strategy
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Loose
A loose player is a player who plays a lot of hands, including weak ones. He enters many pots and is less selective than the average player. The opposite style is tight.
Loose Game
A loose game is a game in which many players are involved in many hands. The players are not selective, so pots are larger and more frequent.
Loose-Passive
A loose-passive player plays many hands, and calls rather than bets or raises. He is also called a calling station.
M‑Ratio (M)
M-ratio, or M, measures how many rounds of forced bets your stack can pay for in a tournament. It is your stack divided by the cost of one orbit: the small blind, the big blind and the antes.
Marginal Hand
A marginal hand is a hand that is not strong, but not particularly weak either. It is tricky to play, since its value depends on the situation.
MDF
MDF stands for minimum defense frequency. It is the share of your range that you need to continue with when facing a bet so that your opponent cannot profit by bluffing with any hand.
Merged
A merged range is a range that consists of medium-strength and strong hands, with few weak hands. A player with a merged range bets or raises with a broad group of hands, and does not choose only the very strong and very weak ones. The opposite is a polarized range.
Minimum Defense Frequency
Minimum defense frequency is the share of your range that you must continue with against a bet so that your opponent cannot make an automatic profit from bluffing. It is written MDF.
Mneumonics
Mnemonics are mental devices used to remember things. In Hold'em, players give names to starting hands, such as Big Slick or Maverick, to remember them easily.
Multi‑way Pot
A multi-way pot is a pot with three or more players. It is the opposite of a heads-up pot. It is also called a family pot when many players take part.
Nash Equilibrium
Nash equilibrium is a set of strategies in which no player can improve his result by changing his own strategy, if the others keep theirs. In poker, a Nash equilibrium strategy is one that cannot be exploited by the opponent.
New-Breed Player
A new-breed player is an advanced-concept player in public or casino poker. He uses modern strategy and understanding of concepts, such as ranges and position.
Nursing
Nursing means playing conservatively because you are losing and have only a few chips left. You try to make the stack last.
Nut
The nut, or the nuts, is the best possible hand on the board at that moment. A player with the nuts cannot be beaten, unless the board changes.
Nut Advantage
Nut advantage is a situation in which one player is more likely than the other to hold the strongest hands on a board. It is one of the three main types of advantage in a hand, alongside positional advantage and range advantage.
Nuts
The nuts is the best possible hand at that moment, given the board. A player who has the nuts cannot be beaten, unless a new card changes the board. The word is also used for the best hand of a type, such as the nut flush.
One-Chip-Behind
One-chip-behind means betting or raising almost your entire stack while keeping one chip unbet. Unless you have declared all-in, that chip remains available for a later decision.
Out of Line
Out of line describes a play or action that is different from what is normal or expected, often an aggressive or risky move that is not typically made in that situation.
Out of Position (OOP)
Out of position, OOP, means acting before your opponent on each street after the flop. It is a disadvantage, since he sees your action before he acts.
Overbet
An overbet is a bet that is larger than the current pot. For example, a bet of 24 into a pot of 12 is an overbet.