Wrap in Omaha poker: every wrap type, how to count outs and how to play them

A wrap in Omaha is a straight draw with more than eight outs. It’s possible because you hold four cards: with two or three of them around the board cards, you can make a straight in many ways at once. In Texas Hold’em the best straight draw, an open-ender, has 8 outs. An Omaha wrap has anywhere from 9 to 20, and the biggest ones are favourites even against a set.

Below you’ll find how to count wrap outs in three steps, a table of every common wrap shape with its outs and nut outs, the real odds of hitting, and how wraps do against sets, two pair and each other. The last sections cover how to play them.

What a wrap is

The name comes from the shape: your hole cards wrap around the board cards, above and below. On a 9♠ 8♦ 2♣ flop, a hand like Q♥ J♣ T♦ 7♠ has cards on both sides of the 9 and 8, so many turn cards complete a straight.

The rule that makes Omaha different is that you must use exactly two cards from your hand and exactly three from the board. That limits which straights you can make, and it’s the source of most counting mistakes. If you’re new to the game, start with our guide to the rules of Omaha, which covers this rule and the hand-reading traps that come with it.

A Hold’em player with an open-ended draw like J♣ T♦ on 9♠ 8♦ 2♣ has 8 outs: four queens and four sevens. Give that player two more cards, Q♥ and 7♠, and the same flop becomes a 16-out wrap.

How to count wrap outs

Counting outs in Omaha takes a little more care than in Hold’em, because you have six two-card combinations to check, not one. This three-step method works for any hand:

1. Find the straight zone. Look at the board cards that are close in rank. On 9♠ 8♦ 2♣, that’s the 9 and 8; the deuce plays only with very low hands.
2. Test each turn rank. For every rank that could come next, ask: with that card, do two of my hole cards and three board cards make five in a row?
3. Count the cards and check the nuts. For each rank that works, count how many of those cards are still unseen, then check whether your straight would be the best one possible on that board.

To see the method in action, take a 13-out wrap on a common flop:

You hold Q♥ J♣ T♦ 3♠. The 3♠ is useless, so the wrap comes from Q, J and T, three cards above the board’s 9-8:

• A queen makes Q-J-T-9-8 with your J and T. Three queens are left (you hold the fourth).
• A jack makes the same straight with your Q and T. Three left.
• A ten makes it with your Q and J. Three left.
• A seven makes J-T-9-8-7 with your J and T. Four left.

That’s 3 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 13 outs, and all of them give you the nut straight. A six would make 10-9-8-7-6 only if you held both a 7 and a 6, which you don’t, so it isn’t an out.

Wrap types from 9 to 20 outs

Wraps are usually named by their number of outs. The table below lists the common shapes with an example of each, counted by checking every possible turn card. All flops are rainbow, so no flush is possible.

The positions of your cards around the board decide the shape. This diagram shows the main patterns, with your cards marked around two board cards:

13-out wraps

Three connected cards next to two board cards give 13 outs. When your three cards sit above the board, like Q-J-T on 9-8, every out makes the nut straight. The broadway wrap does this at the top of the deck: A-Q-T on K-J has no higher straight to fear.

When the three cards sit below the board, like 7-6-5 on 9-8, the count is the same, but most of the straights aren’t the best. A ten gives you 10-9-8-7-6, while anyone with Q-J makes Q-J-T-9-8. Only the three remaining fives (9-8-7-6-5 is the top straight with a 9-8-5 board) are nut outs.

16 and 17-out wraps

Four cards around two board cards give 16 or 17 outs. Q♥ J♣ T♦ 7♠ on 9♠ 8♦ 2♣ is the cleanest version: any queen, jack, ten, seven or six makes a straight, and all 16 outs make the nuts. The 17-out shapes have one more out, but some of their straights aren’t the top one. With A♠ J♥ T♦ 7♠ on 9♣ 8♠ 3♥, a jack or a ten gives you a jack-high straight, while a player holding Q-T or Q-J makes a queen-high one. Only 11 of the 17 are nut outs.

The 20-out double wrap

The largest wrap holds two cards above and two below the board. With J♥ T♠ 7♦ 6♣ on 9♥ 8♠ 2♦, any queen, jack, ten, seven, six or five completes a straight. That’s six ranks and 20 cards in total.

Not all 20 are equal. A ten gives you J-T-9-8-7 with your jack and seven, but a player holding Q-J makes Q-J-T-9-8. A jack does the same against Q-T. Those six cards are the non-nut outs, which leaves 14 nut outs: every queen, seven, six and five.

Nut outs: why 13 can beat 20

An out that makes the second-best straight can cost you a whole stack. In Omaha, where everyone holds four cards and players often have wraps of their own, the number of nut outs matters more than the total. The clearest example is two 13-out wraps on the same flop.

You hold the bottom wrap, 7♥ 6♣ 5♦ 3♥; your opponent holds the top wrap, Q♥ J♣ T♦ 3♠. You both have 13 outs, but on a ten you make a straight and he makes a bigger one. Played to the river, your hand wins only 21.6% of the time.

Big wraps suffer from this too. The 20-out J♥ T♠ 7♦ 6♣ against the 13 nut outs of Q♣ J♦ T♣ 3♠ on 9♥ 8♠ 2♦ wins outright only 23.0% of the time and splits the pot another 26.0%, for 36.0% equity. More outs, less money.

Two similar wraps often split the pot. J♥ T♠ 7♦ 6♣ against J♦ T♣ 8♣ 7♠ on 9♥ 8♠ 2♦ ends in a split 52.8% of the time, and the first hand has only 38.8% equity. Calling big bets with a wrap your opponent can share or top is a slow way to lose.

Odds of hitting a wrap

In Omaha you see your four cards and the three on the flop, so 45 cards are unseen. The table shows the exact chance of making your straight, along with two quick rules many players use at the table:

The rule of 4 (multiply outs by four to estimate your chance by the river) works for Hold’em draws, but it overestimates big wraps badly: it says a 20-out wrap gets there 80% of the time, when the real number is 69.7%. The adjusted rule, 4 × outs − (outs − 8), stays within a couple of points. Our outs table covers the rule and its limits in more detail.

Wraps against sets and two pair

A set is the hand a big wrap usually fights on the flop, because sets bet and raise just as wraps do. The numbers below are full enumerations of every turn and river, with both hands known:

A typical spot at the table looks like this:

A set’s outs matter too: when the board pairs, it makes a full house and beats your straight. That’s why even 16 nut outs leave you slightly behind top set. Add the nut flush draw, and even a 13-out wrap edges ahead. Against two pair or an overpair, a big wrap is a clear favourite. Our PLO strategy guide has another wrap-against-set example on a different board.

How to play a wrap

There’s no single rule for wraps. The right play depends on how many nut outs you have, the board and the number of players.

Big nut wraps

With 16 or more nut outs, you’re close to even money against a set and a clear favourite against two pair or an overpair. Bet and raise, especially in position. The pot-limit raise builds the pot while your equity is highest, and your opponents can’t tell a wrap from a set. When stacks are deep, getting all-in on the flop with a 16 or 20-out wrap is usually fine against one player. Our guide to the check-raise covers the out-of-position version.

Weak and non-nut wraps

Bottom wraps and wraps with few nut outs are calling hands at best. Take a cheap card when the price is right, and fold to big pressure, because the hands that put you all-in on these boards often hold the top end of your straight. The fold equity of a raise with a weak wrap is small, since the players who stay in tend to have you beaten.

Wraps on flush and paired boards

On a two-tone flop, some of your straight outs also give an opponent a flush. On a paired flop, a full house may already be out there. In both cases, count only the outs that leave you with the best hand, and play the wrap as a smaller draw. Our guide to reading the board shows how to spot these changes quickly.

Multiway pots

With three or more players, someone else is more likely to hold a set, a flush draw or the same wrap. Your nut outs count more than ever, and non-nut wraps lose value fast. A big nut wrap still plays well multiway, because it wins a big pot when it hits.

Starting hands that make wraps

Wraps come from connected hands: four cards close in rank, called rundowns, like J-T-9-8 or 8-7-6-5. The closer the cards, the more flops give you a big wrap. A single gap, as in J-T-8-7, still flops plenty of wraps; two or more gaps make them rare.

High rundowns are better than low ones for the reason the top wrap beats the bottom wrap: your straights are more often the highest. A low rundown like 6-5-4-3 often makes the bottom of a straight. Suits add a flush draw on top, which is why double-suited rundowns rank among the strongest hands in the game. Our guides to PLO strategy and to position explain which of these hands to play from which seat.

Wrap mistakes

Most wrap mistakes come from counting outs the Hold’em way. These are the ones to watch for:

Counting straights that use three hole cards. With 7-6-5 in hand on 9♠ 8♦ 2♣, a four looks like it makes 8-7-6-5-4, but that needs three of your cards. With only two allowed, the four isn’t an out.

Treating every out as a winner. A wrap with 17 outs and 11 nut outs is really an 11-out hand against a player with the top of the straight.

Ignoring the flush. On a two-tone board, straight outs of the flush suit can complete your opponent’s flush too.

Count nut outs first and total outs second. Then compare the nut count with the chance that your opponent holds a better wrap.

Wraps are one of several draws worth knowing well. The Hold’em versions are covered in our guides to the straight draw and the gutshot, and the made hand in our guide to the straight. If you play the split-pot version of Omaha, our guide to Hi-Lo hands shows how low cards change the picture.

Omaha wrap FAQ