Poker Math That Matters

Hit the Deck
Counting Outs
We’ve now laid the foundation to begin understanding how to
make good decisions when having the opportunity to make a
wager. Now it’s time to begin applying this math to poker.
When watching poker on TV, you’ll often see a percentage next
to the players’ cards. The percentage is letting the viewers know
how often each player is going to win the hand by the river. I’ve
often heard new players say “If I could only know those
percentages, I could do alright.” Well, there’s a lot more to
playing good poker than knowing what those percentages are;
however, it is a critical skill to be able to estimate that
percentage fairly accurately. The start of this process is by being
able to count outs.
What is an out? An out is a card that can come on a future
street(s) that can give you the best hand. So, thinking about outs
only applies when you do not have the best hand and there are
more cards to be dealt. Let’s say you are playing a hand, and
you’re on the turn.
Hero: Q♠T♥
Villain: K♦7♣
Board: 6♠9♦2♣K♥
You’re the hero, and your opponent is the villain. It just makes
sense, we’re the good guys, and they’re the bad guys, right? The
villain has a pair of Ks, and you only have Q high. So you
definitely do not have the best hand. However, there is one card
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