Iron Duke
An iron duke is an unbeatable hand. It is also called an ironclad hand.
The simple explanation
If your hand cannot lose, it is an iron duke. In Hold'em, it is the nuts.
A closer look
The word is rare and old. In practice, the best hand depends on the board, and a hand that was unbeatable on the flop can lose when the turn and river come. Players call a hand ironclad when no opponent hand can beat it on the current board. Do not confuse it with a hand that is only very strong.
A practical example
The board is A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 2♣ and a player holds 10♥ 5♦. His royal flush cannot be beaten, so he has an iron duke.
Full explanation
An iron duke is an unbeatable hand. It is also called an ironclad hand.
An iron duke is an unbeatable hand.
It is also called an ironclad hand.
It is the same idea as the nuts.
The word is old slang.
The nuts
No-limit Hold’em · Blinds 1/2 chips · No rake
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
Read the example transcript
Player A has the button (BTN) and posts the 1-chip small blind (SB). Player B posts the 2-chip big blind (BB).
- Preflop · Pot: 3 chips
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of clubs (Ac)AAce of diamonds (Ad) · Stack 199 · In this round 1
- Player B BB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 8 chips
Player A raises to 6 before the flop.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of clubs (Ac)AAce of diamonds (Ad) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 12 chips
Player B calls. Each player has put in 6 chips.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of clubs (Ac)AAce of diamonds (Ad) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Flop · Pot: 12 chips
Player B holds ace-king of hearts and the flop is queen, jack and ten of hearts. This is a royal flush, which nobody can beat. A hand that cannot be beaten is the nuts.
Board: QQueen of hearts (Qh)JJack of hearts (Jh)1010 of hearts (Th)
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of clubs (Ac)AAce of diamonds (Ad) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
- Player B BB AAce of hearts (Ah)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
Cards are shown for learning; totals are displayed before pot collection.