Counting outs

[maddo]

Hi. Can I ask about counting your outs.

Say you hold:

T/images/graemlins/club.gif J/images/graemlins/club.gif

and the flop is:

8/images/graemlins/diamond.gif 9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3/images/graemlins/heart.gif

Your outs to improve your hand are:

3xT
3xJ
4xQ
4X7

= 14 outs

But 4 of the 14 are diamonds, which could make someone a flush. Plus, the remaining 2xT and 2xJ could make someone a straight.

So how does it work?

For the T and J to make someone a straight they would have to hold one of a small number of hands, e.g. T7, TQ, QJ, etc. So I guess you have to try and figure out if they are likely to hold one of these based on betting, position, past behaviour, etc? Do you worry about the diamonds?

Cheers.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Plus, the remaining 2xT and 2xJ could make someone a straight.


Or your top pair could be outkicked. Bottom line is, you have 14 outs, only 6 of which are clean (the non-diamond 7s & Qs)

So how does it work?

How you figure this out is complex, depending on the preflop action, how many opponents, your position, the resulting flop action, how many stick around for the turn, what the action is there, etc.

What you do in this situation will vary depending on how those variables change.