Glossary of Poker Terms

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Terms starting with L

Large Bet
See big bet.

Leak
Winning poker players often lose back part or all of their winnings through other gambling habits, either at the casino or elsewhere (e.g., sports betting, craps, or golf). These are often referred to as leaks.

Limit (Limit Poker)
Limit poker is any game in which there is a fixed limit on how much you can bet or raise in any round. Limit games usually offer either fixed-sized bets for different betting rounds or spread limits, in which there is a minimum and maximum bet for each round. For example, a 5-10 hold'em game usually requires $5 bets and raises on the first two rounds and $10 bets and raises on the last two.
Games are often referred to as low-limit, medium-limit, and high-limit. Typical low-limit games are 2-4, 3-6, and 5-10. Medium limits are 10-20, 20-40, and 30-60. High-limits are 50-100 on up.

More generally, the word limit is used to refer to the maximum bet at a given point, whether it's pot-limit, spread limit, or whatever. See also structure.

I didn't want to give him a chance to draw out on me, so I bet the limit.


Limp
To flat call an opening forced bet is to limp into a hand.
Three players limped in ahead of me, so I decided just to call.


Live
A live player, or "live one," is someone who is expected to lose their money at a pretty good rate. Players reminding floorpeople to fill a vacant seat often request a live one.
For other uses of the word "live" see live blind, live card, and live hand.


Live Blind
A blind bet is considered a live blind if the player is allowed to raise even if no one else raises first. See also straddle.

Live Card
A live card is a card that has not been seen. In seven card stud, for example, a player with a draw to a flush, is concerned with how many of the remaining suited cards are live (i.e., have not been seen in other players' hands). A live hand is a hand for which many of the outs are still live.

Live Hand
A live hand is a hand that is still eligible to win the pot (i.e., one that has not been mucked or otherwise invalidated). In seven card stud, a hand is also called live if many of the cards which would improve it are still unaccounted for (see live card).

Lock
A lock is a hand guaranteed to win at least part of the pot. In a high-low split game, for example, the lock low is the best possible low hand. See also nuts.

Loose
Playing loose simply means playing more hands and holding on to them longer. In essence, loose with your cash. A loose table is a table dominated (so to speak) by loose players. Loose isn't always bad - excessively tight play can be equally costly, especially at high levels of play. Looseness should not be confused with aggressiveness.
A loose call is a borderline inadvisable or even incorrect call.

He was playing so loose, it seemed like he was in every pot.


Low
In most poker games, the best hand wins. Most but not all. In a number of games, the worst hand wins all or some of the pot. Draw lowball and razz are just two examples of games played for low. Omaha and seven card stud have popular high-low split variants, in which the low hand gets half the pot. There are two common ways to evaluate low hands. In deuce to seven games, the best low hand is just the worst high hand. The best possible low is 75432, provided there is no flush. In ace to five games, straights and flushes don't count, and aces are lower than 2's. So the best possible low is A2345, a wheel.

Lowball (or Draw Lowball)
Five card draw played for low only (i.e., where the low hand wins the entire pot).

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