Poker hand
This article is about poker terminology relating to drawing cards or drawing hands. For the variant of poker, see 8️⃣ draw poker
A poker player is drawing if they have a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become 8️⃣ valuable. The hand itself is called a draw or drawing hand. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of a 8️⃣ player's first five cards are all spades, but the hand is otherwise weak, they are drawing to a flush. In 8️⃣ contrast, a made hand already has value and does not necessarily need to draw to win. A made starting hand 8️⃣ with no help can lose to an inferior starting hand with a favorable draw. If an opponent has a made 8️⃣ hand that will beat the player's draw, then the player is drawing dead; even if they make their desired hand, 8️⃣ they will lose. Not only draws benefit from additional cards; many made hands can be improved by catching an out 8️⃣ – and may have to in order to win.
Outs [ edit ]
An unseen card that would improve a drawing hand 8️⃣ to a likely winner is an out. Playing a drawing hand has a positive expectation if the probability of catching 8️⃣ an out is greater than the pot odds offered by the pot.
The probability P 1 {\displaystyle P_{1}} of catching an 8️⃣ out with one card to come is:
P 1 = o u t s u n s e e n c 8️⃣ a r d s {\displaystyle P_{1}={\frac {\mathrm {outs} }{\mathrm {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} }}}
The probability P 2 {\displaystyle P_{2}} of catching 8️⃣ at least one out with two cards to come is:
P 2 = 1 − n o n o u t 8️⃣ s u n s e e n c a r d s × n o n o u t s 8️⃣ − 1 u n s e e n c a r d s − 1 {\displaystyle P_{2}=1-{\frac {\mathrm {non} \,\mathrm 8️⃣ {outs} }{\mathrm {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} }}\times {\frac {\mathrm {non} \,\mathrm {outs} -1}{\mathrm {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} -1}}}
n o n o u 8️⃣ t s = u n s e e n c a r d s − o u t s {\displaystyle 8️⃣ \mathrm {non} \,\mathrm {outs} ={\mathrm {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} }-\mathrm {outs} }
Outs One Card % Two Card % One Card Odds 8️⃣ Two Card Odds Draw Type 1 2% 4% 46 23 Backdoor Straight or Flush (Requires two cards) 2 4% 8% 8️⃣ 22 12 Pocket Pair to Set 3 7% 13% 14 7 One Overcard 4 9% 17% 10 5 Inside Straight 8️⃣ / Two Pair to Full House 5 11% 20% 8 4 One Pair to Two Pair or Set 6 13% 8️⃣ 24% 6.7 3.2 No Pair to Pair / Two Overcards 7 15% 28% 5.6 2.6 Set to Full House or 8️⃣ Quads 8 17% 32% 4.7 2.2 Open Straight 9 19% 35% 4.1 1.9 Flush 10 22% 38% 3.6 1.6 Inside 8️⃣ Straight & Two Overcards 11 24% 42% 3.2 1.4 Open Straight & One Overcard 12 26% 45% 2.8 1.2 Flush 8️⃣ & Inside Straight / Flush & One Overcard 13 28% 48% 2.5 1.1 14 30% 51% 2.3 0.95 15 33% 8️⃣ 54% 2.1 0.85 Flush & Open Straight / Flush & Two Overcards 16 34% 57% 1.9 0.75 17 37% 60% 8️⃣ 1.7 0.66
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A dead out is a card that would normally be considered an out for a particular drawing hand, but 8️⃣ should be excluded when calculating the probability of catching an out. Outs can be dead for two reasons:
A dead out 8️⃣ may work to improve an opponent's hand to a superior hand. For example, if Ted has a spade flush draw 8️⃣ and Alice has an outside straight draw, any spades that complete Alice's straight are dead outs because they would also 8️⃣ give Ted a flush.
A dead out may have already been seen. In some game variations such as stud poker, some 8️⃣ of the cards held by each player are seen by all players.
Types of draws [ edit ]
Flush draw [ edit 8️⃣ ]
A flush draw, or four flush, is a hand with four cards of the same suit that may improve to 8️⃣ a flush. For example, K♣ 9♣ 8♣ 5♣ x. A flush draw has nine outs (thirteen cards of the suit 8️⃣ less the four already in the hand). If a player has a flush draw in Hold'em, the probability to flush 8️⃣ the hand in the end is 34.97 percent if there are two more cards to come, and 19.56 percent (9 8️⃣ live cards divided by 46 unseen cards) if there is only one more card to come.
Outside straight draw [ edit 8️⃣ ]
An outside straight draw, also called up and down, double-ended straight draw or open-ended straight draw, is a hand with 8️⃣ four of the five needed cards in sequence (and could be completed on either end) that may improve to a 8️⃣ straight. For example, x-9-8-7-6-x. An outside straight draw has eight outs (four cards to complete the top of the straight 8️⃣ and four cards to complete the bottom of the straight). Straight draws including an ace are not outside straight draws, 8️⃣ because the straight can only be completed on one end (has four outs).
Inside straight draw [ edit ]
An inside straight 8️⃣ draw, or gutshot draw or belly buster draw, is a hand with four of the five cards needed for a 8️⃣ straight, but missing one in the middle. For example, 9-x-7-6-5. An inside straight draw has four outs (four cards to 8️⃣ fill the missing internal rank). Because straight draws including an ace only have four outs, they are also considered inside 8️⃣ straight draws. For example, A-K-Q-J-x or A-2-3-4-x. The probability of catching an out for an inside straight draw is half 8️⃣ that of catching an out for an outside straight draw.
Double inside straight draw [ edit ]
A double inside straight draw, 8️⃣ or double gutshot draw or double belly buster draw can occur when either of two ranks will make a straight, 8️⃣ but both are "inside" draws. For example, in 11-card games, 9-x-7-6-5-x-3, or 9-8-x-6-5-x-3-2, or in Texas Hold'em when holding 9-J 8️⃣ hole cards on a 7-10-K flop. The probability of catching an out for a double inside straight draw is the 8️⃣ same as for an outside straight draw.
Other draws [ edit ]
Sometimes a made hand needs to draw to a better 8️⃣ hand. For example, if a player has two pair or three of a kind, but an opponent has a straight 8️⃣ or flush, to win the player must draw an out to improve to a full house (or four of a 8️⃣ kind). There are a multitude of potential situations where one hand needs to improve to beat another, but the expected 8️⃣ value of most drawing plays can be calculated by counting outs, computing the probability of winning, and comparing the probability 8️⃣ of winning to the pot odds.
Backdoor draw [ edit ]
A backdoor draw, or runner-runner draw, is a drawing hand that 8️⃣ needs to catch two outs to win. For example, a hand with three cards of the same suit has a 8️⃣ backdoor flush draw because it needs two more cards of the suit. The probability P r r {\displaystyle P_{rr}} of 8️⃣ catching two outs with two cards to come is:
P r r = o u t s u n s e 8️⃣ e n c a r d s × o u t s − 1 u n s e e n 8️⃣ c a r d s − 1 {\displaystyle P_{rr}={\frac {\mathrm {outs} }{\mathrm {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} }}\times {\frac {\mathrm {outs} -1}{\mathrm 8️⃣ {unseen} \,\,\mathrm {cards} -1}}}
For example, if after the flop in Texas hold 'em, a player has a backdoor flush draw 8️⃣ (e.g., three spades), the probability of catching two outs on the turn and river is (10 ÷ 47) × (9 8️⃣ ÷ 46) = 4.16 percent. Completing backdoor draws is generally unlikely; the probability of seeing two out of seven outs 8️⃣ on the turn and river is roughly the same as completing a draw with only out on either the turn 8️⃣ or the river (1/47 + 1/46 = 4.3%). A backdoor outside straight draw (such as J-10-9) is equally likely as 8️⃣ a backdoor flush, but any other 3-card straight draw (such as J-8-7) is less likely than getting a specific card 8️⃣ after the flop, calculated above.
Drawing dead [ edit ]
A player is said to be drawing dead when the hand he 8️⃣ hopes to complete will nonetheless lose to a player who already has a better one. For example, drawing to a 8️⃣ straight or flush when the opponent already has a full house. In games with community cards, the term can also 8️⃣ refer to a situation where no possible additional community card draws results in a win for a player. (This may 8️⃣ be because another player has folded the cards that would complete his hand, his opponent's hand is already stronger than 8️⃣ any hand he can possibly draw to or that the card that completes his hand also augments his opponent's.)
See also 8️⃣ [ edit ]
