest to refer to a reel as a right or left hand retrieve.  I know many right handed people that prefer to use a left handed reel.  I use both, and there advantages to certain types of casts, to using one or the other.  

I really like I lefty reel for pitching and flipping, especially both of my Daiwa flipping reels, since I can reengage the spool without turning the handle.  I also like them for frog fishing, since my stronger arm (right) is pulling the fish out of the pads and slop.  Since I palm the reel, and almost always use two hands to cast, a righty suits me better for all other casting situations.  My right hand just moves from the reel (or scratching my head, LOL) to the trigger and thumbar, just behind my left.  If I need real power, I can move my left down to the butt of the rod.

It may all sound counter intuitive, or wasteful actions, but years of doing make it something I don't think about anymore.  I even once had an argument with a fishing buddy about whether I use two hands for casting, LOL.  I lost that one - didn't even realize it until I thought about it.

At any rate, repetition of either retrieve will train your muscles and you'll be able to do whatever you want.  Some guys can do everything with both hands and both lefty and right reels.