04-28-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

Outs And Do You Want Them

Question: I have a couple of questions and I was hoping you could clear them up for me.

Firstly I have read many things about "outs" yet I cannot grab the concept. Is it better to have more or less out's? Also it seems that if you are playing an off suit hand (A,9) there are only 6 possible outs?

Am I on the right track or am I heading in the wrong direction?

My last question is in relation to what cards to play. For example if I get dealt A,9 suited I feel that hand is worth playing. Even though you can only make a one card straight you can make the highest flush?

Again any help or suggestions would be great.

Once again great site.

Thank you in advance,

Steve

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: The definition of an "out" is a card that you can catch to give you the winning hand. Now, not in every situation do you have outs. Outs are a good thing, but you would prefer to be the person who is making the other guy draw to outs. So the ultimate answer to the question, "do you want outs?" is no. Let's say you have A9, like you said.

Suppose your opponent had A4. Preflop, you don't have "outs" really since you are ahead -- you have him drawing. The only way he can win is if he catches a 4 or some straight or flush. So ideally you would like to have the other guy drawing to as few outs as possible, but if you are drawing, you would like as many outs as possible.

Now about the A9s. If you are new to the game, I think this is a hand that will probably just get you in trouble. As you become more experienced you'll be able to realize when you are winning in a hand and behind. The problem is that when you are new and have this sort of hand, it is hard to figure out if the other players have you beat. You'll probably lose more with it than win. I would suggest you only play that hand if you have a number of other callers ahead of you, or if you are in a tournament and don't have many chips left.

The chance of hitting a flush with it is low and if you catch an Ace high flop and get action, chances are you'll lose. I would stick to better hands until you have a deeper understanding of the game -- everything will make more sense. I think what often happens to new players is that they have a game that is all over the place and since any two cards can win sometimes, they never have a well formed strategy they can use as an anchor. People can play cards for decades and never figure it out, all because they haven't spent the time doing a little research.

And trust me, when everything isn't going your way, having confidence that if you keep playing well things will turn around will be your only saving grace (and things always do turn around). So start slow and safe with solid hands and as you get more experienced, you'll know when you throw in the A9 or even 72.

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