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Poker glossary

Nit

What it means

A nit is an extremely tight player who only enters pots with premium hands like pocket aces, kings, queens, or ace-king. These players fold the vast majority of their starting hands and rarely bluff or make aggressive plays without the nuts or close to it. The term carries a slightly derogatory connotation, suggesting the player is overly risk-averse and predictable.

How it works at the table

Nits typically play fewer than 10% of their hands, sometimes as low as 5-7%. In a typical session, you might see a nit fold for two hours straight before suddenly raising from early position. When they do enter a pot, it’s almost always with a raise. For example, at a $1/$2 table with 100bb stacks, a nit in middle position raises to $10. Everyone folds to you in the big blind with A♠ J♦. Against most players this would be a standard defend, but against a known nit, folding becomes correct since their range is likely QQ+ and AK only.

Strategic context

While playing tight is generally profitable at lower stakes, nits take it to an extreme that becomes exploitable. They miss value from medium-strength hands and leave money on the table by never bluffing. Smart opponents can steal their blinds relentlessly and fold immediately when the nit shows aggression. However, nits can still profit at passive tables where players pay off their premium hands. Their style works best in games with loose-passive players who don’t adjust to their extremely tight range.

Common mistakes

Players make three key errors when facing nits. First, they call or raise with hands like AQ or JJ when the nit shows strength, failing to recognize these hands are dominated. Second, they don’t steal enough from nits - you should attack their blinds constantly since they fold 90%+ of the time. Third, they try to bluff nits off strong hands postflop, not realizing that once a nit commits chips, they usually have the goods.

Understanding nits helps you recognize other player types and adjust your strategy accordingly. While nits play too tight, maniacs play too loose, and finding the right balance is key to solid positional play. Nits often struggle with implied odds concepts since they focus solely on their cards’ immediate strength rather than potential future value.