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Outdraw - To come from behind to win the hand.
During the course of any given poker hand, you can either be
behind, or in the
lead, depending upon whether you have the best hand or
not. If you are behind, you will need to outdraw your opponents if you are going to win the hand. To outdraw your opponent means that
you catch a card or a series of cards that cause you to win the hand at
showdown. To outdraw your opponent is essentially the same
thing as “drawing out on” your opponent. When you outdraw somebody, it is sometimes called a “suckout,” and a player who frequently
outdraws others is referred to as a “suckout artist.” Both “suckout” and “suckout artist” both have mildly negative connotations.
Some players can handle it when they get outdrawn, while others may get upset, especially if you crack a big hand like a set, or
pocket aces. If you put a bad beat on them, they may get
extremely upset. They may even berate you for drawing. This is actually a
flaw in their game, and one that you can take advantage of. Getting upset rarely helps your game, and getting extremely upset and
tilting can have disastrous consequences for your bottom line.
Learning to control your emotions is an essential part of taking your game to the next level. It is not healthy to get too excited
when you win, or too angry when you lose. Many good players remain intentionally detached about the outcome of the hand, so as not get
too emotionally involved with the ups and downs of poker. This approach keeps you from tilting, and results in a peaceful playing
atmosphere which promotes good poker decision making. For some players, being at peace with what happens in a poker game his is easier
said than done, and you may have to train yourself to not care about getting drawn out on.
Certainly, it can be frustrating to get drawn out on, especially when you are running bad and it happens repeatedly during the same
session. It is important that you are able to keep things in perspective, and that you concern yourself with long run profits instead
of short run wins and losses. If getting outdrawn starts to get to you, one thing you should consider is that good players will get
outdrawn more frequently than they will outdraw others. This is because good players tend to have better hand selection, they are in
the lead more frequently, and when they are behind, they tend to stay away from questionable draws. On the other hand, players who
play poorly tend to play too many hands from too far behind, and they frequently take draws that they do not have pot odds to take.
It generally a bad idea to rely too heavily on draws, especially if you are a Hold’em player. Some games, like Omaha and Omaha Hi-lo
Split, are more geared towards draws, meaning many powerful drawing hands exist. But Hold’em is a game in which the player in the lead
is usually the favorite, while the players holding draws are typically underdogs.
Of course, favoring made hands over draws in a Hold’em game is only a rule of thumb. Some draws are worth taking and some are not. One
way to tell if a draw is worth taking is to analyze the pot odds or implied odds associated with it. If pot odds or implied odds
exist, the draw should be taken, whereas if you aren’t getting the proper odds, you should muck.
Sometimes, a made hand and a drawing hand are a statistical dead heat, or are within a percentage point or two of each other. When two
hands go against each other with similar or identical probabilities of winning, it is referred to as a race. The classic race occurs
in a Hold’em game, when a pair faces off against two
overcards before the flop. In this situation, the pair is in the
lead, and the over cards must draw out if they are to win the pot.
Although the pair is technically a small favorite in this situation, it is still considered a race, because the advantage of the pair is so slight.
Usage: Got Outdrawn, Outdrew Him, Drew Out On
Previous Poker Term: Out
Next Poker Term: Overcall
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