Back Into a Hand

1. To win a hand that seemed hopeless early on, thanks to lucky turn and river cards.

Example

Let's say you play Js7s intending to attempt to hit a flush. The flop comes A-T-2 with two spades and you continue with the hand. The turn is an 8 and the river is a 9, but neither card is a spade. You didn't hit the flush you he intended to, but you did back into the straight.

Another Example

On the flop, Antonio Esfandiari has AKo on a A69 rainbow board. He checks for deception and his opponent, Joe Hachem, checks with 45 offsuit. The turn is a 7, they both check and the river is a 3. In this scenario, Hachem has "backed into" a straight with 3-4-5-6-7.

Similar Phrase

The phrase backdooring is used in the same context. For example, If you hold AhKh on a one heart flop and both the turn and river are hearts, you have hit a backdoor flush.