As you immerse yourself in poker, you’re bound to hear the term “nit.” So, what exactly is a nit in poker, and is there such a thing as a nit poker strategy?
This article is here to help you understand nit poker meaning — and may change the way you think about how you want to be perceived as a nit in poker games.
What Is a Nit?
A ‘Nit’ is a very tight poker player. This person does not like to take risks. They veer on the side of caution — resisting the urge to gamble.
How to Spot a Poker Nit!
Here are the signs to look out for when determining what is a nit in poker:
- The Poker Nit rarely plays any hands.
- When the Poker Nit does play a hand, they fold frequently on the flop.
- The Poker Nit does not take reraise unless they have an ultra-premium hand like a pair of Aces or Kings.
Other ways to spot a ‘Poker Nit’ are someone who refuses to straddle, doesn’t drink, and never shows a bluff!
Since the Poker Nit waits for only the best hands, sometimes you will see them passing the time with weird quirks.
These habits include watching TV on their phone and reading a book at the table. Or, as Mike Caro revealed in one of the most famous poker books, Caro’s Book of Tells, stacking their chips neatly into towers.
Is It Bad to be Called a Nit in Poker?
The nit meaning in poker is complicated. Yes, it can be an insult, as people use it disparagingly. That doesn’t mean you should always avoid playing like one.
Most players don’t like a nit in poker because it’s hard to extract money from them. They only play good hands and rarely put chips in the pot when they’re behind So, they can be very frustrating to play against… and also very boring.
People don’t like a nit in poker for the following three reasons:
- It’s hard to win their money.
- They slow down the game.
- Their patient playing style discourages other players from gambling.
Attitudes are contagious. When many people at the table are acting loose and having a good time, it encourages everyone to join in the fun… and throw chips recklessly into the pot.
A nit at your poker table will have the opposite effect—urging players to be disciplined with poker hand selection.
Bottom Line: People might call you a ‘Nit’ as an insult because they’re frustrated that they can’t take your money.
Is that such a bad thing, though? It’s better to be called boring than broke!
How to Play Against a Nit
The best way to play with a nit is to avoid paying them off. When they wake up and finally play a hand, it's safe to assume they have strong cards, and you can fold comfortably. (They will go back to sleep again on the next hand anyway.)
Take on Nit Poker players ONLY if you have a very strong hand.
However, since nits only play premium cards, it's essential to remember that the' strong' criteria go up significantly.
For example, Ace-Queen is an excellent hand against a maniac gambler. It is not a good hand against a nit.
You will often lose your money when playing versus a nit because they will have a better hand than you. Even worse, you will rarely get your money back. Once they win chips, they ‘lock them up’ —storing the chips away in a secret vault and throwing away the key.
Sometimes, you can bluff a nit… but beware that the likelihood of success goes down each betting round
- If you raise before the flop, the Poker Nit usually folds… unless they have a good hand.
- If you bet on the flop, the Poker Nit usually folds… unless they have a very good hand.
- If you bet on the turn, the Poker Nit rarely folds—because now you already know they have a very good hand.
- The Poker Nit rarely reaches the river without a hand that they feel confident calling significant bets.
There are exceptions. A flush draw coming in or a ‘scare card’ on the poker board can intimidate the Poker Nit.
But as you can see, their hand strength generally increases on every street.
When YOU Should Play Like a Nit!
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably new to poker. Playing like a nit could be a good option because it makes the game more straightforward. You may not win much money playing this way — but you’re also unlikely to lose.
Think of it like there are three kinds of poker hands:
- Strong hands.
- Weak hands.
- Poker combos somewhere in the middle.
Poker is easy with strong and weak cards:
- With a strong hand, you’re likely to win.
- With a weak hand, you’re likely to fold correctly and easily.
It gets tougher with medium-strength hands. The right decision can change based on subtle variables, including — but not limited to — the following:
- Your opponent
- Your opponent’s stack size
- The game flow
To put it bluntly, these factors make it much easier to screw up. Your decisions are less clear.
Nits protect themselves from making mistakes by avoiding confusion — they don’t play many middle-strength hands.
They find themselves in fewer of these tricky, middle-of-the-road spots. Playing like a nit is very effective for new players who don’t have the skill set to make close decisions.
Is Playing Like a Nit Profitable?
A nitty playing style can be especially effective at low stakes, where people focus on their own hand strength rather than what other players are doing.
- Less experienced players are unlikely to realise that you’re playing so tight and will pay you off.
- Or they simply don’t have the discipline to fold.
But good players won’t be so curious. More attentive players will pick up on your nitty-ness and refuse to give you a single dollar — fully capable of making a fast fold.
The Nit Poker Strategy won’t work as you move up in stakes. That being said, playing like a nit is the easiest way to make a profit and reduce poker variance at the micros.
Also consider that poker is a game of margins. You’re not going to win every hand you play. You will inevitably lose some pots. So, if you don’t win at a high enough margin, your losses will outsize your wins.
- Let’s say you win a small pot of $10.
- Then, you lose a medium pot of $30.
- The result? Obviously not profitable—a big loss!
Let’s say you raise that river on that same small pot, so instead of winning $10, you win $50.
Now the $30 loss doesn’t matter as much… you’re net in the green!
Success in poker requires you to maximise your wins.
While the Nit Poker Strategy teaches you how to avoid losses, it only tells half the story.
Oh, and should you be offended when someone calls you a nit? No—it means they’re annoyed they can’t take money from you!
Brush it off and consider it a backhanded compliment.
