5-card odds

 

5-Card Draw Poker is one of the original forms of the game and has a growing following in online poker-rooms too. This article looks at some of the basic odds in 5-Card Draw, both before the draw and when drawing cards to improve your hand.

Odds of being dealt specific hands before the draw.

• Any Pair – 2.3/1
• Pair Jacks or Better – 6.7/1
• Two Pairs – 20/1
• Trips – 46/1
• Straight – 254/1
• Flush – 508/1
• Full House – 693/1
• Quads – 4164/1
• Straight Flush – 64973/1

Calculating Odds Of Improving After The Draw.

There are a huge number of combinations of both starting hands and number of cards drawn. The basic rule for drawing is to count the number of ‘outs’ unseen cards that will improve your hand, and compare this to the total number of unseen cards. For example when drawing to a pair you have 47 unseen cards and 2 trip outs with the first card, the second card may then match the first giving you 2 pair and the 3rd may match either of the first 2. The probabilities would then be combined in a way to say ‘improve to trips or better’.

Common Drawing Odds In 5-Card Draw:

When Drawing 3 cards Holding A Pair

• Improving to 2 pairs – 5.3/1
• Improving to trips – 7.7/1
• Improving to A Full House – 97/1
• Improving to Quads – 359/1

When Drawing 2 Cards Holding Trips

• Improving to a Full House – 15.4/1
• Improving to Quads – 22.5/1

When Drawing One Card Holding 2 pairs

• Improving to A Full House – 10.7/1

When Drawing One Card Holding An Open Ended Straight or 4 Flush

• Improving to a Straight – 4.88/1
• Improving to a Flush – 4.22/1

When Drawing One Card To An Open Ended Straight Flush

• Improving to a Straight or a Flush – 2.33/1