OUTS

[telford777]

Hi All. Can someone please explain the "outs" variables?
For example, of I had ACE hearts and KING of spades hole cards and a flop of 9,6,3 spades...... Would my outs be 9(i.e. amount of spades left), or do I also factor the possibility of KINGS or/and ACES showing on the turn and river? Sincere Thanks in advance.

 

[LotharMcDowner]

Basically outs are cards you determine help you...so in your example, if you think a pair of aces or a pair of kings will probably win the hand, then you would add all the spades and the 6 kings and aces, for a total of 15 outs... so roughly 33% on the river

 

[LuisBoaC]

An out is simply a card that will improve your hand to be the best one in play. To know what outs you have you need to try to decide what cards your opponent could have. So in your example if your opponent has Ax of spades you have zero outs. If he has no spades the nine remaining spades are outs for you, if he has cards lower than your AK then you can expect the remaining Aces and Kings to be outs too.
The difficulty is in working out what 2 cards your opponent holds, you won't be able to do this precisely, instead you must always be thinking what range of cards your opponent could hold. You should always be observing your opponents' play, paying particular attention to any hands that go to showdown. Research "putting opponents on a range" or similar for more information.

 

[whosdaboss25]

you would factor in the 3 kings and 3 aces plus the 9 remaining clubs giving you 15 outs to hit your hand possible if he doesn't have blockers to your hand. That's how you would calculate that hand.

 

[bbennie1]

There are 13 hearts, 13 spades, 13 clubs and 13 of diamonds in the deck. That's how you write it off. If you're looking for percentages, for simple use, use the 2 and 4 rule which goes like this:
If there are two cards to come (turn and river), you multiply the number 4 to your outs.
With one card to come (just the turn or just the river), you multiply the number 2 to your outs.
Mind you, this is not exact, but close enough if you need to be quick about it. Using your example, you'd have 9 spades, 3 aces and 3 kings. Why only 3 aces and 3 kings you ask? Because you have already included them when you calculated in the 9 spades, so you exclude them with the aces and kings.
So, 15 outs with two cards to come it's 4x15=60% (in reality 54.1%)
With one card to come it's 2x15= 30% (in reality 31.9%).
If you want to read more, click on the article: https://www.cardschat.com/poker-odds-calculator.php