Draw (poker)

One is said to be drawing in a poker game if one has a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. The hand itself is called a draw. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of your first five cards are all spades, but your hand is otherwise worthless (no pairs, no straight), you are said to be drawing for a flush. Contrast this with a made hand, which has value already. If another player has a made hand that will beat your potential flush, then you are drawing dead, that is, even if you make your flush, you will lose, therefore the draw is not worth pursuing.

Related Topics:
Poker - Hand - Seven-card stud - Flush - Made hand

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Whether or not it is good strategy to play a drawing hand depends upon the nature of the game being played, the size of the pot, the betting structure, and many other factors. However, the most basic principle is the ratio of pot odds to the odds of making your hand: if the pot odds are greater, then the draw is likely worth pursuing if you are not drawing dead.

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