Wrap Draws
Wrap draws are one of the most powerful concepts in PLO. These draws give you multiple cards that complete a straight, often providing more outs than you might initially recognize. A wrap can have anywhere from 8 to 20 outs to make a straight, creating situations where your draw has more equity than many made hands.
The four cards in your starting hand allow for wrap possibilities that don’t exist in Hold’em. When you hold JT98 and the flop comes Q76, you have a 20-out wrap. Any king, nine, eight, or five completes your straight. This massive draw holds significant equity against even strong made hands like two pair or a set.
Recognizing wraps requires quick analysis of how your cards interact with the board. Count each card that completes your straight, being careful not to double-count cards that make multiple straight combinations. This skill becomes automatic with practice but requires focus when learning.
Types of Wrap Draws
Open-ended straight draws in PLO often come with additional wrapping possibilities. When you hold JT98 on a Q72 board, you have the traditional open-ended draw to a straight with king or nine, plus additional outs from eights and fives creating different straight combinations.
Double-belly buster draws appear frequently in PLO and provide eight outs similar to an open-ended straight draw in Hold’em. When you hold QJ98 on a K73 board, you need a ten or a six to complete your straight. These draws often hide from opponents who don’t recognize all your straight possibilities.
Thirteen-out and seventeen-out wraps create massive equity that dominates many made hands. When you flop these huge draws, you’re often ahead of hands that appear stronger. Knowing the true equity of your holding prevents you from folding profitable situations or undervaluing your hand.
Counting Outs Accurately
Each out that completes your straight counts once toward your total outs. When multiple cards make different straight combinations, you must avoid counting the same card twice. A systematic approach helps ensure accuracy.
Start by identifying the highest straight your hand can make on the current board. Note which cards complete this straight. Then work downward to identify cards that make lower straights. Remove duplicates from your count to arrive at your true number of outs.
Some outs complete your straight but also create possibilities for opponents to hold better straights or flushes. When you hold T987 on QJ6 with two spades and the board has two spades, any king completes your nut straight, but any spade gives someone a possible flush. These considerations affect how aggressively you play your draw.
Combining Draws
The real power in PLO comes from combining straight draws with flush draws. When you have a 13-out wrap plus a nine-out flush draw, you might have 19 or more clean outs depending on card overlap. These combination draws often have 60% or higher equity against made hands.
When your wrap connects with your flush draw such that some cards complete both draws, count those cards only once. If you need a nine of spades for both your straight and your flush, it shows one out, not two. Accurate counting prevents overestimating your equity.
Backdoor draws add value to your main draws by giving you additional ways to improve on the turn and river. When you have a wrap plus a backdoor flush draw, you can hit your straight on the turn and still have the flush draw as a backup if your opponent shows strength.
Equity Calculations
Equity is your chance of winning the pot based on your cards and the current board. A hand with 50% equity wins half the time when the hand runs to showdown. Knowing equity helps you determine if calling bets offers positive expected value.
The rule of four and two provides a quick estimation method for calculating equity. With two cards to come, multiply your outs by four to estimate your equity percentage. With one card to come, multiply by two. This formula gives approximations sufficient for making decisions at the table.
For a 13-out wrap on the flop, multiply 13 by four to estimate roughly 52% equity. This calculation shows you’re ahead of most made hands and should play aggressively. With 17 outs, you have approximately 68% equity and dominate nearly all opponent holdings.
Equity Against Different Hand Types
Your wrap’s equity changes based on what opponents hold. Against the top set, your 13-out wrap holds less equity than against two pairs because the set can improve to a full house. Against a bare overpair with no redraws, your wrap dominates.
When opponents hold combination draws like a smaller wrap plus a flush draw, equity runs closer. Your 17-out wrap might have only 55% equity against a 15-out combination draw. These situations create high variance spots where significant money goes in without a clear favorite.
Blockers significantly impact equity in PLO. When you hold cards that block your opponent’s straight or flush outs, your equity increases. If you have a flush draw and hold cards in that suit, you reduce the combinations of better flush draws your opponent can hold.
Playing Wrap Draws Aggressively
Strong wraps justify aggressive play including raising and re-raising. When you have 13+ outs, you often have more equity than opponents realize. Building pots with these hands makes sense because you win more money when you hit and fold equity adds value to your already strong equity.
Semi-bluffing with wraps takes advantage of fold equity plus pot equity. Even if your opponent doesn’t fold, you still have strong equity to win at showdown. This combination makes wrap draws profitable betting hands in most situations.
Against passive opponents who check good hands, you can bet your wraps for value. Many players don’t recognize that draws can be value bets when they have sufficient equity. Betting gets value from weaker made hands that call and occasionally wins immediately when opponents fold.
Wrap Draw Vulnerabilities
Not all wraps are created equal. Some wraps make non-nut straights that lose to better straights. When you hold 9876 on JT5, you have a big wrap, but kings and queens make higher straights than your nines and sixes. This risk reduces your hand’s value.
Dry wraps without backup flush draws or pair draws lose value compared to combination draws. When you only have straight outs and no other ways to improve, your equity depends entirely on hitting your straight and having it hold up.
Board textures affect wrap value significantly. On two-tone boards where a third suited card can come, your made straight might lose to a flush. Recognize these dangers and adjust your aggression accordingly.
Turn & River Play With Wraps
When you miss your wrap on the turn, reassess your equity before committing more chips. Your 13-out wrap becomes approximately a 6-out draw with one card to come. This reduced equity often makes folding correct when facing large bets.
Some turn cards improve your draw by adding flush possibilities or giving you additional straight outs. When the turn brings a card in your flush draw suit, you gain nine additional outs, turning your made hand or draw into an even stronger holding.
River decisions with missed wraps typically involve folding. Without fold equity and no more cards to come, your missed draw has no value except in rare situations where you can show a made hand credibly.
Adjusting Bet Sizing With Draws
Bet sizing with wraps should balance building pots when you have equity with maintaining room for maneuvering on later streets. Pot-sized bets make sense with your biggest wraps because you want to commit to the pot when you have such strong equity.
Smaller bets work better with marginal wraps or when you want to see turns cheaply. A 40-50% pot bet risks less when you have fewer outs while still building the pot and maintaining fold equity.
Facing Aggression With Draws
When facing bets with your wrap draws, calculate your pot odds and compare them to your equity. If you have 13 outs giving you roughly 52% equity and the pot offers better than 1:1 on your call, continuing shows profit long-term.
Against check-raises, reevaluate your equity carefully. Opponents who check-raise often hold very strong hands or bigger draws. Your 13-out wrap might face a 17-out combination draw that has you dominated.
Recognizing Opponent Wraps
Reading when opponents might have wraps helps you avoid overcommitting to made hands. Connected boards with three different ranks create numerous wrap possibilities. When facing significant aggression on these boards, consider that opponents might hold huge draws rather than made hands.
Watch for opponents who bet and raise on connected boards then shut down when blank turns arrive. This betting pattern often indicates a missed wrap draw that had strong equity on the flop but lost value when the turn didn’t help.
Practice & Pattern Recognition
Develop quick recognition of wrap possibilities by practicing away from the table. Look at various flop textures and identify which starting hands would flop wraps. This exercise builds pattern recognition that speeds up your decision-making during play.
Use equity calculators to run different wrap scenarios against various opponent holdings. Seeing actual equity percentages helps you develop intuition for how strong different draws are and when to play them aggressively versus cautiously.
Variance Management
Wraps create high-variance situations where large pots develop with uncertain outcomes. Managing your bankroll to handle this variance prevents going broke during inevitable downswings where your draws miss more frequently than expected.
Track your results with wrap draws to ensure you’re playing them profitably. If your wrap play shows consistent losses, you’re either overvaluing weak wraps, playing them too passively, or chasing in bad situations.
Knowing wraps and equity calculations gives you a significant edge in PLO. Most opponents underestimate the power of big draws and make mistakes when facing aggression. Master these concepts and exploit their errors by playing your draws with appropriate aggression based on your true equity.
