intermediate
Insurance
Insurance is a side agreement in which a player pays another player a certain amount in exchange for a guarantee of winning a certain amount of money regardless of the outcome of the hand. In other contexts, it means a deal to split the pot.
Intentional Flashing
Intentional flashing is the deliberate showing of one or more hole cards to an opponent or to the whole table. The player does it on purpose, not by accident.
Investment Odds
Investment odds are the estimated returns on betting investments. They describe how much a player can expect to receive for the amount he puts in.
Isolate
To isolate is to raise before the flop with the aim of playing one-on-one against a weak player who has limped or entered the pot. The raise should chase away the other players and leave you with a single opponent.
Isolation
Isolation is a strategy in which a player raises to force the other players to fold, leaving him heads-up against the original bettor. The raiser isolates one opponent.
Jack and Back
Jack and Back is a form of jackpot poker that turns into lowball if nobody opens. It is also called Jack and Reverse, Jacks Back or Jackson.
Jack Up
To jack up is to raise. A player jacks up the pot when he increases the bet.
Jackpot
A jackpot in poker is a special prize offered by a room or a casino, awarded for a rare outcome. The best-known example is the bad beat jackpot, which is paid when a very strong hand loses to an even stronger one.
Jackpot Poker
Jackpot poker is a poker game where there is a large prize pool, the jackpot, or a draw game where you need a pair of jacks or better to open. The name has two meanings, so check which one is meant.
Jacks to Open
Jacks to open is a form of draw poker in which a player needs a pair of jacks or better to open the betting. It is also called jackpots.
Jacks‑or‑Better
Jacks-or-Better is a popular video poker game in which the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks. A hand weaker than jacks does not win.
Jagging
Jagging is a cheater's technique of marking cards with a fingernail or a device. The marks let the cheater recognize cards from the back.
Jam
To jam is to move all your chips into the pot, also called shoving. A jam is an all-in bet or raise. Players often say that they 'jammed' a hand.
Jammed Pot
A jammed pot is a pot that has been raised the maximum number of times. In limit games, the raises are capped, so a jammed pot is a pot where nobody can raise any more.
Joker Poker
Joker Poker is a video poker game in which a joker is added to the deck and acts as a wild card. The joker can stand for any card to make the best possible hand.
Kansas City Lowball
Kansas City lowball is a form of lowball in which the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of different suits. Aces are high, and straights and flushes count against you. It is also called deuce-to-seven lowball.
Keep Them Honest
To keep them honest is to call a bet, usually at the end of a hand, so that your opponent cannot bluff you every time. You call to make him show a real hand sometimes.
Key Card
A key card is a card that gives you a big draw or makes your hand. When it comes, it changes the strength of your holding.
Key Hand
A key hand is the one hand in a session or tournament that becomes a turning point for a player, for better or worse.
Kick It
To kick it means to raise. You kick it when you make a larger bet after someone has bet.
Kill
A kill, or kill blind, is an oversized blind, usually twice the big blind, which also doubles the betting limits. A half-kill raises the blind and limits by 50 percent. A kill can be voluntary or mandatory.
Kill Button
A kill button is a button used in a lowball game to show a player who has won two pots in a row and must kill the pot. It marks who has the kill action.
Kill Pot
A kill pot is a pot in which the stakes are raised because a player won the previous pot, or won two in a row. The player who wins posts an extra blind, called the kill blind, which makes the game larger for the next hand.
Knockout Tournament
A knockout tournament is a tournament in which part of the buy-in becomes a bounty on each player. When you eliminate a player, you win their bounty in cash. Also called a bounty tournament.
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.
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 is poker forum slang for "Like Duh, Obviously" or "LOL, Duh, Obviously," used to say that something is obvious.
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'.
Leak
A leak is a consistent strategic mistake that reduces your profit. Finding and fixing leaks is a key part of improving at poker.