Monster

The term monster relates to a very strong poker hand that players will happily go all-in with and risk their entire stack. A poker monster stands to be the best hand a large portion of the time, although this isn’t always the case.

What constitutes a monster hand in games like Texas Hold’em largely depends on the board texture. For example, on a flop of 4h5h8h, an ace-high flush is a monster, although it’s not the absolute nuts. There is a possibility of a straight flush, but in most cases, players will happily commit all of their chips with this hand.

The term monster sometimes also applies to draws. If a player has As7s and the board comes 5s6s8d, they have a monster draw, as they’re drawing to the nut flush and have an open-ended straight draw with two cards to come.

Monster hands don’t come around that often in poker, which is why you shouldn’t be afraid to go all the way with them. Every now and again, you may run into an even bigger monster, but this is a very rare occurrence, and you should have a really strong read before you lay down a monster.

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