Combo Draw

1. A hand that can hit multiple draws.

Example

A combo draw is a hand that can hit multiple draws, such as a straight and a flush. For example, let's say you hold JsTs, and the flop comes down 9s-8h-2s. This is a combo draw because you can have both a straight draw and a flush draw.

Playing a Combo Draw

Playing draw, can sometimes be a difficult task, however combo draws are a bit of a different animal. In general, combo draws are often ahead on the flop, and they're almost never very far behind. For example, the PokerStove calculations show that combo draws always have a good shot to win, even against sets and overpairs.

If you get all-in on a Td Js 2s flop with KsQs vs. AJo, you're a 66% favorite.

Board: Td Js 2s - {KsQs} = 66.26%, {AcJd} = 33.74%

On a 5d 8s Jd flop, if you hold 6d7d and your opponent has black aces, you are actually a favorite to win the hand:

Board: 5d 8s Jd - {7d6d} = 56.26%, {AcAs} = 43.74%

Even when your opponent flops a set and you merely have a combo draw, your still have a 40% chance of winning the hand.

Board: Qd 4d 9h - {JdTd} = 40.30%, {4c4s} = 59.70%

As you can see, combo draws are never too far out of a hand. When you have a combo draw, you want to either see both the turn and river by calling your opponent's bets, or, if it's in the later stages of a tournament, by being aggressive and executing something like an all-in semi-bluff.