Poker Meaning Of The Nuts
What's The Nuts Trainer - Frequently Asked Questions
How is my score computed?
But, if you will not follow the rules, you will be just a fish in the poker world and no one will take you seriously. One of the best situations in this game is to have ‘nuts’ in poker. This term is basically used to indicate the best possible poker hand in a poker game. This is the unbeatable hand against which no other participants can win. Definition of The Stone Cold Nuts What is meant by the 'stone cold nuts'?In poker, the 'stone cold nuts' refers to a hand that is absolutely unbeatable. No matter what card is left to come or no matter what cards your opponent holds, you can NOT be beaten in a hand if you hold the stone cold nuts. “The nuts” in Texas HoldEm poker means the best possible hand anyone could have, given publicly visible cards. It usually refers to hands compared at showdown, after all five public cards have been dealt. Sometimes the term gets used before that - on the flop, for example - and in that case it can be ambiguous.
Your score is measured by the number of correct answers, multiplied by the accuracy percentage. For example, suppose you played 10 hands, and got 8 of them correct. This would be an accuracy of 80%, so your score would be 8 x 80 = 640. Average time per correct answer does not affect your score.
What actually counts as 'The Nuts'?
Any unbeatable hand qualifies as the nuts, not just the best possible hand. Consider this example: Suppose the board cards are
The best possible hand here would be
However, the following combination is also a correct answer, because if you hold that hand, you are guaranteed to win. From a training perspective, it's best to count any unbeatable hand as the nuts.
(or with any other heart)
What are the 'Random' and 'Progressive' options?
In Random mode, each hand will be dealt either on the flop, turn, or river (3, 4, or 5 board cards), at random. In Progressive mode, the first hand starts with only 3 flop cards. After you submit your answer, the turn card is dealt and you have to answer again. Finally the river card is dealt and you have to answer a third time. Then, the process repeats itself with brand new flop cards.
What does 'Auto-Submit Answer' do?
When Auto-Submit Answer is on, you do not need to press the Submit button after picking your two cards. This speeds up game play, but may also lead to a wrong answer being submitted before you have time to double-check it.
What is 'Eliminate Quads' mode and why do you have it?
If you've played the game already, you may have noticed that any time there is a pair on the board, the answer is almost always quads (four-of-a-kind). When Eliminate Quads mode is enabled, this simply means that quads will not be accepted as the correct answer, and you will need to find the next highest ranking hand. Since quads appear less frequently in actual poker, and finding the best full house is often trickier, this mode is preferred by many users.
Shouldn't there be an option to find the '2nd Nuts' and '3rd Nuts'?
Determining the 2nd and 3rd nut hands leads to many debatable situations, therefore we chose to include the Eliminate Quads mode as a better substitute. What is the 2nd nut hand? Is it the second best hand possible? Or, is it the best hand possible (using the remaining cards) assuming someone else holds the absolute nuts. Take for example the board cards
Perhapsis the '2nd Nuts', but of course it is also the nuts, because if you hold it, no one can have , and you are guaranteed to win.
Or consider the boardas we did in an earlier question. Some people would sayis the 2nd nuts.
However, since with any other heart is the nuts, it might be more correct to say is the 2nd nuts.
What is very interesting to me as a lifelong poker player is the number of poker related words and sayings that have worked their way into mainstream conversation in the business world and elsewhere. A few obvious examples which shouldn’t require explanation would include: hold your cards close to your chest, I’ll call that bluff, I’d rather be lucky than good, and he’s got a real poker face.
While you may already be aware of many poker related words and sayings, there are sure to be many that, as a beginner to poker, you probably won’t know. Over the years poker has accumulated a number of unique words and phrases that regular players use as their own language and can be incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Here is an example of a seasoned poker player describing a hand to a friend:
“I had pocket rockets and the flop comes Ace, two rags, rainbow giving me top set. Can you believe that donkey, Harry, goes runner, runner and cracks my set with his 23-to-1 shot flush draw? It’s just like him; he’s such a calling station”.
If you completely understand this description then you might not need this lesson. However, if it seems like a different language then, fear not, by the end of this lesson you will understand what it all means. In this lesson we’ll explain just what some of those colourful expressions mean along with a list of terms which any poker player, who aspires to become conversant in the game needs to know.
Glossary of Poker Terms
Let’s start off with a list of poker terms that you’ll need to be familiar with. After this all important glossary, we’ll return to the above “poker speak” example as it is the kind of conversation you will hear from other more experienced players.
All-in- When a player puts all of his chips into the pot he is said to be all-in. That player does not participate in anymore bets above his all-in amount. A side pot is created for the other players. The all-in player is eligible for the main pot only.
Ante – A small forced bet that all players are required to post before the deal. An ante is used in stud poker versus posting blinds as in hold‘em. Antes are also common in tournaments in addition to the blinds at the later levels.
Back Door – A hand which is made back door requires both the turn card and river card to make the hand. An example would be holding a three flush after the flop and needing two more of the same suit to complete your flush. This is also called runner/runner.
Bad Beat – A good hand that is “cracked” or beaten by a better hand that usually was way behind but hit a lucky draw. Every poker player has more than one bad beat story to tell!
Big Slick – This is the nickname for the two card holding of Ace-King.
Blinds – The mandatory bets made by the first two players to the left of the dealer button. They are called the small and big blinds.
Bluff – Making a bet without the best hand in the hope that your opponent(s) will fold and you will win the pot.
Calling Station – A player who calls too often is a calling station. The term is used in a derogatory manner mainly since these players call without the correct pot odds they many times hit long shot winning hands which frustrates other players.
Cards Speak – The best hand is determined by each of the players turning their cards face up with no declaration. The values of the cards speak for themselves.
Check Raise – To check when it is your turn to bet and then, after someone else bets, to raise that player’s bet.
Donkey – An opponent who plays poorly and seems to be throwing his money away. This is the current term for a pigeon, a sucker or a fish.
Double Belly Buster – This is a hand with two inside straight draws. As an example, 79TJK can become a straight with either an 8 or a queen. This draw has the same number of outs (8 winning cards) as an open ended straight draw except the double belly buster is much more deceptive.
Drawing Dead – A draw such that no matter what card you get you will lose. As an example: You have four spades with the King while your opponent holds a pair of Aces along with four spades including the Ace of spades. You’re hoping to draw a spade on the river to make a King high flush. If the spade comes you will lose to an Ace high flush and since your opponent already has a pair of Aces you cannot win. You are said to be drawing dead.
Fish – See donkey – a player who plays the game poorly.
Flop – After the first round of betting, three community board cards are dealt called the flop.
Gutshot – An inside straight draw with only four outs. Drawing to a QJ98 would require one of the four tens to make a straight.
Heads-up – Playing against a single opponent.
Implied Odds – This is an extension of pot odds and represents the ratio of the total amount you expect to win if you complete your hand to the amount you would need to call to continue. While pot odds are an exact calculation, implied odds takes some guess work and knowledge of your opponents’ tendencies.
Inside Straight Draw – See gut shot.
Isolate – To make a raise with the intention of forcing others to fold in hopes of being able to play heads up against a single opponent is to isolate him.
Limp – To just flat call the amount of the big blind is to limp into a hand.
Monster – A very strong hand that is almost certainly the winner.
Muck – Folding your hand is to muck it. The pile of dead cards is called the muck.
Nuts – Based upon the board it’s the best available hand. An unbeatable hand is often called “the Brazils” and “a lock”.
Out – An out is a card that improves your hand, usually to winning status. If you hold the and there are two hearts on the flop, you have nine outs to the nut flush – the remaining nine hearts in the deck.
Pocket Rockets – A pair of Aces in your hand in hold’em.
Pot Odds – The ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount of money it will cost to call the current bet. If the pot holds $100 and it will cost you $20 to call, the pot is laying you 5-to-1 odds.
Quads – The nickname for four of a kind – e.g. “he had quad Kings”.
Rags – Refers to a worthless card. Rags are normally small board cards in hold’em.
Rainbow – Three or four board cards of different suits. If a flop contains three different suits it is said to be rainbow. If the turn is a card of the fourth suit, a flush will not be possible.
River – The fifth and final community board card dealt in hold’em.
Runner-Runner – A hand that is made with both the turn and the river cards. Two running cards are runner-runner. If, on the flop, you have a three flush and both the turn and river are of the same suit making you a flush, you’ve gone runner-runner.
Sandbag – Hiding the strength of your hand by slow playing it early on in order to make more money later in the hand. It’s a deceptive ploy to increase profit.
Poker Meaning Of The Nuts Nut
Set – When holding a pocket pair, having one of that same rank hit the board creates a set.
String Bet – This is an illegal move which occurs when a player does not orally declare his intention to raise but puts out chips to call and then reaches back to his stack to get more chips for a raise.
Tilt – A player who has lost his discipline and is playing too loosely and very aggressively in a desperate attempt to win a pot is said to be on tilt. This is normally caused by a series of bad beats that has frustrated the victim.
Trips – Differentiated from a set, trips occur when two of the same rank is on the board and you hold another of them in your hand. The reason it differs from a set is that only one person can hold the three cards to a set while two people can have the same trips when two of them are on the board.
Turn – The fourth community board card dealt between the flop and the river.
Under the Gun – The first player to the left of the button who must act first is said to be under the gun.
Wheel – The smallest possible straight consisting of Ace-2-3-4-5. It is also called a bicycle wheel or just a bike.
Poker Speak – Revisited
Now that you’ve read through the glossary covering a myriad of poker definitions, do you understand what that poker player at the beginning of this lesson was telling his friend? Just in case you missed something, we’ll translate his statement. We’ll repeat the statement as written, with the unique poker words/phrases in bold, and then we’ll make the translation.
I had pocket rockets and the flop comes Ace, two rags, rainbow giving me top set. Can you believe that donkey, Harry, goes runner, runner and cracks my set with his 23-to-1 shot flush draw? It’s just like him; he’s such a calling station.
Translation:
I had two Aces in the hole and the three cards the dealer dealt come Ace, two small cards with three different suits giving me the best/highest three of a kind. Can you believe that unskilled, bad player, Harry, he hit two of his needed suit in a row, one on the turn and the other on the river and beats my three of a kind with his long shot flush draw? It’s just like him, he’s a weak player who calls way too much and sometimes gets lucky.
See how much more concise poker speak is? If you’re just getting into the game and have not been using poker speak – trust me, you will be. In fact, by the end these lessons I’ll bet you’ll be speaking Poker fluently.
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By Tom 'TIME' Leonard
Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.