Dear
Mark,
Please describe the different types of straights in
poker; for
instance, drawing to an inside versus an outside straight.
Sandy R.
A
lot of people don't quite understand the difference
between drawing to an "inside straight" and
to an "outside straight. And yet, Sandy, it's pretty
straightforward (pun intended). An inside straight is
one in which an "inside" card is absent, such
as the nine in this example (7,8,10,J), whereas, an
outside straight is one in which an outside
card is missing, such as the six or jack in this case
(7,8,9,10). The latter is open-ended because it consists
of four consecutive cards
(none of them an ace)
and can be completed at either end. Drawing to an
outside straight is a cut above drawing to an inside
straight, because there are eight ways to complete
the outside straight and only four ways to spiff
up an inside one.
