Poked at hapless underdog surrendering nothing without any right (6)
I believe the answer is:
nudged
'poked at' is the definition.
('nudge' can be a synonym of 'poke at')
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nudged that I've seen before include "Poked gently with elbow" , "Poked; reminded" , "Poked in ribs with elbow" , "Poked with elbow to attract attention" , "Poked gently to get attention" .)