Is hdl cholesterol the good cholesterol?

Yes: Yes. Hdl-c is good. Ldl-c is bad cholesterol. Triglycerides are little fats in the blood, which are also bad.

Yes: Hdl is the good one & LDL the bad one.

Good, Bad, Ugly: Hdl cholesterol has many " good qualities" and in general is thought of as "protective" however, our current technologies that measure HDL cholesterol do not tell us whether or not HDL is doing any of these "good" things. Bottom line, is that for groups of patients high HDL is protective, but for individuals it is hard to predict what HDL is doing. Bottom line is treat riskfactors regarless of hdl.