What Are Outs?
Learn to count the cards that can improve your hand.
Outs: Cards That Help You Win
An "out" is any card remaining in the deck that will improve your hand to a winner.
Example — Flush Draw
You hold two hearts and two more hearts land on the flop. You need one more heart to complete your flush. There are 13 hearts in the deck total. You can see 4 of them (your 2 hole cards + 2 on the board), so there are 13 − 4 = 9 hearts still unaccounted for.
Those 9 remaining hearts are your outs. Any one of them on the turn or river completes your flush.
Counting outs accurately is the foundation of poker math. Once you know your outs, you can quickly estimate how often you will hit and decide whether calling a bet is profitable.
Example: Flush Draw (9 outs)
You hold A♥ 8♥. The flop is K♥ 5♥ 9♣. You have four hearts — one more heart gives you a flush.
4 hearts seen, 9 hearts remain in the deck — you have 9 outs to complete the flush.
Common Out Counts
Memorising these will speed up your decisions at the table
- ◆Flush draw — 9 outs (13 cards per suit − 4 already seen)
- ◆Open-ended straight draw (OESD) — 8 outs (4 cards above + 4 cards below)
- ◆Gutshot straight draw — 4 outs (only one rank completes the straight)
- ◆Two overcards — 6 outs (3 outs per overcard × 2 cards)
- ◆Flush draw + open-ended straight draw (combo) — up to 15 outs
Combo draws are very powerful because so many cards improve your hand. With 15 outs you are actually a favourite against a made hand on the flop.
Example: Open-Ended Straight Draw (8 outs)
You hold 8♦ 9♣. The flop is 7♠ 10♥ 2♣. A six or a Jack completes your straight.
The Jack on the river completes the straight: 7-8-9-10-J.