What Are Outs in Poker: Counting Cards Without Double Counting or Ignoring Dirty Outs
What Are Outs in Poker, and What Does the Count Tell You?
Outs are unseen cards that can improve your hand. When you have a draw—a hand that needs another card to complete a combination—counting outs means identifying the cards that complete it. But there is a second question: could those same cards also give your opponent a better hand? Completing your hand and beating your opponent are different things. [1][4]
This distinction prevents two counting errors. The first is counting a card twice because it completes both a straight and a flush. The second is treating a card as favorable when it improves your hand but still leaves you behind. A correct count brings together distinct cards and then examines which of them actually help against the opposing hand being considered. [2]
Before the examples: what counts
Count only unseen cards that complete the intended hand on the next card. Each suit has 13 cards; four known spades leave nine possible spades before excluding other revealed cards, including an opponent's known hole cards. [1][3]
With two draws, count a card that completes both a straight and a flush only once: distinct cards = outs for the first draw + outs for the second − cards shared by both lists. [2]
A dirty out completes your hand but still leaves the opponent ahead. In the examples below, we discount such a card only when the opponent's known hand lets us check its effect on the next card. The first two examples count the river card; the third counts the turn card. [2][4]
Three examples: known cards, overlapping draws, and dirty outs
The first two examples are original exercises applying the cited counting rules. In the first, known opponent cards remove possible river cards; in the second, one card belongs to two draws. The final deal is the PokerStars Learn example and shows why completing a straight may still leave you behind. [1][2][4]
Original example 1: seven flush cards with a known opponent hand
Suppose you hold A♠Q♠, the turn board is 7♠2♠9♣4♦, and your opponent is known to hold K♠J♠. The seven cards that complete your flush on the river are 3♠, 4♠, 5♠, 6♠, 8♠, 9♠, and 10♠.
A flush requires five cards of one suit. Your two spades and the two on the board leave the hand one spade short. The opponent's two known spades cannot arrive on the river either. [1][3]
| Part of the count | Number |
|---|---|
| Spades in the deck | 13 |
| Your A♠ and Q♠ | −2 |
| Board 7♠ and 2♠ | −2 |
| Opponent's known K♠ and J♠ | −2 |
| Remaining cards that complete a flush on the river | 7 |
The calculation is 13 − 2 − 2 − 2 = 7. Counting the usual nine available spades would ignore the opponent's known K♠ and J♠. These are blockers: they cannot be dealt next. A dirty out, by contrast, can be dealt but does not achieve the stated competitive goal.
Rank alone is not enough when removing known cards. The board's 9♣ does not rule out 9♠, nor does 4♦ rule out 4♠. This example counts cards that complete a flush on the river; knowing the opponent's cards adjusts availability, rather than changing the question into every way to win.
Original example 2: a gutshot and a flush draw share one card
Suppose you hold 8♠9♠ and the turn board is 5♠6♠K♦2♣. The opponent's hand is unknown. Any of the four sevens completes a straight, and nine spades complete a flush on the river. Because 7♠ is on both lists, 4 + 9 − 1 = 12 distinct cards complete at least one draw.
A seven fills the gap between six and eight, making this a gutshot, or inside straight draw. Four sevens are candidates before excluding known cards. When combining this with a flush draw, each physical card must be counted only once. [1][2]
| Group | Candidate cards |
|---|---|
| Complete a straight | 7♣, 7♦, 7♥, 7♠ |
| Complete a flush | 2♠, 3♠, 4♠, 7♠, 10♠, J♠, Q♠, K♠, A♠ |
| In both lists | 7♠ |
| Distinct total | 12 cards |
The 7♠ makes both the 5–6–7–8–9 straight and a spade flush. It is still only one possible river card, so one occurrence must be removed from the initial total of 13. K♦ and 2♣ are on the board, but K♠ and 2♠ are different, unseen cards; 5♠, 6♠, 8♠, and 9♠ are already known.
Because the opponent's hand is unknown, 12 counts unseen cards that complete at least one draw on the river; it does not decide who would win.
PokerStars Learn example: six cards complete the straight and put you ahead
In the deal shown by PokerStars Learn, you have J♠10♠, the flop is 6♣Q♥K♥, and your opponent has 7♥6♥. Four aces and four nines complete your straight on the turn. But A♥ and 9♥ also complete the opponent's flush. After excluding those two for the goal of beating this opponent on the turn, six cards complete your straight and put you ahead. [4]
| Straight-draw check | Result |
|---|---|
| Candidates that complete a straight | Four aces and four nines |
| Candidates that also complete the opponent's flush | A♥ and 9♥ |
| Complete a straight and put you ahead on the turn | A♣, A♦, A♠, 9♣, 9♦, 9♠ |
| Total for that goal | 6 |
A♥ and 9♥ still make your straight. They are discounted because the opponent's flush beats it. Thus 8 − 2 = 6 removes two cards that fail the competitive goal; it is not a correction for counting the same card twice. [3]
The table counts only cards that complete a straight. J♣, J♦, 10♣, and 10♦ also put you ahead on the turn by making a pair higher than the opponent's pair of sixes, but they do not complete a straight. Six is therefore not the count of every card that puts you ahead on the turn.
Sources
- [1] Princípios Básicos: Odds & Outs — PokerStrategy — July 7, 2026.
- [2] Poker Outs and Odds: Your Most Burning Questions Answered — 888poker — Jerry Stich, June 21, 2018.
- [3] Regras do Poker Texas Hold'em — PokerNews.
- [4] Outs & Odds — PokerStars Learn BR — October 18, 2021.
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