Domination (poker) Domination (poker) Poker hand A is said to dominate poker hand B if poker hand B has three or fewer outs (cards to catch) that would improve it enough to win. Informally, domination is sometimes used to refer to any situation where one hand is highly likely to beat another. The term drawing dead is used to denote a domination situation with zero outs. In hold'em poker variations, domination usually refers to one of five situations involving the hole cards: This is considered domination—despite the having six outs—because if they both hit the flush the will win. The following table
Starting hand into what the appropriate starting hand "standards" are for the game being played. Optimal starting hand standards can be very sensitive to factors such as the betting structure of a game, position, and the character of the other players, as well as the rules of the game being played. Starting hand In poker, a starting hand is the initial set of cards dealt to a player before any voluntary betting takes place. For example, in seven-card stud this is two downcards and one upcard, in Texas hold 'em it is two downcards, and in five-card draw it is five cards.