Poker Outs
What are Outs?
In Poker, the possible cards that help you complete a Hand (for instance a Flush or a Straight) on the Turn and River - and thus give you the winning hand - are called Outs.
Why is it important to know how many Outs one has?
You have to be aware of your outs at any time, because your Probability or Odds of winning a hand are derived from your Outs. Realizing how many Outs you have is an absolutely essential Skill when playing Poker. If you play Poker without knowing your Outs, you won't have a Chance of playing profitably! It does not matter if you are playing Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit Hold'em; you've got to know your outs! How to calculate your Odds is described in our Poker Odds Article.
How does one determine the Outs?
With a couple of examples, this is quite easy to explain:
Example 1
Player 1 has   and Player 2  
The Flop:   
At the Moment Player 2 has the better Hand (Top Pair Top Kicker). Player 1 does not really have anything yet, but a Chance of completing his Flush with the next card. This situation is called a Flush Draw. This means, that any Club will help him to complete his Flush and win the Hand. Player 1 knows his own two cards, as well as the three cards on the board, whereof two are Clubs. Of totally 13 available Club Cards in the Deck 9 are still available. These 9 Clubs are the 9 Outs Player 1 has to work with!
Example 2
Player 1 has   and Player 2 has 
The Flop looks like this    and on the Turn the following card appeared: 
At the Moment Player 2 has the better Hand, which is a pair of Kings. Player 1 needs a King or an Eight to complete his straight and win the hand. Player 2 probably will be thinking, he has 8 Outs (4 Kings and 4 Eights). We know that Player 2 already holds two Kings. Thus, Player 1 in fact only has 6 Outs!
This example shows that Poker is a game of incomplete information. On the one hand, you have to be able to count your Outs, but on the other hand, you have to be aware of the fact your opponent might be holding some of your Outs.
Example 3
Player 1 has  and Player 2 has 
The Flop:   
For now, Player 1 has the best Hand (a Pair of Aces). Player 2 will complete his Flush with any Heart (9 available Outs). With any King or Eight he has the possibility to complete the Straight, which would be an extra 8 Outs.
Added together he has 17 Outs, but because the King of Hearts and the Eight of Hearts must not be counted twice, Player 2 only has 15 Outs in this situation!
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