Busted: When You’re Out of Chips or Out of Luck

What Does Busted Mean in Poker?

You’ll use the word “busted” in poker in two main situations:

• When you lose your very last chips and are therefore eliminated from a tournament.
  
  

• When your draw misses and it leaves you with a weak or worthless hand.
  
  

• When you lose a big pot and can’t rebuy or reload.
  
  

• When your all-in gets called and you come up short and lose all your chips.
  
  

Being busted can mean your tournament run is over, or simply that your hand didn’t connect in the way you had hoped it would.

Busted Hands and Missed Draws

A busted hand happens when you chase a straight or flush and the final street does not complete your draw. You’ve invested your chips chasing that improvement, but end up with a weak or losing hand. Here are a couple of examples:

• You hold 8♠ 9♠ on a board of Q♠ J♠ 2♦ 4♥ K♣. Your flush and straight both missed, leaving you busted.
  
  

• You hold A♦ 5♦ chasing a flush, but the river bricks out with no diamond.
  
  

When your draw busts, you’re then left with a “busted hand,” a hand that never got there.

Getting Busted Out of a Tournament

When you go all-in and lose all your chips, you’re officially busted from the tournament. You’ll often hear the dealer say, “Seat open!” as you stand up and walk away.

• You’re eliminated when you have no chips left.
  
  

• You can re-enter if the tournament allows rebuys.
  
  

• In multi-table tournaments, busting near the bubble can be especially painful.
  
  

Every player except the winner eventually gets busted; it’s part of the game and part of the drama.