Poker outs, and how to count them.
An out is a card that turns your hand into the winner. Count them and you know your odds of hitting, which, put next to the pot odds, tells you whether to call. Here's how, with a full outs chart.
What counts as an out
- An out is any card still to come that makes your hand the best one. With four hearts after the flop, there are 13 hearts in the deck, 4 are in sight, so 9 hearts are left: 9 outs.
- Count each card once. If a card gives you both a flush and a straight, it's still one out.
- Watch for dirty outs: cards that improve you but also give your opponent a better hand. If the board is paired, your flush card might give them a full house. When in doubt, count a doubtful out as half.
Common draws
| Draw | Outs | By the river |
|---|---|---|
| Flush drawFour cards of one suit: A♥ 5♥ on K♥ 9♥ 2♣ | 9 | 35.0% |
| Open-ended straight drawFour in a row, open at both ends: 8 7 on 6 5 K | 8 | 31.5% |
| Gutshot (inside straight draw)One card fills the gap: 9 8 on 6 5 K | 4 | 16.5% |
| Two overcardsBoth your cards beat the board: A K on 9 6 2 | 6 | 24.1% |
| Flush draw + open-endedThe monster draw: 8♥ 7♥ on 6♥ 5♥ K♣ | 15 | 54.1% |
| Flush draw + gutshot9♥ 8♥ on 6♥ 5♥ K♣ (a 7 fills it) | 12 | 45.0% |
| Pocket pair to a setYou hold 7 7, the board has no 7 | 2 | 8.4% |
| Two pair to a full houseOn the turn, with two pair: one card left | 4 | 8.7% |
"By the river" is the chance of hitting from the flop with both the turn and the river to come, except two pair to a full house, which is a turn draw with only the river left.
The rule of 2 and 4
- On the flop, with two cards to come, multiply your outs by 4. Nine outs × 4 ≈ 36%. The exact figure is 35.0%.
- On the turn, with one card to come, multiply by 2. Nine outs × 2 ≈ 18%. Exactly: 19.6%.
- It overshoots big draws. Above about 8 outs, the ×4 rule runs high: 15 outs × 4 = 60%, but the real chance is 54.1%. A quick fix: on the flop, subtract (outs − 8) from the answer.
- Only count "by the river" if you'll see both cards. If someone can bet big again on the turn, you'll pay twice. Then the one-card number (×2) is the honest one for this call.
Outs chart
| Outs | Flop → turn | Flop → river | Turn → river | Odds against (turn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.1% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 45.0 : 1 |
| 2 | 4.3% | 8.4% | 4.3% | 22.0 : 1 |
| 3 | 6.4% | 12.5% | 6.5% | 14.3 : 1 |
| 4 | 8.5% | 16.5% | 8.7% | 10.5 : 1 |
| 5 | 10.6% | 20.4% | 10.9% | 8.2 : 1 |
| 6 | 12.8% | 24.1% | 13.0% | 6.7 : 1 |
| 7 | 14.9% | 27.8% | 15.2% | 5.6 : 1 |
| 8 | 17.0% | 31.5% | 17.4% | 4.8 : 1 |
| 9 | 19.1% | 35.0% | 19.6% | 4.1 : 1 |
| 10 | 21.3% | 38.4% | 21.7% | 3.6 : 1 |
| 11 | 23.4% | 41.7% | 23.9% | 3.2 : 1 |
| 12 | 25.5% | 45.0% | 26.1% | 2.8 : 1 |
| 13 | 27.7% | 48.1% | 28.3% | 2.5 : 1 |
| 14 | 29.8% | 51.2% | 30.4% | 2.3 : 1 |
| 15 | 31.9% | 54.1% | 32.6% | 2.1 : 1 |
| 16 | 34.0% | 57.0% | 34.8% | 1.9 : 1 |
| 17 | 36.2% | 59.8% | 37.0% | 1.7 : 1 |
| 18 | 38.3% | 62.4% | 39.1% | 1.6 : 1 |
| 19 | 40.4% | 65.0% | 41.3% | 1.4 : 1 |
| 20 | 42.6% | 67.5% | 43.5% | 1.3 : 1 |
| 21 | 44.7% | 69.9% | 45.7% | 1.2 : 1 |
Flop → turn and turn → river: one card to come (47 and 46 unseen cards). Flop → river: either the turn or the river hits. "Odds against" compares misses with hits on the river card: with 9 outs it's about 4 to 1, so the pot needs to pay you at least 4 to 1 to call. Compare it with the pot odds.