I was just watching a poker tournament on T.V. and on several occasions the commentators said that one of the players had a “nut straight”. My question is, what is a nut straight and how does it differ from a normal straight? The game in question is no limit Texas hold 'em. I initially presumed that a nut straight was a straight obtained from the flop cards, i.e. the two cards dealt face down and the three cards from the flop made the straight, rather than a straight made using the turn and/or river cards but i’m sure I have heard the term “flopped a nut straight” used in the film Rounders which by my reckoning would make one of “flopped” or “nut” redundant so I have disacarded this idea.
I bow down to the greater wisdom of the Teeming Millions on this one. What is a “nut straight” or a “nut flush” (which I think I have heard in the past but could be wrong) and if it isn’t immediately obvious from the definition of “nut” where does the term “nut” derive?
Having “the nuts” is having the best possible hand of a type of hand. For example, a nut straight or flush will be A high. Also, if you have K/anything of the same suit in your hand while your opponent has the Q/anything, you have the nut flush because although you both have the A high, you have the highest second card. I’m not sure anyone knows where the term itself comes from for sure.
It may not be universal, but my poker group - and some others I’ve seen - use this to mean the best possible hand within the context of a deal. So if the board shows A 10 8 7 4, holding J-9 would give you the “nut” straight.
I’m sure this is clear to you Sam, but I just wanted to take this one step further.
If the flop is QJT and you hold AK you wouldn’t have the nut until the other two cards are laid on the table ruling out someone having a flush or better. Unless of course you had a straight flush, then you WOULD have the nut at this point in the game.
Or even more technical, until at least one more card is turned and the result is no one can possibly beat an A high straight, even if there is one more card to turn.
Hmm … if there is one card left to turn there is always the possibility of a pair showing up on the board, giving some player the chance to have a full house or better. So I guess you can’t have a nut STRAIGHT until ALL cards have been laid on the table. Right?
The nuts can refer to the best hand at any stage of the hand. Pre-flop in hold 'em, AA is the nuts. If you’re holding, say, J9 and the flop is T87 (and not all the same suit), you have the nut straight. There’s no hand that at that point can beat you. And so on.
“The nuts” refers to the best possible hand at any given time. So as long as that QJT wasn’t all the same suit, AK would be the nuts on the flop. If a third suited card came on the turn then AK would no longer be the nuts.
The “nut straight” is the best possible straight, even if a straight isn’t the best possible hand.
THe point of the term “nuts” is that your hand is unbeatable. To say you have the nut striaght when better hands are possible is pointless. It’s like saying you have the nuts Ace-high if you start iwth A-K, who cares?
They way to distinguish having the nuts is that when you have the nuts, your only concern is how to maximize the money in the pot. You no longer care what actually comes up.
No. There are plenty of situations where you can have the nuts and not want callers. A good example would be having a nut low in Omaha split, when it’s quite common that others also have the same nut low, but other people can have a nut high. Then you could be playing for 1/4 or 1/6 of the pot, and every time you have to put in more money you actually lose money.
Another common situation is in Omaha high, where you can have a nut straight on the flop and not be the favorite to win. For example, you hold a Jc9c in your hand, and the flop is 7h8hTs. You have the best hand on the flop, but it’s quite common that someone else does as well. And if there are a lot of callers, you will most likely lose the hand if a heart, a 7, 8, 9, T, J, Q, K, A, or another running flush or small pair comes in before the river.
I was watching a group of newbies being tought hold-em at an Indian casino. After dealing the cards, the dealer told a yound blond that her cards were called “lunch for two” and she should fold. A few hands later the the blond started laughing and you could see the light bulb above her head. Yep, she was dealt a 6 and a 9.
I disagree that either of those are the nuts. If you can be beat on the hand, it’s not the nuts. If you can split the pot with anyone, it’s not the nuts.
…but on searching around, I see that no one seems to agree with my definition. Feh.
Sorry, Guv, but from your own definition above the nuts is an unbeatable hand, which can be tied. If two players pre-flop in hold 'em both have AA, they both have the nuts.
Dale Brunson in one of his poker books records how, holding the nut straight, he bet the pot against a nervous player - who nearly folded, before calling to reveal another nut straight.
