Outs: Poker Term Meaning & Examples

What is Outs

Outs are the cards still in the deck that would improve you to a hand likely to win. A four-card flush draw usually has nine outs and an open-ended straight draw eight, but that is only the starting point: if a card also completes a stronger hand for an opponent, it is not a clean out. Count by identifying the hand you are drawing to, then subtracting known cards and any that are likely tainted. Multiway pots, flush-heavy boards and paired boards all deserve extra care. Outs help estimate the chance of getting there, but they do not decide a call on their own — the resulting equity still has to be compared with the pot odds.

On the felt

Table6-max cash game

PositionCO

Flop9♣8♦2♠

ActionCount straight outs holding 7♣6♣

Example

You hold 7♣6♣ on a flop of 9♣8♦2♠. Any ten or five completes a straight, so on the surface you have eight outs. If an opponent's range contains higher straight draws, check which of those outs are genuinely clean.

Common mistakes

Counting every card that improves your hand as an out. A card that improves you but still loses often is not a full clean out.
Calling as soon as you count nine flush outs. Outs must be converted to equity and compared against the price you are being offered.

Related terms

Equity Equity is the share of the pot your hand or range wins on average if the hand runs to showdown. Exploitative Play Exploitative play adjusts your own strategy to target the deviations you can observe in an opponent. Fold Equity Fold equity is the value a bet gains from the chance your opponent folds and you take the pot uncontested. Mixed Strategy A mixed strategy takes two or more legal actions in the same spot, each at a set frequency. Pot Odds Pot odds weigh what a call costs against what you stand to win, so you can tell whether the price is right. Range A range is every hand an opponent can reasonably hold, given the way the action has gone.