Texas Holdem Strategy – Counting Outs

Counting outs is a critical skill in Texas hold'em. You can even do this even in us online casinos. Once you understand pot odds, you know the odds that you need to make continuing in a hand worthwhile. From there, all you need to know is your odds of actually winning the hand. To do that, you have to be able to count outs.

Texas Hold'em Strategy: What Is Counting Outs?

Outs are the cards that you believe will give you the winning hand. If you already believe you have the best hand, then you are always getting the right pot odds, so you only need to worry about how many outs your opponents may have. For example, if you hold Ad Kd and the flop is Qc Td 7d, you definitely have nine outs for the nine remaining diamonds, and you may have as many as 15, if you believe that a pair of kings or aces will also give you the best hand.

Texas Hold'em Strategy: How to Count Outs

To count outs, you simply need to consider what hand you think you need to make to win and consider which cards will make those hands. Usually outs are considered with regard to straight and flush draws. For example if you have an open ended straight draw, you have eight outs to make your straight. If you have a flush draw, you have nine outs. If you have a gutshot straight draw, you have four outs. If you are drawing to a set, you have two outs.

Texas Hold'em Strategy: Notes on Counting Outs

Remember that you may not be able to count outs if they don't make you the best hand. For example if you hold 8d 9d on a flop of 7s Ts 3h, you may not want to count the J and 6 of spades as outs because they put a flush on the board. You also need to be wary of counting outs twice. For example, if you have that 8d 9d and the flop is 7d Td 3h, you may feel you have 17 outs, since you get nine for the flush draw and eight for the straight draw. However, in this case, you have counted the 6d and Jd twice, both for your flush and your straight, so in reality you only have 15 outs here, which is still pretty good just like hitting a roulette bonus.