What is a draw?
A draw is an incomplete hand that may reach a target combination with a later card. Four available cards of one suit may become a flush with a fifth. Completing the combination and winning the pot are separate questions.
Why a flush draw often has nine nominal outs
Each suit has thirteen cards. If four of your two hole cards plus the three-card flop are spades, nine spades remain among 47 unseen cards. The next-card proportion is 9/47, about 19.1%, assuming no additional card information.
Open-ended and gutshot draws
Available ranks 5-6-7-8 can make a straight with a 4 or 9: eight nominal cards. Ranks 5-6-8-9 need a 7: four nominal cards. In standard high poker an ace can sit at the low or high end, but cannot wrap through K-A-2.
Completing your draw may still leave you behind
A card may improve your hand while giving an opponent a higher flush, full house or straight; it may also produce a tie. Clean outs depend on the board and possible opposing hands. Not every improving card is a winning card.
Two-card probabilities are not a simple sum
In that nine-out example, if both turn and river will be seen, the chance of at least one spade is 1 − (38/47 × 37/46), about 35.0%. This does not account for opposing hands, later action or pot eligibility, and is not a winning probability or a recommendation.
Rules may vary between platforms, tables and events. This guide explains common rules; available games, eligibility and dispute procedures are determined by the platform's official announcements.
Keep exploring
This guide was independently compiled in Chinese. The following sources let you verify the rules.
PokerStars Hold’em rules(new window)