Poker Hands: Flopping the Nuts: 7 Concepts to Remember When Hitting that Big Hand
It is a wonderful feeling when playing poker, and you have the perfect hand. You have attached a great board to your two cards, and now you have "flopped the nuts." What does that mean? In poker, "the nuts" refers at any given moment to the best hand possible, which may result in dollar signs by the time you played the hand in full. The best hand possible, also known as big hand poker is exactly as it sounds. A player who has absolutely the best hand combination possible will claim they have the nuts. Although if you have a good hand combination you can say you have a big hand. An example of this would have two Kings.
Below are a Few Suggestions You Can Hold in Mind When You Flop the Nuts
- When you flop the nut, one thing to remember is that things can change on a card turn. Your hand can be the nuts for now but depending on the turn and the river this will change.
- For players who flop the nuts, one of the most common choices is obviously to make a bet. A player with no obvious signs of trouble hitting the nuts may choose to make a bet at a later point. The size of that bet will be based on the opponents and their potential hand ranges. Some players with a top or middle pair will be able to call a few bets, perhaps even calling on the river against superior-handed opponents.
Betting can also push out a few hands in multiway pots to pitch their hands on someone who may draw on you. Those with a flush backdoor or other drawing hands can decide it is not worth it and select to get out. A wet board with flush or straight probabilities that could beat you on the fourth or fifth streets can require a more significant bet to deter players from calling, or at least charge them a little bit to do so.
Betting just makes sense of building the pot, too. Bet the best hand more often than not, just do not get too carried away. Players who are accustomed to continuing bets may think that is part of the game and can call for another card. This kind of contrasting thought means just more gain for you.
- When players flop the nut, it is important to remember what other players might hold and the hands they may have hit on the flop too. Taking note of the behavior of a player following the flop may give some interesting insights as to which side he is on.
- "Feeler" bets on the flop (betting that can help decide what an opponent has) will allow a player with the nuts to define where they stand. A wet flop does not mean your opponents have any cards connecting with it at all. Given potential flush or straight draws, an opponent can have only the top or middle pair and is likely to call in hopes that you have missed your hand.
- Flopping the nuts is one thing, but you can only contribute to lost chips and a disastrous turn of events allowing other players to outdraw. Some might consider an opportunity to call small bets in a hand where many players have seen the flop to see what happens on the turn.
- Flopping the nuts is always nice, but when an opponent has caught up with them and taken the lead, smart players will know it. A nut straight simply means the highest possible straight. In a game of 7 Card Stud this means an Ace high straight which consists of 10, Jack, Queen, King and an Ace. Holding a nut straight however, doesn’t mean that a player holds the nuts, but generally this is implied. Another example of a nut straight would be holding a 5 and 7 in your hand, however holding a 2 and 5 is not a nut straight.
- Another choice is playing a big hand slowly. No flush or open-ended straight draws are presented to opponents, at this point and a big bet might send inferior hands into the mess.
Flopping the nuts is always nice and can add a significant increase to the chip stack of a player. But adapting and using some deep-level thought will help smart players increase income and see-through success in their tournament or cash game.
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