Outs
Also known as: outs, out
The unseen cards that improve your hand to a likely winner — the raw count you convert into draw equity.
Outs are the cards still in the deck that complete or upgrade your hand. Counting them accurately is the entry point to draw math: you convert outs to equity with the Rule of 2 and 4 and compare against your pot odds.
Standard counts on the flop:
- Flush draw: 9 outs.
- Open-ended straight draw: 8 outs.
- Gutshot: 4 outs.
- Two overcards: 6 outs.
- A combo draw (flush + straight) can reach 15.
Discount dirty outs — cards that also improve your opponent or complete a bigger draw. A card that gives you a straight but a third flush card to villain is not a clean out. Conversely, card removal from known cards (your hand, the board) is already baked into the count: from 47 unseen cards on the flop, your out fraction is real. Always ask whether each out actually wins at showdown before trusting the number.
Example
On 9♥ 8♥ 2♠ you hold 7♥ 6♥: an open-ended straight draw (8 outs: any 5 or T) plus a flush draw (9 hearts, two already counted as straight cards must be checked). The clean combo is roughly 15 outs. By the Rule of 2 and 4 that's about \(15\times4=60\%\) by the river — capped near 54% in reality for 15 outs.