Nuts

1. The best possible hand. For example, holding pocket aces on a board of A-A-5-8-K would be the nuts. It can also refer to the best hand of a certain rank, such as a nut straight (the best possible straight) or nut flush (the best possible flush, which contains the ace of the suit).

Origin

In the American Wild West Wild West, a player would sometimes bet more than just money - his horse, his wagon, even his house. In order to prevent him from just taking off if he lost one of these huge bets, a player would often remove the nuts from the wheels of his wagon and put them on the table, indicating that he had so much confidence that his hand was the best that he did not care if he had no means by which to escape.

Popular Uses

The problem with slow playing the nuts is that there might be somebody else slow playing a hand they only think is the nuts. -Gary Carson

Who needs balls when you got the nuts! -Unknown

You Should Also Know...

The best possible straight, given the community cards, is referred to as the "nut straight." Similarly, the best possible flush is the "nut flush." The nuts are almost never determined until the river, but the term is commonly used to describe the best possible hand at any given point during play.

Related Terms

Board, Slow Play