Runner-runner
Making a hand with help from both the turn and the river, such as a flush that needed two more cards of a suit.
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- What it means
- Runner-runner means the hand came in only because the last two cards both helped. A flush that needed two more hearts on the turn and the river, or a straight that needed two more connecting cards, is a runner-runner hand. Such a draw on the flop is called a backdoor draw.
- How it is calculated
- Multiply the chance the turn helps by the chance the river helps. With three cards of a suit after the flop, 10 of the 47 unseen cards keep the draw alive on the turn, then 9 of the 46 left complete it on the river.
- Worked example
- You hold A♥ 5♥ on a K♥ 9♣ 4♠ flop. The chance of a runner-runner heart flush is 10 ÷ 47 × 9 ÷ 46 = about 4.2%, or roughly 1 time in 24.
- Why it matters
- A backdoor draw adds a little equity, enough to tip a close call or to pick a bluff that can still win. It is too small to call a big bet on its own, and losing to one is a bad beat rather than a mistake.
See also: Draw, Outs and the rule of 2 and 4, Rule of 2 and 4, Equity