Poker Glossary
Glossary / A–Z
A reference for every hand

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Ladies

Ladies is a nickname for a pair of queens. It comes from the queens being the 'ladies' of the deck. The phrase is used for pocket queens, as in 'I looked down at ladies'.

LAG (Loose‑Aggressive)

LAG means loose-aggressive: a style in which a player plays many starting hands and makes many raises, hoping to outplay his opponents.

Last Longer

A last longer is a side bet among players on who will last the longest in a tournament. The winner is the player who is eliminated last.

Late Position

Late position means the last seats to act in a betting round, usually the button and the cutoff. These positions are advantageous, since the players see how the others act first.

Lay Down Your Hand

To lay down your hand is to fold. The word is often used for folding a strong hand when you think you are beaten.

Lay Odds

To lay odds is to give favorable odds to an opponent. You risk more than you can win.

Laydown

A laydown is a fold, usually a fold of a strong hand because you believe that you are beaten. The word is often used for a good or difficult fold.

LDO

LDO stands for “legit donk out”—praising an unexpected bluff or hero spot.

Lead

To lead is to be the first to bet in a round. The word is also used for the player who is currently ahead, and for the player who made the last bet or raise in the previous round, and so 'has the lead'.

Leader

The leader is the player with the most chips in a tournament or at a table. He can apply pressure to the others with his big stack.

Leak

A leak is a consistent strategic mistake that reduces your profit. Finding and fixing leaks is a key part of improving at poker.

Leg Up

Leg up means being in a situation equal to having won the previous pot, so that you must kill the next pot if you win the current one. It is a term from kill games.

Legitimate Hand

A legitimate hand is a hand that is strong enough to have a good chance of winning the pot. The term separates real, playable holdings from bluffs and weak hands.

Let Slide

To let slide is to not call a bet from a player you think is probably bluffing. You decide that the pot is not worth the risk and you let the hand go.

Level

A level in a tournament is a period of time in which the blinds and antes stay the same. After each level, the blinds go up. For example, level 4 might have blinds of 100/200.

Leveling

Leveling is thinking about what your opponent thinks you think, and adjusting your play accordingly. It is also called multiple-level thinking. It means looking beyond your own cards to the beliefs of the other player.

Lid

A lid is the top card of the deck, the card that is about to be dealt or burned next.

Limit

Limit is a betting structure in which the size of bets and raises is fixed. In a limit game, a player cannot bet any amount; he must bet the set size. It is the opposite of no-limit.

Limit Poker

Limit poker is poker in which the size of every bet and raise is fixed. Players can only bet the set amount for the round, not any amount they choose. It is also called fixed-limit poker.

Limit Stakes

Limit stakes are a betting structure in which the largest bet and raise on each round is fixed in advance. Stakes such as $2/$4 describe the bet size on the early and late streets.

Limp

To limp is to enter the pot before the flop by only calling the big blind instead of raising. A player who does this is a limper. It is usually seen as a passive and weak play.

Limper

A limper is a player who enters the pot by calling rather than raising. Before the flop in Hold'em, a player who just calls the big blind is limping in.

Line

A line is the whole plan of a hand: the series of actions that a player takes on each street. For example, a bet on the flop, a bet on the turn and a check on the river is a line.

Liner

A liner is a face card. The name comes from the line you can see when the card is face down and its lower right corner is lifted.

List

A list is the ordered roster of players who are waiting for a game. Players put their names on it when no seat is free.

Little Blind

The little blind is the first and smallest blind bet, also called the small blind. It is posted by the player left of the button.

Little Cat

Little cat is a nonstandard hand that is sometimes given value in home games: five cards from 3 to 9 with no pair, in some circles 3 to 8. It ranks above a big dog and below a big tiger. It is also called little tiger.

Little Dog

Little dog is a nonstandard hand that is sometimes given value in home games: five cards from 2 to 7 with no pair. It ranks below a big dog and above a straight.

Little Oldsmobile

Little Oldsmobile is a nickname for a pair of eights, 8-8. It is named after the Oldsmobile car model number 88.

Live Blind

A live blind is a blind or dark bet that gives the player the option to raise, even if nobody else raises. It is also known as the option.

Live Cards

Live cards are cards that can still improve your hand because they are not in the opponents' hands or on the board. In Hold'em, a hand with live cards is a hand that has not been dominated and still has a good chance to win.

Live Hand

A live hand is a hand that is still eligible to win the pot. It has the correct number of cards and has not been mucked or ruled dead.

Live One

A live one is a not very knowledgeable player who plays a lot of hands. Good players like to have him at the table, because he loses money.

LMAO

LMAO is chat shorthand for 'laughing my ass off', a stronger version of LOL. In poker chat it is used to react to an extremely funny or unlikely situation.

Lock

A lock is a hand that cannot lose. It is also called the nuts, or a cinch.

Lock‑Up

A lock-up is a chip marker that holds a seat for a player. It shows that the seat is taken, even if the player is away.

LOL

LOL is chat shorthand for 'laughing out loud'. People type it when something is funny. In online poker chat it is used in the same way, often after an unlikely result.

Lollipop Hand

Lollipop hand is a nickname for ace-queen, A-Q.

Long Odds

Long odds describe a very low probability that something will happen. A long shot is a hand that is unlikely to win.

Look

A look is a call of the final bet before the showdown. The player who looks calls to see the opponent's hand.