Open-Ended Straight Draw: Definition and Odds
Level 3 · Lesson 3 of 53 min read
What does one look like?
Two connected cards in your hand, two more on the flop:
The 2♦ does nothing at all. A straight draw only cares about ranks beside or inside the run, which makes it the most common shape in the poker draws family.
How many outs does it have?
Two ranks finish the hand, and each rank has four cards in the deck:
four 7s + four Queens = 8 outs
Those eight cards are your outs. Each is worth roughly 2% per card still to come, and two cards are coming:
8 outs × ~4% ≈ 32%
Quick check
You flop an open-ended straight draw — a 7 or a Queen completes it, two cards to come. How often does it arrive by the river?
How do you spot one fast?
Three habits:
- Read the ranks only — ignore the suits for a moment.
- Put them in order and look for four in an unbroken run.
- Check that both ends are live — a run that stops at the ace is not.
On the flop above that reads 2, 8, 9, 10, J. Four in a row, both ends open.
Does it matter if only one of your cards is in the run?
Yes, and this is the trap. The version you want uses both hole cards, as 8♥ 9♣ does. One hole card in the run is a different animal:
Anyone else holding a 9 has your exact hand, so the pot chops instead of paying. Worse, the card that fills your straight can fill a bigger one for a player holding the rank above — your J-high straight loses to their Q-high.
The out count is identical either way. The value is not, so a draw the whole table can share is worth a call only at a cheaper price — work that price out with pot odds.
How does it compare to the other draws?
| Draw | Outs | Completes by the river |
|---|---|---|
| Gutshot | 4 | ~17% |
| Open-ended straight draw | 8 | ~32% |
| Flush draw | 9 | ~35% |
| Combo draw | 15 | ~54% |
A gutshot straight draw is the same idea with one end closed. A flush draw wins when both arrive, because a flush beats a straight. Any vocabulary still new here is defined in poker terms for beginners.
You'll also run into these
Two shapes look open-ended and are not. A run that ends at an ace is closed on that side:
Only a 10 completes it — four outs, not eight. Same at the bottom: A-2-3-4 is finished only by a 5, because in the wheel the ace already plays low.
Cards inside the run do nothing. On 8-9-10-J, another 10 or another J just pairs the board. Only the 7s and the Queens matter.
Practice this in Vibe Poker
Levels 11, 14 in the app practice exactly this — each takes about two minutes.
Free, play-money only. 18+.