Poker Term Nit
Nit is a PokerStove fork aimed at rejuvenating the project. The name 'nit' is chosen because it is short (like 'git') and is a derogatory (like 'git') poker term for hyper-tight-passive players who only play premium starting hands. PokerStove is a highly hand optimized C poker hand evaluation library. What is a Poker Nit? Betting @ Betfair Probably the player class singled out for more abuse than any other, the 'nit' constitutes one of the most disrespected and ridiculed players at the table on.
What is Nit in Poker? Nit is a term for an overly tight poker player. Depending on the variants nits often enter the pot with less than 10% of holdings, waiting solely for premiums cards. Nit A nit is a tight-passive player, rock or weak-tight, who avoids large pots and often assumes a worst case scenario when making a decision.
This week for The Ten we did “biggest nits” — in other words, the tightest regulars in both tournaments and cash games. Being on this list isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as patience and discipline pay off in poker. Some of the players on here are among the most successful grinders around.
Based on suggestions from our Facebook fans, we have assembled a ranking, trying our best to find some evidence to back up the claims. For some players, the reputation as a nit might have been developing for years, without any specific event to prove conservatism on the felt. In any case, here they are:
1. Allen Kessler: The video poker grinder is a legend for scrambling to find free rooms and food comps in order to increase his equity. Despite $2.3 million in career tournament earnings, Kessler will go to any length to get save a buck. With comps comprising about 25 percent of casino costs, one has to wonder if the economy of the Las Vegas Strip would pick up again if creatures of Kessler’s kind weren’t on the prowl.
Poker Term Nit Vs
2. Tony Cousineau: With 49 cashes at the World Series of Poker without a win, Cousineau is the professional min-casher. He has a whopping 163 careers times in the money in major poker tournaments, with just three wins. Remarkably, he hasn’t won a poker tournament since 2003, despite being one of the regulars on the tournament circuit. If Allen Kessler didn’t put in penny-slot sessions, Cousineau would be at the top of this list.
Poker Term Nit Crossword
3. Chris Ferguson: Despite allegedly playing with funds milked from poker players around the world, Ferguson has a history of refusing to straddle and play the 7-2 variant in cash games, to go along with an already nitty playing style. Taking one of the largest pieces in the “global Ponzi Scheme,” it seemed like Ferguson was on TV more to advertise the Full Tilt brand than to actually play some exciting poker.
From about the 3-minute marker on you can see what it’s like to play cash with Ferguson:
Note: Watch how Hellmuth (also on this list) calls Ferguson out.
4. Phil Hellmuth: The 11-time WSOP champion seemingly has no fear of grinding down to just a handful of big blinds in a tournament. He typically plays super nitty, waiting for people to “bluff” him or “give” him chips. Below is one of many examples out there of the “Poker Brat” folding a monster when most aggressive players would consider shoving any two.
5. Howard Lederer: Like his Full Tilt partner in crime, Ferguson, Lederer became a multi-millionaire thanks to the site he helped found, but nonetheless played like he must have when he was basically a homeless poker player in New York during the 1980s.
Here’s a look at one of Lederer’s most famous hands, where he lets the aggressive Tom Dwan make him look silly.
6. Jerry Buss: The 77-year-old majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers is a poker aficionado, dabbling in some of the biggest cash games in the world. However, don’t expect his $600 million net worth to lead to spewage. Buss is widely considered one of the biggest rocks in the game of poker.
7. Teddy Monroe: The Iceman, a cash game grinder for nearly three decades, told Card Player, “If I go up early in a session I try to play much tighter. I know how easy it is to get trapped, and right now money means a lot. There is a serious recession in the nation right now, and if you have to be disciplined to avoid the tough swings. I’ve been in the game a long time, and I’ve truly developed patience for grinding day in and day out. For example, if I have pocket aces at $2-$5 and I make it $45. If somebody who has $400 on the table goes all in, I will throw my hand away and quit the game. I would be frustrated that I threw away the aces, as I didn’t get a chance to see the flop. Basically I minimize my potential losses. I don’t have huge swings anymore.”
It’s ultra-conservative to even consider folding aces preflop in hold’em, but Monroe has been surviving in the game for longer than most.
8. Online Bum Hunters: There are so many potential players that fit into this category, we are not going to try and call out names. These players have a knack for sitting out once a fish leaves the table, and while it may be optimal strategy, the practice is detrimental to the health of poker and makes some of its star online grinders look a bit nitty.
9. Dan Harrington: Despite the irony of his nickname, “Action Dan” Harrington is one of poker’s all-time greats and has reached this plateau by being regarded as one of the game’s tightest players. Although he has the ability to mix up his game and run a bluff by you, the poker Hall of Famer is generally pretty snug.
10. Tommy Reed and David Fishman: You might never have heard of these two poker players, but their respective plays during a televised poker game are stuff of nit legend. Check out the following two hands:
Tommy Reed Folds a Set
David Fishman Folds Aces Preflop
Note: Keep in mind that this was pot-limit hold’em, and with the format of the PokerStars Big Game, he had extra incentive to avoid losing money.
What is a Nit in poker?
First of all, lets understand what nit poker is. A nit is a negative word that describes the tightest and most risk averse poker players around. It’s a term that can be heard in poker rooms all over the world, when a player loses action or folds a big hand and derides the opponent by calling him a nit. We know a real nit is an insect that can be found on children’s heads. They are itchy, irritating and suck the blood out of the head. I am not sure why this was twinned with the most prudent of poker players, nevertheless, this is what they are.
Nits Are Predictable
A nit is very easy to play against for several reasons. You know they won’t be bluffing; you know they only play a small range of hands and you know they won’t gamble. Poker is a game of missing information, with a nit, by process of elimination, you have a lot of information already. They play their range of hands and they play them the same way most of the time. If you are playing predictably, you are making it easier for your opponents. This is contrary to what you are trying to achieve, you want to be difficult to read, to enforce errors from your opponents.
Nits Miss Out on Value
Due to the cautious nature of a nit, they will miss out on value a lot of the time. Even an intermediate player will be prepared to fold a strong hand if a nit is putting a lot of money in the pot. They also miss out on value by checking back hands they should be value betting or playing flop and turns cautiously when they should be betting and inflating the pot for value later.
Nits Are Restricted to Lower Stakes
A decade ago, nit poker may be enough to get you moving up the stakes. By employing a cautious style against players who are playing 10 tables and not paying attention, you could still have a decent win rate and move up stakes. This is simply not the case anymore. A nit can’t crush the mid stakes so they are restricted to the lower stakes. Everyone is better now than they were. The game is always evolving and getting tougher. It’s survival of the fittest to get to the higher stakes and the fact is, nit poker won’t cut it in today’s poker world.
Nits Are More Likely to Get Bluffed
As a nit, your range is pretty well defined before you even get to the flop. An experienced player will know the range of hands you are playing from all positions at the table. As such, on certain board textures, they will abuse a nit. In deep stacked cash games, a nit may hold Q-Q on a 5-7-8 and be forced to fold by the river if an astute player recognises that the nit is holding a one pair hand and liable to fold to big betting. The worst part is, the nit probably thinks they have made a good fold in this spot when they have in fact lost money.
Nits Lack Ambition
This is contentious point but I mean this from a theoretical and intellectual point of view. Anyone who wants to employ a strategy that involves playing less than 15% of hands are not very ambitious, in my humble opinion. Most strong poker players are profitable simply because they have played so many hands in different scenarios. They are able to adapt to difficult situations.
Conclusion
This article is not meant to pass judgement on nit poker. I am simply highlighting the drawbacks of the nit poker style and how it is unlikely to generate much money in 2020. There are games where nit poker will win you money and that’s fine. I am hoping to reach players out there that are keen to improve their game and understand that they can increase their earning potential and poker ability by modifying their strategy. My intention was not to upset anyone who identifies as a nit.
Are you looking to improve your game and a play wider range of hands to increase your ROI? Get in touch to see how we can help you make money in 2020.