Nuts on one board, nothing on the other
On the river, bet the pot. Heads up the bet cannot lose, and against two or more callers it earns outright. Before the river the same hand is a medium hand: half of every chip you put in goes to a board you have already lost. That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is the arithmetic and the three situations where people get it wrong.
The river, heads up: the bet cannot lose
Pot of a hundred, no rake. You hold the nut flush on top and nothing on the bottom. One opponent. Whatever you bet, if he calls you get your bet back from your board and split what was there: fifty. If he folds you take the whole hundred. The table is what you net after the hand.
| All fold | 1 caller | 2 callers | 3 callers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet 100 | 100 | 50 | 100 | 150 |
| Bet 75 | 100 | 50 | 88 | 125 |
| Bet 50 | 100 | 50 | 75 | 100 |
| Bet 33 | 100 | 50 | 67 | 83 |
Read the one-caller column: 50, whatever the size. Heads up the size changes nothing when called. The bet earns only when it makes him fold, and the bet most likely to do that is the pot. So the pot it is: you cannot lose it, and when it works it doubles your result.
If he bets first, raise the pot. If he folds you take everything; if he calls, the raise comes back to you on your board. The river math page has the same table for the nuts on both boards, for three quarters and for getting quartered.
The river, multiway: the losers fund your half
Read the two- and three-caller columns. With a pot bet and two callers you net 100 instead of 50; with three callers, 150. Every caller who is beaten on your board pays you his bet, and only one of them can win the other board. This is the one spot in the game where you want callers with a one-board hand, so you do not need the biggest bet; you need the bet the most people will pay. Three quarters of the pot is usually it.
One exception. When the betting has told you that one opponent holds the other board locked and a third player is still in, bet small. The third player is the one paying you, and he pays a small bet more often than a big one.
Before the river: a medium hand
On the flop or the turn, the nuts on one board with nothing on the other feels like a monster and is not one. Our method gives each board a number and averages them, then compares the average with the price of the bet. From the coach's table: the nuts on the flop is worth 80 against one or two opponents, 70 at a mid-sized table, 55 at a full table, because at a full table the nuts on the flop is outdrawn far more often. Nothing on the other board is 20, 10 and 0.
- Heads up: (80 + 20) / 2 = 50. A strong hand. Bet it.
- Mid table, four or five in the hand: (70 + 10) / 2 = 40. Calls a pot bet, which needs 33. Does not raise.
- Full table, seven or eight in the hand: (55 + 0) / 2 = 27 or 28. By the numbers it does not even call a pot bet. It calls a half-pot bet, which needs 25.
The turn is kinder, because the nuts has one card left to survive: 90, 80 and 75 for the nuts, so 55, 45 and 37 for the hand. Still a caller, still not a raiser. Half of every raise goes to a board you have lost, and a raise tells the table you have a hand, which folds exactly the players you want to keep paying you.
The practical rule, from the strategy page: red on one board calls and does not raise. The only hand that raises before the river is a safe nuts on one board, the nut flush, the nut full house or quads, with real strength on the other.
Flush or straight: the quarter problem
Everything above assumes your nuts is unshareable, a flush, a full house, quads. A nut straight is different. On a connected board the nut straight is held by someone else more than half the time eight-handed with four cards. Two nut straights split that board, and with nothing on the other board your share of the final pot is a quarter. Against a pot-sized bet that costs you 25 when quartered and wins 50 when your straight is alone, so you need to be alone one time in three just to break even. The arithmetic is on the river math page. With a lone nut straight: bet smaller, call a bet up to the pot, fold to a raise, and never re-raise.
The all-in
Against players who fold, moving all in with one board works like any other bet. Against the player who reads both boards, it is the worst bet on the page. He calls with a live pair on the other board, gets the bet back when his pair holds, and you have turned your whole stack into a coin flip for the other half while showing him your hand. Bet the size a second-best hand on your board will pay. The all-in is for the night you hold something on both boards.
Where to go from here
- River math: the same accounting for both boards, three quarters, quartered and the second nut flush.
- The strategy: one number for two boards, the four colours, when to make the first bet.
- The trainer: deal yourself this river against the seven player types and see what the coach does.
- The course: day nineteen is this hand, with two dealt examples; lesson one is free.
Pot of 100, no rake, no side pots. Every figure on this page was checked on 17 October 2026. A correction takes one email: hello@bombpotcoach.com.
Questions people ask
Should I bet the nuts on one board when I have nothing on the other?
On the river, yes, and bet the pot. Heads up the bet cannot lose: if you are called you get it back and split what was there, if he folds you take the whole pot. With two or more callers the bet earns outright, because their calls fund your half. Before the river the same hand is a medium hand, not a monster, because half of every chip goes to a board you have already lost.
How much is the nuts on one board worth before the river?
Average the two boards. In our table the nuts on the flop is worth 80 against one or two opponents, 70 at a mid-sized table and 55 at a full table; nothing on the other board is 20, 10 and 0. So the hand is a 50 heads up, a 40 at a mid table and under 30 at a full table. A pot-sized bet needs 33 to call. At a full table the nuts on one board with nothing on the other does not even call a pot bet by the numbers.
Should I raise with the nuts on one board and nothing on the other?
On the river heads up, raise the pot: if he folds you take everything and if he calls the raise comes back to you on your board. Before the river, call and do not raise. Half of every raise is going to the board you have lost, and a raise tells the table you have a hand, which folds the players you want to keep paying.
Does it matter whether my nuts is a flush or a straight?
Yes. A flush cannot be shared; there is one ace of each suit. A nut straight is shared more than half the time eight-handed with four cards, and a shared straight on one board with nothing on the other pays a quarter of the pot. With the nut straight bet smaller, and never re-raise with it alone.
What if I move all in with the nuts on one board?
Against players who fold, the all-in works like any other bet. Against the player who reads both boards, the all-in with one board is a chop at best: he calls with a live pair on the other board, gets the bet back, and you have shown your whole hand for nothing. Bet the size a second-best hand on your board will pay. The all-in is for the night you hold something on both boards.
THE 30-DAY COURSE
A plan for your next game.
One lesson. One drill set. A little more clarity at the table.