Poker Outs Calculator

Outs are the unseen cards remaining in the deck that will improve your hand to what you believe is the best hand. For example, if you have four cards to a flush after the flop, there are 9 remaining cards of that suit in the deck — giving you 9 outs to complete your flush. Counting outs accurately is one of the most important skills in poker because it lets you calculate the probability of improving your hand and make mathematically informed decisions about calling, raising, or folding.

To count outs, identify all the cards that would give you the winning hand, then count how many of those cards are still unseen. Start by determining what hand you're drawing to — a flush, a straight, trips, etc. Then count how many cards in the deck complete that draw. For a flush draw you need any of the remaining 9 suited cards. For an open-ended straight draw, 8 cards complete your straight (4 on each end). Be careful not to double-count outs that appear in multiple draws, and subtract any outs that would give an opponent a better hand (these are called 'tainted outs').

The Rule of 2 and 4 is a quick mental shortcut for estimating your draw probability at the poker table. After the flop with two cards to come, multiply your outs by 4 to approximate your percentage chance of hitting by the river. With one card to come (after the turn), multiply your outs by 2. For example, a flush draw with 9 outs: 9 x 4 = 36% chance of hitting by the river, or 9 x 2 = 18% chance of hitting on the next card alone. The approximation is remarkably accurate for up to about 8 outs and slightly overestimates for higher out counts.

Yes, outs can definitely overlap when you have multiple draws at the same time. For instance, if you have a flush draw (9 outs) and an open-ended straight draw (8 outs), some of the straight-completing cards may also be the same suit as your flush draw. In that case, the combined outs are fewer than 9 + 8 = 17. A flush draw combined with an open-ended straight draw typically gives you about 15 outs rather than 17, because 2 cards complete both draws simultaneously. This calculator sums outs from selected draws, so when combining multiple draws, keep in mind that your true out count may be slightly lower.

Once you know your outs and the probability of hitting, compare that probability to the pot odds you're being offered. Pot odds are the ratio of the current pot size to the cost of your call. If the pot is $100 and you need to call $20, you're getting 5:1 odds — meaning you need to win at least 1 in 6 times (about 17%) to break even. If your draw probability is higher than the required percentage, calling is profitable in the long run. For example, a flush draw on the flop gives you roughly 35% equity with two cards to come. If the pot odds require only 20% equity to call, you have a clear call. This is the foundation of expected-value-based poker strategy.