"The Nuts" ..... what exactly does it mean?

On another forum (not poker related) they are arguing about the meaning of The Nuts.

One guy says you can have the nuts post flop, because it's the best hand at the moment, even though it could lose by being outdrawn on later streets.

Another guy says, no, the nuts means your hand can't be beat no matter what comes up on later streets. (I agreed with this).


The final word?

Updated Feb 2018:

While this thread is definitely worth reading all the way to the end (I just did and had a few good laughs) - in summary this is what having the nuts means:

You have the best possible hand at the time

It is not up for opinion.

CardsChat has a great resource for poker terms:

Poker Glossary

You can look at it a few ways IMO, or you can look at it as a whole

AA preflop is the nuts
AsKs with a AdAcKc flop is the nuts
JcTc with the above flop and a Qc turn is the nuts

I personally look as the nuts being the best hand on the flop that has no way of being beat afterward.
Say a flopped straight flush or a flopped full house with no possibility of quads or a straight flush

the nuts = a hand that cannot be beat, no matter what comes up on later street. you can flop the nuts, or get the nuts on the turn, and even get the nuts on the river.

IMO
"The Nuts" is the best had at the time of flop,turn, or river
"The absolute Nuts" is when the hand can not be beat no mater what the turn, or river holds.

No hand should be considered the "nuts" preflop

for instance,

you have AK spades, flop comes Qh Jd 10c. You have the nuts. Turn comes 4c, you no longer have the nuts as another club can give a flush. 5spades comes on the river and now you have the absolute nuts, you can not be beat. There are others that will argue, and with a valid point, that you do not have the absolute nuts if you can be tied. I dont agree, but wont argue against that point of view.

I think the nuts is a straight or better on the flop. At the time it can't be beaten, but you still might be later out drawn on the turn or the river. But then your stress ball out and squeeze it.

I have always taken the Nuts to be an ultimate - as in: It is the best hand possible that wins it outright

So you can't have the nuts on the flop if the turn and river make the nuts something else.

But you can catch Nuts on the flop, given the correct circumstances.

I think another question along this line is
Where do all the actual names come from

The Nuts - eerrr squirrels like nuts?
Flop - Ok flop over 3 cards - I can sort of see that
Turn - turn over 1 card - getting pretty weak though
River - meh? what? some sort of link to 'Take me to the river, wash me down'

Perhaps I should go back to poker school to learn these things, anyone willing to be my tutor/mentor?

8 4 offsuit. IMO

Cowboy has the correct definition.

5onaHard8 said:

the nuts = a hand that cannot be beat, no matter what comes up on later street.

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= wrong.

isaac said:

I think the nuts is a straight or better on the flop.

Click to expand...

= wrong again.

tatvet said:

So you can't have the nuts on the flop if the turn and river make the nuts something else.

Click to expand...

= also wrong.


Please, guys, if you don`t know the answer to the question, don`t drown out the man who does.

Cowboy8112 said:

for instance,

you have AK spades, flop comes Qh Jd 10c. You have the nuts. Turn comes 4c, you no longer have the nuts as another club can give a flush.

Click to expand...

Actually, at this point, you still have the nuts but not the absolute nuts since it can be beat.

Myself, I dont consider I have the nuts until the river...flopping quads or boats and losing on the river happens all the time, or in Omaha 8, flopping the nut low doesnt mean you cant be counterfeited, so I start thinking about having the nuts only when it comes time for river betting.
Altho I see the distinction cowboy makes, and towst, myself I dont think I have it until I absolutley have it; anything else is just a temporary situation, and that aint nuts.
Only real or absolute nut flop would be royal flush spades.

philthy said:

Actually, at this point, you have the nut straight but not the absolute nuts since it can be beat.

Click to expand...

FYP

Makwa said:

Myself, I dont consider I have the nuts until the river...flopping quads or boats and losing on the river happens all the time, or in Omaha 8, flopping the nut low doesnt mean you cant be counterfeited, so I start thinking about having the nuts only when it comes time for river betting.
Altho I see the distinction cowboy makes, and towst, myself I dont think I have it until I absolutley have it; anything else is just a temporary situation, and that aint nuts.
Only real or absolute nut flop would be royal flush spades.

Click to expand...

Nuts means best, "Stone cold Nuts" "absolute Nuts" means can't be beaten example Four of a kind aces when the remaining board cards cannot make a straight flush.

It is possible to have the nuts on the Flop and not on the turn as the turn card can change what the nut hand is. Example holding Pocket AA's on a AsKh8c board. Pocket AA are the current nuts. The turn brings the Qd making j/10 the new nuts but not the abosute nuts as it is possible although highly unlikey the fourth Ace can fall on the river.

I hope that all makes sense.

Simply the best hand possible at the moment.

Cashews are good.

Taken from Negreanu's Power Hold'em Strategy's glossary

nuts: The best possible hand given the cards on board

so if you have a hand by the turn that can be beat by the river...you never had the nuts. If the board gives you an Ace high flush with no possibility of a str8 or royal flush then you can have the nut flush, which is the highest flush possible at that point in time, but if someone hits a boat on the river, then technically you never had THE "nuts"

RichKo said:

Taken from Negreanu's Power Hold'em Strategy's glossary

nuts: The best possible hand given the cards on board

so if you have a hand by the turn that can be beat by the river...you never had the nuts. If the board gives you an Ace high flush with no possibility of a str8 or royal flush then you can have the nut flush, which is the highest flush possible at that point in time, but if someone hits a boat on the river, then technically you never had THE "nuts"

Click to expand...

wat

RichKo said:

so if you have a hand by the turn that can be beat by the river...you never had the nuts. If the board gives you an Ace high flush with no possibility of a str8 or royal flush then you can have the nut flush, which is the highest flush possible at that point in time, but if someone hits a boat on the river, then technically you never had THE "nuts"

Click to expand...

I am freakin speechless:banghead:

Oh, for Heaven`s sake, this is getting ridiculous.

You have quoted the correct definition without understanding it.

"nuts: The best possible hand given the cards on board"

Means, obviously, that when an additional card is added to the board, the nuts may change.

I say again, Cowboy`s definition is correct.

Or try this definition, and note carefully how it says "at any point of the game".

lol why are there "imo"'s in a definition?

"imo a monkey is a 6-legged insect that builds webs".

There is a definition of what the nuts are. The nuts are simply the best possible hand. Sometimes people exaggerate a bit and will for example call mid set on a dry board the nuts. Obviously that's wrong, but you understand what they mean. Absolute or stone cold nuts I don't believe mean impossible to be beaten either. Pretty sure they're just ways of emphasizing that you have the nuts, the hand that is 100% best at the moment.

But for example, you have AcKc on a 3c4c5c board, you do NOT have the nuts. In fact if you have Ac2c on that board you do not have the nuts.

Another example that throws people, AAKKx board. You had Ax, you do not have the nuts because KK beats you. Same board, you have AK, you have the nuts because you cannot be beat, even though your hand is the same in both.

lol nutaments, lets define spewtard instead

switch0723 said:

lol nutaments, lets define spewtard instead

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me

Just to echo.

Nuts = best hand possible at the time

Absolute nuts = unbeatable hand whatever cards may come on turn or river

Taken from pokerwiki:

The nuts is a common poker term for the best possible hand. The term is generally only used in variants of poker that use community cards, such as Hold 'em and Omaha, since the possible number of hands a player can have is limited, and it's usually easy to determine what the best possible hand would be.
Note that the nuts is not the best hand that a player actually has, but is instead the best possible hand. It frequently occurs that no player actually has the nuts.
Learning to recognize the nuts for a given board is an important skill in poker; top players can name the nuts for a board instantly.

Obviously we have different opinioins on THE NUTS. I was always under the assumption that yes you can flop the nuts with a flush or straight etc, but until the hands over you dont have THE nuts

The stuff in bold is just saying that the nuts is not the same thing as the winning hand.

Everything you've posted is in agreement with everyone else.

RichKo said:

Taken from pokerwiki:

The nuts is a common poker term for the best possible hand. The term is generally only used in variants of poker that use community cards, such as Hold 'em and Omaha, since the possible number of hands a player can have is limited, and it's usually easy to determine what the best possible hand would be.
Note that the nuts is not the best hand that a player actually has, but is instead the best possible hand. It frequently occurs that no player actually has the nuts.
Learning to recognize the nuts for a given board is an important skill in poker; top players can name the nuts for a board instantly.

Obviously we have different opinioins on THE NUTS. I was always under the assumption that yes you can flop the nuts with a flush or straight etc, but until the hands over you dont have THE nuts

Click to expand...

lol this topic is great.

it's not a matter of opinion, you are wrong.