Drawing Straws: How It Works, Is It Fair, and Its History
Someone has to do the dishes, take the middle seat or go first, and nobody wants to. Drawing straws settles it in seconds: everyone pulls one straw, and whoever gets the short one is chosen. Here is how to do it fairly, why it does not matter who draws first, where the custom comes from, and how to do the same thing online with our free Random Name Picker.
How to Draw Straws
- Take one straw for each player. Matches, toothpicks, strips of paper or blades of grass work just as well.
- Make one straw clearly shorter than the others. If you want two people chosen, make two short ones.
- One person, the holder, lines the straws up in a closed fist so all the tops are level and nobody can see the bottoms.
- Each player draws one straw. Nobody looks at theirs, or shows it, until everyone has drawn.
- Everyone opens their hand at the same time. Whoever has the short straw is chosen.
The holder takes the last straw left in the fist. That keeps the holder in the draw like everyone else, and it means they cannot steer the short straw towards anyone.
Does It Matter Who Draws First?
No, as long as nobody looks at their straw until everyone has drawn. With 5 players, the first person has a 1 in 5 chance of pulling the short straw. The second person draws from 4 straws, but only if the first person missed it, which happens 4 times in 5, so their chance is 4/5 × 1/4 = 1 in 5 as well. The same works out for every place in the line, including the holder who keeps the last straw.
What changes the odds is peeking. If the first players open their hands one by one and the short straw has not appeared, the people still waiting really are more likely to get it. That is why everyone reveals together. The same logic is behind fair ways to decide who goes first in board games.
A Short History of Drawing Lots
Drawing straws is one form of drawing lots: letting a random object make a choice that people could not agree on. It is one of the oldest decision methods there is.
Lots in Ancient Texts
The Hebrew Bible mentions casting lots many times, from dividing land between the tribes of Israel to the sailors who cast lots to find out who had brought a storm on their ship in the book of Jonah. In the New Testament, the apostles choose Matthias to replace Judas by drawing lots (Acts 1:26). Lots were not seen as luck so much as a way to take the decision out of human hands.
Athens: Choosing Officials by Lot
In classical Athens, most public officials and the huge citizen juries were chosen by lot, not by vote. The Athenians thought elections favoured the rich and well known, while a lottery gave every citizen the same chance. They even built a stone allotment machine, the kleroterion, which used coloured balls to pick jurors from rows of name tokens. Today the method is called sortition, and some modern citizens' assemblies still use it.
Venice: The Doge and the Ballot Boy
From 1268, the Republic of Venice elected its leader, the doge, through a long chain of rounds that mixed votes and lots, so that no single family could fix the result. A young boy, picked at random in the street, drew the balls from the urn. He was called the ballottino, and the little balls gave English the word ballot.
Tied Elections Today
Lots are still used when people are perfectly balanced. In several countries, including the UK and many US states, a tied election can be decided by lot, which has meant drawing names from a hat, cutting cards or tossing a coin. The word lottery itself comes from the Dutch lot, meaning a share decided by chance.
Other Ways to Draw Lots
- Paper slips in a hat. Write every name on a slip, fold them all the same way and draw one. Good for big groups.
- Playing cards. Deal one card each; lowest card is chosen. Agree what happens on a tie before you deal.
- Odd one out. Three or more players toss a coin each; if one coin differs from the rest, that player is out (or chosen). Read more in our coin flip games.
- Counting rhymes. Fine for small children, but not random: whoever counts can work out where the rhyme will land. See the eenie meenie miney mo trick.
- Rock paper scissors. Quick for two people, but a skilled player has a small edge, as our rock paper scissors strategy guide explains.
Drawing Straws Online
No straws to hand, or the group is on a video call? Type everyone's names into the Random Name Picker and spin. It picks one name at random, and you can remove the winner and spin again to choose a second person or put the whole group in order. For a choice between just two people, a coin flip does the same job. For bigger groups, the same tools can split everyone into random teams.
Tips for a Fair Draw
- Agree on the rule first. Say out loud whether short straw means chosen or saved before anyone draws.
- Level the tops. If one straw sticks up or sits lower, people will notice and pick around it.
- Mix between rounds. The holder should shuffle the straws behind their back each time.
- No redraws. The result stands, even if it lands on the person who suggested drawing straws.
FAQ
How does drawing straws work?
One straw per person, one of them shorter. The holder hides the bottoms in a closed fist, everyone draws one, and whoever gets the short straw is chosen.
Is drawing straws fair?
Yes. If nobody looks at their straw until everyone has drawn, every person has the same chance of getting the short straw, whatever order they draw in.
Does the person who draws last have a better chance?
No. With 5 people, every position, first, last or the holder who keeps the final straw, has exactly a 1 in 5 chance.
Where does drawing lots come from?
Drawing lots is ancient: it appears in the Bible, Athens chose most officials and jurors by lot, and Venice used lots to elect its doge from 1268.
How can I draw straws online?
Enter everyone's names in a random name picker and spin. For two people, a coin flip works the same way.