Texas Holdem: Counting Outs and Percentages
A solid knowledge of calculating odds and percentages is needed if you want to be successful at no limit Texas Hold’em poker. One thing you could do is learn how to compute for your outs and calculate the odds for and against your hitting your hand. Here are a few examples of counting outs and a few simple tricks you could use to estimate the percentages of hitting your Poker hand post-flop.
First things first, what is an out? An out is a card you need to have in order to hit your hand. If you are going for a straight draw and you need a five to hit your hand, your outs will then be the four fives that are in the deck. This is important because you should know what the odds are of you completing your hand by the river. Below are a few examples.
You have four cards to a flush post-flop. You then have nine outs to complete your Poker hand. If you flop and open-ended straight draw, you have eight outs. But the computation will not always be as simple as straight draws and flush draws.
Example: the flop is Jc-10c-9h and you have Ac-Qc. You have the chance to hit a monster hand. First, you have a nut flush draw and an open-ended straight draw, and any king or eight will give you a straight. Your outs are 15 because one of the kings and one of the eights have already been accounted for.
There is also what we call “potential outs”. These are basically Poker cards that may give you a hand but are not a lock to win the hand for you. One example would be a hand in the big blind of Ah-7h. If the flop is 4h-5c-6h, you will hold a nut flush draw and an open-ended straight draw. The potential out in this case is any ace. If one hits the board then you’ll win your hand. But if your opponent has an ace with a better kicker, you will have 18 outs of nine hearts, 3 non-heart three’s, 3 non-heart nine’s, and the 3 remaining aces.
Outs are also important on the turn because there will be times when this will give you additional outs to hit you hand. Just look for them. Let’s say you have As-Qs and the flop is Ks-6s-2c. Post-flop, you will have 9 outs for the flush and 3 potential outs if an ace hits. If the turn falls the Qd, you will now have picked up 2 more outs to hit your hand if another queen falls on the river.
Be aware of and prepared for sudden changes that can go against you in Poker Games. For example, you have Qc-Jc on a flop of Kd-10s-3h. You will now have an open-ended straight draw and 8 potential outs to hit it. If the river falls 6h, you will still have a chance but it is possible that your opponent has picked up a flush draw. Two of your outs can now be a problem for you. If Ah or 9h fall on the river, then your opponent may hit his hand.
This is the first step in learning how to calculate your percentages of hitting you hand by the river. With practice, you will be prepared for situations where knowing your percentages will affect greatly how the game turns out for you – if you should proceed with your hand or fold. There is a simple way of figuring out percentages. It is known as the “4 and 2 method”.
First, you want to know what your percentages are post-flop. Count the number of outs to hit your hand then multiply it by 4. If you have 9 outs, then there is a 36% chance that you will hit your hand. If you pick up additional outs after the turn, add these to your pre-flop out. Then take the number of outs and multiply it by 2.
Like everything else, this takes practice. Try taking out a deck of cards and dealing some simulated hands at random. Practice calculating your percentages for each hand. Once you’ve learned and mastered this, you will find it easier do it at the table.
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Poker, Poker Games, Texas Holdem







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