The number of outs you have enters into your pot-odds calculation but even if you haven’t learned how to do it yet, you already know the essential: the more outs you have on the flop, the less reasons for you to fold and the more likely you are to complete a winning hand by the river.
With 8-9 outs on the flop, you have a solid drawing hand. With 12 and more outs, chances of improving by the river increase to 45% and up.
While you need to be careful not to double-count certain outs (when the same card completes two different drawing hands), it is equally important to identify ‘tainted’ or ‘bad’ outs, which could make a better hand for your opponent. You are advised to count these as ‘half outs’, and in a more conservative mode of play, discount them altogether. (See Part I for a list of the most typical drawing hands and number of outs)
Watch the amazing hand in which Busquet hit a backdoor full house draw with running aces!
Backdoor Draws
All too often, after the flop, you need two cards to make your straight or flush - these are the so-called ‘backdoor or runner-runner draws’. While there is some disagreement about their value, most pros recommend counting a backdoor straight or flush draw as one out.
Example:
You: Q♦J♦
Flop: J♣10♠7♦
Drawing hands and outs*:
second pair looking to improve to trips (with J♠J♦) or to two pair (Q♠Q♣Q♥ 10♦10♥10♣ 7♠7♣7♥)
open-ended backdoor straight draw: any king AND any A or 9; or any 9 AND 8 on turn and river;
backdoor flush draw: any TWO running diamonds out of 10 left;
* not taking into account the theoretically possible full house and quads
Here's a four-way hand with a great flop to practice counting outs and identifying backdoor draws:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctiw1MjWvGQ
There is a made straight drawing to a straight flush; two backdoor flush draws; a full house draw; and a gutshot straight draw!
One-outers
A hand is a one-outer when there's a single card left in the deck to complete a winning combination. In the example below, Ivey did not hit his one outer, the J♠, vs. Scotty Nguyen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqAmobtYKhQ
Here is @Mike Sowers in a WSOP hand when he actually rivered the only card in the deck that could save him :)
Hidden Outs
These are the outs that work for you NOT by directly improving your own hand, but by devaluing the hand of your opponent. Hidden outs typically come into play in situations with small pairs:
You: A♥Q♣
Opponent: 4♦4♣
Flop: 6♣6♠9♥
You are behind, with six obvious good outs:A♠A♣A♦Q♠Q♥Q♦
However, any 9 would deprive of value your opponent’s pocket 44s and you would end up with top kicker on a board of two pairs. On the upside, you have an additional three hidden outs; on the downside, these will only be useful when you have a good read of your opponent...
| Imagine that Ivey is holding A♠4♦ and has flopped two pairs. At first glance, Tony G has only 3 direct outs - the three kings. But any 5 or queen would devalue the 44 to give Tony G two pair, top kicker. Should Ivey be holding 5♠4♦, Tony G has 5 direct outs (two aces, three kings) and three queens as 'hidden outs'. |
'Drawing Dead'
Sometimes you are left without outs and nothing to count as there are simply no cards in the deck able to improve your hand against that of your opponent's. This is when you're said to be 'drawing dead'. It's what happened in the above Monte Carlo Millions 2004 hand featuring @Antanas 'Tony G' Guoga and @Phil Ivey with a flopped set (three-of-a-kind made of a pocket pair and one community card):
Revise the basics with this article on counting outs from the #RKHabc series and with this @Phil Hellmuth tutorial:
Once comfortable with counting outs, any poker beginner should get a grasp of basic odds in poker and how to use the number of outs to estimate chances of hitting the desired drawing hand. Coming up soon on RankingHero!
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Annie RKH 5 May 2015
Hey, thanks, I know we can always count on the @Ace-High Poker Group ;) But are these really one-outers, @William Calder?...
William Calder 5 May 2015
yes the queens that tom dwan are holding an the queen that comes out onn river is a one outer as the other queen was folded by another player .an the jacks by jungleman is a one outer as the other jack was folded by another player too so in both hand the case card is turned over to make a queens full for tom dwan an trip jacks for jungleman
Farcas Paul 5 Jun 2015
I remember that hu between Ivey and Nguyen , damn even Nguyen felt sorry for Ivey.
Happy International Worker's Day to all poker grinders :) Great day to do some poker-strategy work with this flopped monster!
Fun Way to Glasgow 2: Unibet Royal Flush
Unibet.com on Rankinghero Unibet.com on Rankinghero Second chance to get a Ticket for the RKH Grand Final that qualifies to @Unibet Open Glasgow! Imagine: you flop a Royal Flush close to the bubble at the Unibet Open Glasgow. What would you do? ...ABC of Poker: Count Your Outs!
Contrary to the popular saying, in poker, you MUST count your chickens before they're hatched :) This will allow you to make informed decisions and help you put your money in the right pots! Outs are essential in calculating the probability of completing the winning hand.
Outs are the unseen cards that can come up on the board to improve and give you the best hand.
Counting them is pretty straightforward - e.g. if you hold a pocket pair, A♦A♥ , there are two cards that can give you a set - A♠A♣, and with a flush draw, there are 9 more cards of the same suit, or 9 outs.
Here is a chart of the basic drawing hands and corresponding outs that you are advised to memorize so that you can move on to the next steps: calculating hand odds and most importantly, pot odds. Both will be covered in coming #RKHabc articles!
As shown in the last example above, you may also find yourself in a situation where two of your outs can complete either a straight or a flush. Be careful not to count those outs twice!
Note that the included charts concern a single card that can make your hand; unfortunately, all too often you need TWO cards - these situations are known as 'backdoor draws' or 'runner runner' and will be covered in future posts!
In the hand below, featuring @Arto Loikkanen and @Viktor "isildur1" Blom in an all-in during the Unibet Golden Cash Game, there is only one ace left to help Blom improve to a set.
Watch the hand in Golden Cash Game Superstar Viktor Blom Out with Bad Beat on First Night
The cards on the board are 'community cards' for use by all the players at the table, and sometimes an out that can improve your hand can also give an opponent a better one. These are therefore called 'half outs', 'tainted outs' or 'bad outs'. For instance, K♥ or K♣ in the above situation would improve Viktor's hand from one to two pair, but would complete trips for Arto.
When you hold A♠K♦ on a 10♠3♠K♠ flop, there are nine spades that can complete your flush to give you an unbeatable hand on an unpaired board. (With a pair or three of a kind among the community cards, you need to take into account the possibility of a full house for your opponent.)
In the hand below from the same event, Blom made his flush on the turn and @Mikael Norinder had 4 outs K♣K♥A♣A♥ to outdraw him and complete a full house:
Watch the hand on RKH in Clash of the Vikings in Golden Cash Game and UNhappy Ending for Viktor Blom
Rule of thumb:
Not all outs are of equal value. Some will just improve your hand without guaranteeing the win and others will actually give your opponent the best hand.
Always remember to check for straight/flush/full house draw possibilities on the board and discount or reduce by half the value of 'tainted' outs that may benefit your opponent.
There's a lot of praying to the poker gods at the poker tables so at least make sure you know what to pray for!.. As in most things, practice makes perfect and you will soon be counting outs 'on auto mode'. Here's a great site to practice: http://howmanyouts.com
How Many Outs - A poker skill gamehowmanyouts.com
For homework :)
How many outs for @Connor Drinan in this famous hand?
Coming up soon: Hidden Outs, Hand Odds, Pot Odds
ABC of Poker: Starting Hands in Early Positions
As most beginner guides, the #RKHabc series is based on ABC poker theory and its fundamental postulate: you play only solid hands, betting and raising when you're strong and folding when you're weak. Sounds obvious and self-explanatory, as long as you know your poker hand rankings, so where's the catch?
You can watch @Annie Duke's starting hand tutorial in ABC of Poker: Starting Hands
As you must already know if you're reading this article at all, 'strength' in poker is not at all about the ranking order of poker hands. What is equally - if not more - important is your position at the table relative to the Button (the last player to act post-flop).
The more players remain to act after you, the more vulnerable you are - you have less information and less pot control.
You may find slight differences among poker writers as to the 'allowed' starting hands in early position. Some may, for example, include pocket TTs in open-raise charts for UTG while others will recommend QQ+ only. But one thing they all agree on is that players in early position must be much more selective and should only play a tiny fraction of their starting hands. This, you will find, often requires total mobilization of your willpower and discipline :)
In UTG and UTG+1 (full ring) you'll be best off focusing exclusively on the premium starting hands in the top left corner of the chart!
Your rule of thumb:
In early position - UTG, UTG+1 - in a full-ring game, you will be folding more than 95% of the time pre-flop! Play tight and open raise with premium hands only (high pairs AA, KK, QQ and AKs/AKo). Do not open limp!
Some poker writers loosen up the starting hand range to include JJ and TT, as well as high suited AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ and high unsuited AQ, AJ. Naturally, it all depends very much on stack sizes and on what you know about your opponents at the table.
Remember that with fewer than 9 occupied seats you are moving closer to the button and the early positions drop out. In a 6-max, the first to act pre-flop has a wider recommended starting hand range including, for example, pocket pairs down to 55s.
Related articles on #RKHabc:
ABC of Poker: Starting Hands - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
ABC of Poker: Position Essentials & Glossary - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
Do you have a favorite video tutorial or article on starting hands? What would your own personalized chart of UTG starting hands look like?
Annie RKH 22 Apr 2015
It would be great to hear from the leaderboard heroes in our many freeroll competitions - perhaps @Jackofclubbs @Tedy Mihai @John Thomson @Chetakatatak @Andrew Brisland or the other high-ranking players would care to share their own strategy and tips about starting hands?
And here's a question for all of you and for our in-house pro experts @Pedro Canali and @Nicolas Levi:
The recommendations in the article concern open raises in UTG and UTG+1. How much should we extend the starting hand range for CALLS by UTG+1 in the same tight-playing ABC poker context?
Andrew Brisland 22 Apr 2015
I am not sure that calling in utg+1 is a very good idea , probably best to either raise your really strong hands to get Headsup in position, or fold your medium hands, calling just opens the door for more and more players to call getting "pot odds" then you are stuck in the middle 
Annie RKH 22 Apr 2015
Yes, @Andrew Brisland, you're quite right of course; what I was really wondering was what kind of starting hands UTG+1 would need in order to act after an open raise by UTG and still be playing straightforward ABC poker?
ABC of Poker: Starting Hands
As the popular fun fact goes, there are more ways to arrange a deck of cards than there are atoms on Earth! How fortunate we are then that with 52 cards and 4 suits, there are only ;) 1326 possible combinations of starting hands in poker! And to make things even easier for beginners, these fall into five basic types (pairs, suited or unsuited, connected or gapped) and three broader categories in terms of post-flop potential (premium, solid, speculative).
Starting hand charts typically feature pocket pairs running diagonally from top left (AA) to bottom right (22), with suited cards right and above, and unsuited cards to the left and below, the pairs.
Pairs
While the chance of being dealt any pocket pair is 5.9%, how likely are you to get dealt a specific pair? There are 13 possible pairs, each with 6 combinations. Knowing this, you can calculate the probability as 6/1326=0.0045 or 0.45% probability and odds of 220:1. Related terms: pocket pair, top pair, over pair A♥A♠, 2♣2♦
Suited connectors
As the name suggests, these are two consecutive (connecting) cards of the same suit which can combine with the community cards to form a straight: J♥10♥; 8♠9♠; 5♦6♦
Suited unconnected cards
Two cards of the same suit but with a gap between them - the smaller the gap, the greater their speculative value K♠J♠, 9♦6♦, J♥7♥
Connected unsuited cards
Q♠J♦, 8♣9♥, 4♣5♥
Unconnected unsuited cards
K♣9♥, J♠4♦, 10♦8♠
Premium hands
These are the very best hands in poker and the ones you can play in any position: AA, KK, QQ, and AKs
Solid hands
These include pocket pairs of 88 and better (88+); high suited cards AKs, AQs, AJs, high unsuited cards AKo
Speculative hands
May be further differentiated into 'quality' and 'weak' speculative hands and include small pairs, suited connectors, and suited aces. Especially valuable in early tournament stages when the blinds are small compared to the stacks (see Brush Up on Your Deepstack Strategy in Time for the MPS Malta!)
Quick glossary of terms & acronyms:
Hole cards - the cards dealt face down to the players; in Texas Hold'em, the two cards that make up your 'starting hand'; sometimes 'pocket cards' as in 'pocket pair' (when you are dealt two cards of the same value)
Community cards - the cards dealt face up on the table, forming the board, for use by all the players active in the hand
Board - the community cards dealt face up on the table
(s) - suited as in AKs, A♥K♥
(o) - offsuit, as in AKo, A♣K♦
(x) - any card 9 and lower, as in Ax A♦5♣ or Axs A♠5♠
OP - 'overpair', a pocket pair which is higher in value than any of the community cards on the board and would thus beat the 'top pair' as on the 5♥7♣J♣ flop when you hold Q♥Q♠
TP - ‘top pair', when you pair one of your hole cards with the highest community card, as on a 5♥7♣J♣ flop when you hold J♦10♠
TP and OP are terms relative to the specific board unlike the generic term 'high pair'.
Watch @Annie Duke in this starting-hand tutorial:
Continued in: ABC of Poker: Starting Hands in Early Position
ABC of Poker: Starting Hands in Early Positions - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
Related #RKHabc article:
ABC of Poker: Position Essentials & Glossary - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
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ABC of Poker: The Deadly Sin of Slowrolling
Slowrolling - to be distinguished from slowplaying - means to maliciously delay calling a bet or turning over one's cards at showdown when holding the best hand, leading the opponent to think they are winning the pot. This is an unforgivable breach of poker etiquette and a sure way of antagonizing the entire table.
“It’s the most disgusting thing you could ever do. I’ve never slow rolled a person in my life. And I never will.”
Coming from the explosive @Mike Matusow, known as The Mouth for his trash-talking, this is a good indication just how deadly a sin slowrolling is in the world of poker.
And not only players get enraged by slowrolls - all too often they seem to be as offensive to the poker gods and will get punished by the river, as shown in the videos below, including the most-talked about hand in poker in the past month, from the 2015 Paddy Power Irish Poker Open:
Because it can be a matter of subjective perception, live poker beginners and even pros may find themselves unjustly accused and there are many videos of alleged slowrolls on youtube where in fact the guilty player had legitimate reasons to pause and think or was genuinely unaware of the strength of their hand, with no malice involved.
So next time you see a video labeled 'the worst slowroll in history', ask yourself: was it deliberately intended, was it meant to make the opponent feel bad?
And respectively, next time you find yourself with the nuts in an all-in, make the call and show your cards without delaying. As one poker writer aptly put it, "You know you’re going to hurt your opponent, so rip the band-aid off quickly" (http://gamboool.com/definition-of-a-slow-roll-and-why-its-a-big-breach-of-poker-etiquette).
Even if unsure whether you've won, and especially when you are the bettor, reveal your cards without delaying and let the dealer sort it out. All-ins and showdows are nerve-racking enough and poker players can be very quick-tempered and vindictive. You don't want the whole table turning against you!
Your rule of thumb:
When holding the nuts at showdown or in an all-in, turn over your cards as quickly as possible.
It is never 'ok' to slowroll; stick to sportsmanship even against the most obnoxious opponents and let the poker gods do the punishing.
Most people believe justice was served in this famous hand from The Big Game but @Phil Hellmuth vehemently denies slowrolling. What is YOUR verdict - guilty or innocent?
Phil Hellmuth bad beat on The Big Gamewww.youtube.com
Quick glossary:
The nuts (nut hand) - the strongest possible hand on a given board
Showdown - when at the end of a hand, the remaining players place their cards face up on the table to determine the winner
Slowplaying - holding a very strong hand but under-representing and playing it passively - checking and calling rather than betting and raising (see ABC of Poker and Glossary of Terms: Slowplay Dos & Don'ts
Coming up soon in #RKHabc - Hollywooding!
Help us grow the RKH poker resource collection and share relevant videos and articles! Best of all, share your personal experience - have YOU ever slow-rolled anyone (intentionally or inadvertently)? Have you ever been unjustly accused of slowrolling?
Take Your Grinding Station With You on the Fun Freeway to Unibet Open Glasgow!
Show us where you grind and you could be on your way to Glasgow!
In the first mission on the Fun Way to the Unibet Open Glasgow, you have until Thursday night April 23rd to post a picture of your setup with the hastag #FunSetup and collect likes from other members of the community. On Friday, Aril 24th, our special jury will select the winner among the five best-liked pics!
Is your work station cluttered and messy or minimalist and sleek, high-tech or retro, indoors or outdoors? Take a snapshot and include a caption or comments if you like.
We've made sure it's FREE, now it's up to you to make it FUN :)
More grinding stations below:
Unsafe Working Conditions in Professional Poker?.. - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
SuperNova125: Baller Poker Grind Stations / Setupssupernova125.blogspot.co.at
All about the TWO FREEWAYS TO GLASGOW here:
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Elena RKH 17 Apr 2015
William Calder 17 Apr 2015
A real-life poker heroine just the way we love them on RankingHero, striving not to let poker take over her life and to keep up the balance! Way to go @Angela Jordison!
Up-and-Rising Women in Poker: Angela Jordison with 3 Wins in 3 Days
Angela Jordison on Rankinghero Angela Jordison on Rankinghero Angela Jordison made the news this week with a feat that captures the imagination of poker amateurs and commands respect even from top live tournament pros: in three days she won the first three...
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Google Doodles, Asparagus and Poker
Inspired by today's Google Doodle, I tried my luck with an off-hand 'asparagus, poker' search and came up with the following reason why onine poker grinders should NOT 'keep calm and eat asparagus':
It may be loaded with anti-oxidants and nutrients but asparagus is also a powerful natural diuretic so unless you have a pee jar handy, you're not advised to relish on this particular vegetable once you've registered for one of the many RankingHero freerolls currently on offer :)
See:
http://www.rankinghero.com/rkh.freerolls
RKH Freerolls - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com
Further asparagus reading:
Fortune teller uses asparagus tips to tell your futurewww.mirror.co.uk
Alessio Bianchi 16 Apr 2015
eggs + asparagus = 
Probably not a good idea to try the post-it trick in one of the many freerolls open to RankingHeroes right now but Annette's 'no-look tournament' is definitely inspiring :)
In any case, with so much poker action and €11,000 up for grabs on rankinghero.com, we need all the advice and strategy tips we can get, so here's some from 2007 WSOPE champion and #womenINpoker star @Annette Obrestad:
The Annette Obrestad Book of Poker Records and the Power of Position
Annette Obrestad on Rankinghero Annette Obrestad on Rankinghero published by @Annie RKH, April 15, 2015 In 2007, the very first time the WSOP left Vegas to come to Europe, a Norwegian online poker prodigy, known up to then by her screen name Annette_15, took...
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