Immortal
An immortal is the best possible hand, or a certain winner.
The simple explanation
If your hand cannot be beaten, it is an immortal. In Hold'em, it is the nuts.
A closer look
The word has two meanings in the source: the best possible hand, and a certain winner. It is rare, so players more often say 'the nuts' or 'a lock'. Remember that the best possible hand depends on the board and on the game.
A practical example
The board is 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 2♣ and a player holds 10♥ J♥. His straight flush to the jack cannot be beaten, so it is an immortal.
Full explanation
An immortal is the best possible hand, or a certain winner.
An immortal is the best possible hand.
It is also a certain winner.
The word is rare.
It is the same idea as the nuts.
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.