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Usage in context
In Texas hold 'em, if the board is 5♠ 6♠ A♣ 9♠ 5♥, a player holding 7♠ 8♠ has the nut hand, a 9-high straight flush of spades, and cannot lose. On the same board, the hand 5♣ 5♦ would be the second-nut hand, four of a kind fives; the third-nut hand would be any pair of the remaining three aces, making a full house, aces full of fives.
It is important to note that the actual nut hand may not be the same as the absolute nut hand; for example, if the board is 7♥ 2♣ K♠ K♥ 3♦ a player with K♣ K♦ has the absolute nut hand. However, any player with K-7 knows that he has the nut hand as it is impossible for another player to have two kings.
In high-low split games one often speaks of "nut-low" and "nut-high" hands separately. In Omaha hold 'em, if the board is, 5♠ 6♠ A♣ 9♠ 5♥, any player with 2-3 makes the nut-low hand, 6-5-3-2-A, while a player with 2-4 makes the second-nut-low hand, 6-5-4-2-A (the nut-high hands remain the same as in Texas hold 'em, in this case 7♠ 8♠ to make a straight flush).
Terms such as "nut flush" or "nut full house" may be used to refer to the strongest hand possible in a particular category, even though it may not be the nut hand overall. For example, a pair of aces with the above board could be called the "nut full house", even though there are two higher (but very unlikely) hands possible. Terms such as "second-nut flush" and "third-nut straight" are also applicable. The straight A-K-Q-J-T and any highest-possible flush is also often referred to as the nut flush/straight, regardless of any pairs/other threats on board.
Origins
A common and certainly apocryphal folk etymology is that the term originated from the historical poker games in the colonial west of America, where if a player bet everything he possessed, he would place the nuts of his wagon wheels on the table to ensure that, should he lose, he would be unable to flee and would have to make good on the bet. Since it would be expected that a player would only make such a bet when he had the best possible hand, the folk lore says that this is how the best possible hand came to be known as the nuts.[1]
A far more likely explanation is that "the nuts" originated from the old English usage of "nuts", meaning "any source of pleasure"[2].
Another seemingly fitting explanation is that the term was derived from the UK English slang "the dog's bollocks" or "the mutt's nuts", meaning "the absolute best". However, this phrase originated around 1989[3], and the term "the nuts" pre-dates it.
See also
References
- ^ DD Poker Glossary
- ^ Etymology Dictionary's entry for "nuts"
- ^ The Phrase Finder's entry for "dog's bollocks"
