Made Hand

word type: noun

  1. A hand that does not require a draw to be made. For example, pocket twos is a made hand because no draw is required for a pair. Holding 2-3 on a board of A-4-5 is a made straight.

You Should Also Know...

Just because you have a made hand doesn't mean that you still aren't drawing. In the example above, pocket twos is a made hand, but it is unlikely to win unimproved against multiple players. Thus, you would still be hoping you could make an even better hand, such as a set. If you make a hand on the flop or the turn, you could also have a redraw to a better hand. For example, a made straight on the turn might give you four cards of the same suit, giving you a flush draw.

Oh, And This

Made hands can be significant underdogs to drawing hands. Take, for example, a hand in which Player A has 5c-5d and Player B has Js-Qs. Before the flop, the made hand, pocket fives, is a very slight underdog with approximately 49% equity. But if the flop comes Ts-9s-Ah, Player B, who still does not have a made hand, now has a straight draw, a flush draw (a straight flush draw, actually), and two overcards. He now has about 72% equity in the hand and is a solid favorite to win, despite not having a made hand.

Related Terms

Draw, Pocket Pair