What Is A Straight Draw In Poker

Wraparound Straight Draws in Poker. In Omaha, a player’s four starting cards can combine with the flop to make what’s called a wraparound straight draw in poker. A “wrap” draw can typically give you 13, 17, or even 20 outs to make a straight.

• An ace-high straight flush, such as A ♦ K ♦ Q ♦ J ♦ 10 ♦, is called a royal flush or royal straight flush and is the best possible hand in high games when not using wild cards. 6 17 18 A five-high straight flush, such as 5 ♥ 4 ♥ 3 ♥ 2 ♥ A ♥, is called a steel wheel and is both the best low hand and usually the best.
• Noun When there is at least one card remaining to be dealt or revealed, a hand that contains four cards from among a series of five with consecutive values.

What Is A Straight Draw In Poker Games

Straight draws are strong draws in Limit Texas Hold'em.

When you flop a straight draw it's either going to be an open-ended using both your hole cards, open-ended using one of your hole cards or a gut-shot straight draw. The way you play your straight draw will depend on this.

With an open ended-straight draw you have eight outs to improve to a straight. When you flop an open-ended straight draw you have approximately 2.2-1 (31.5%) against improving on the turn and river combined.

Your hand is stronger if it has additional value like a pair and/or overcards, back-door flush potential and so forth. For example, you hold the A♠ 4♠ on a flop with the 6♦ 5♠ 3♥ giving an open-ended straight draw (8 outs), an overcard (3 outs) and a back-door flush draw (1 out).

This flop gives you 12 outs in total (45%) for improving to at least a pair. Or you hold the J♠ T♠ on a flop with the 9♣ 8♠ 3♦, giving you and an open-ended straight draw (8 outs), two overcards (6 outs) and a back-door flush draw (1 out).

This flop gives you 15 outs in total (54.1% on the turn and river combined), but you'd only feel really comfortable with the hand in case you make the straight. Nonetheless, it has additional value.

To Draw or Not to Draw in Limit Holdem?

When you flop a straight draw you want the flop to come down rainbow. Whenever the flop is two-suited you'll have to discard two outs for the flush cards.

If the flop is two-suited and there is heavy action on the flop you should fold your straight-draw, because of the likelihood your opponents are holding sets, two pairs and flush draws.

Most of the times when you flop an open-ended straight draw on a rainbow flop you'll have correct pot odds to draw. But there are a few exceptions to consider:

1. The flop comes with a pair and there is heavy action on the flop. When the board pairs it much easier for your opponents to make full houses.
2. You are heads-up and don't have a pair or two overcards to the flop. The pot won't be giving you sufficient odds to call. It might be worth to try for a semi-bluff in this situation, but don't check and call all the way to the river.

Whenever you draw to an open-ended straight make sure that you are not drawing to the low end of the straight. For example, you're holding 5♠ 4♠ and the flop is J♠ 7♥ 6♣, giving you an open-ended straight draw.

This straight draw should be played like a gut-shot straight draw (4 outs) since you would only feel comfortable with the hand in case a three hits.

Open-Ended Straight Draw Using Only One Card from Your Hand

These types of flops are not as strong as the ones where you use both your hole cards. The reason for this is that the straight possibility is so obvious to you opponents and someone might already have flopped a straight.

There is also a much higher probability that you'll end up splitting the pot if you make the straight. The action also dries up when the fourth straight card hits and it might be difficult to get paid off even though you might hold the best hand.

Gut-Shot Straight Draw

This type of draw has only one card that gives you a straight, making 4 outs in total. This is approximately 11-1 against improving on the turn.

This is a hand that is pretty strong when it has additional values like two overcards. Holding K♠ Q♠ on a flop of T♠ 9♣ 6♦ is a pretty strong draw - the gut-shot straight draw to the nuts (4 outs), two overcards (6 outs, but beware of a possible straight in case a queen hits) and back door flush potential (1 out).

Heads-up this hand should be played aggressively.

Generally you are not getting sufficient pot odds to draw with only a gut-shot straight draw unless the pot has been raised before the flop. But if there are many callers before the flop, on the flop it is usually correct to draw but only do this if you are drawing to the nut straight.

For example you raise with an AQs and get four callers, the flop comes down K-T-3 (10 small bets in the pot).

You check, the opponent sitting behind you bets and there are a few callers in between you and the bettor. In this case the pot odds warrant a call in the hopes of hitting a jack that would give you the nut-straight.

You are approximately 11-1 against on improving on the turn (8.7%), but the pot is big enough to make this call correct. When you are drawing to gut-shot straights you should almost always fold if there is a risk of someone raising behind you.

A poker player is drawing if they have a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. The hand itself is called a draw or drawing hand. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of a player's first five cards are all spades, but the hand is otherwise weak, they are drawing to a flush. In contrast, a made hand already has value and does not necessarily need to draw to win. A made starting hand with no help can lose to an inferior starting hand with a favorable draw. If an opponent has a made hand that will beat the player's draw, then the player is drawing dead; even if they make their desired hand, they will lose. Not only draws benefit from additional cards; many made hands can be improved by catching an out — and may have to in order to win.

Outs[edit]

An unseen card that would improve a drawing hand to a likely winner is an out. Playing a drawing hand has a positive expectation if the probability of catching an out is greater than the pot odds offered by the pot.

The probability ${\displaystyle P_1}$ of catching an out with one card to come is:

${\displaystyle P_1=\frac{\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}}{\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}}}$

The probability ${\displaystyle P_2}$ of catching at least one out with two cards to come is:

${\displaystyle P_2=1-\frac{\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}}{\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}}\times \frac{\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}-1}{\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}-1}}$

${\displaystyle \mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}=\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}-\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}}$

A dead out is a card that would normally be considered an out for a particular drawing hand, but should be excluded when calculating the probability of catching an out. Outs can be dead for two reasons:

• A dead out may work to improve an opponent's hand to a superior hand. For example, if Ted has a spade flush draw and Alice has an outside straight draw, any spades that complete Alice's straight are dead outs because they would also give Ted a flush.
• A dead out may have already been seen. In some game variations such as stud poker, some of the cards held by each player are seen by all players.

Types of draws[edit]

Flush draw[edit]

A flush draw, or four flush, is a hand with four cards of the same suit that may improve to a flush. For example, K♣ 9♣ 8♣ 5♣ x. A flush draw has nine outs (thirteen cards of the suit less the four already in the hand). If a player has a flush draw in Hold'em, the probability to flush the hand in the end is 34.97 percent if there are two more cards to come, and 19.56 percent (9 live cards divided by 46 unseen cards) if there is only one more card to come.

Outside straight draw[edit]

An outside straight draw, also called up and down, double-ended straight draw or open-ended straight draw, is a hand with four of the five needed cards in sequence (and could be completed on either end) that may improve to a 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 and four cards to complete the bottom of the straight). Straight draws including an ace are not outside straight draws, because the straight can only be completed on one end (has four outs).

Inside straight draw[edit]

An inside straight draw, or gutshot draw or belly buster draw, is a hand with four of the five cards needed for a straight, but missing one in the middle. For example, 9-x-7-6-5. An inside straight draw has four outs (four cards to fill the missing internal rank). Because straight draws including an ace only have four outs, they are also considered inside 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 that of catching an out for an outside straight draw.

Double inside straight draw[edit]

A double inside straight draw, or double gutshot draw or double belly buster draw can occur when either of two ranks will make a straight, 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 hole cards on a 7-10-K flop. The probability of catching an out for a double inside straight draw is the same as for an outside straight draw.

Other draws[edit]

Sometimes a made hand needs to draw to a better hand. For example, if a player has two pair or three of a kind, but an opponent has a straight or flush, to win the player must draw an out to improve to a full house (or four of a kind). There are a multitude of potential situations where one hand needs to improve to beat another, but the expected value of most drawing plays can be calculated by counting outs, computing the probability of winning, and comparing the probability of winning to the pot odds.

Backdoor draw[edit]

What Is A Straight Draw In Poker

A backdoor draw, or runner-runner draw, is a drawing hand that needs to catch two outs to win. For example, a hand with three cards of the same suit has a backdoor flush draw because it needs two more cards of the suit. The probability ${\displaystyle P_{rr}}$ of catching two outs with two cards to come is:

${\displaystyle P_{rr}=\frac{\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}}{\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}}\times \frac{\mathrm{o}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{s}-1}{\mathrm{u}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{s}-1}}$

For example, if after the flop in Texas hold 'em, a player has a backdoor flush draw (e.g., three spades), the probability of catching two outs on the turn and river is (10 ÷ 47) × (9 ÷ 46) = 4.16 percent. Backdoor draws are generally unlikely; with 43 unseen cards, it is equally likely to catch two out of seven outs as to catch one out of one. A backdoor outside straight draw (such as J-10-9) is equally likely as a backdoor flush, but any other 3-card straight combination is not worth even one out.

Drawing dead[edit]

A player is said to be drawing dead when the hand he hopes to complete will nonetheless lose to a player who already has a better one. For example, drawing to a straight or flush when the opponent already has a full house. In games with community cards, the term can also refer to a situation where no possible additional community card draws results in a win for a player. (This may be because another player has folded the cards that would complete his hand, his opponent's hand is already stronger than any hand he can possibly draw to or that the card that completes his hand also augments his opponent's.)

See also[edit]

What Is A Straight Draw In Poker Card Game

• Poker strategy

References[edit]

What Is A Straight Draw In Poker Room

1. ^Odds Chart. 'How to play texas holdem poker'. Howtoplaytexasholdempoker.org. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.

External links[edit]

What Is A Straight Draw In Poker Game