Board Vision
How to work out every board drill: combos, outs, the price to call, the nuts and what changed.
Before you can read a villain's range, you have to read the board. Which hands are possible, how many of each, what you need to hit, and what one new card just changed. Board drills train exactly that, a few questions a day. This guide shows how to work out each kind of question.
In short
- Combos. Multiply the cards left of each rank. A pair has 6 combos, 3 with one card of that rank showing, 1 with two.
- Outs. Count the cards that make your hand, then use the Rule of 2 and 4.
- Price to call. What you call ÷ the pot after you call.
- The nuts. Check from the top down. Straight flush, then quads and full houses, then flushes, then straights.
- What changed. Ask whether the new card finished a flush, a straight, or paired the board.
Counting combos
Every hand comes in exact two-card versions called combos. Off the board, two different ranks make 16 (4 × 4), and a pair makes 6. The board takes some away, because a card on the table can't be in anyone's hand.
The rule is to multiply the cards left of each rank.
- J8 is 3 jacks left × 3 eights left = 9 combos.
- AK is untouched, 4 × 4 = 16 combos.
Pairs work a little differently. Four cards of a rank make 6 pairs, three make 3, and two make 1.
| Cards of that rank left | Combos of the pair |
|---|---|
| 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 2 | 1 |
So on this flop, a set of threes is 3 combos, and so is a set of jacks.
On J♦ 8♣ 3♠, how many combos of 88 are possible?
- 3
- 6
- 1
Show the answer
3. One eight is on the board, so three are left, and three cards make 3 pairs.
Your own cards count too. Holding the J♥ leaves only two jacks for anyone else. AJ drops from 4 × 3 = 12 combos to 4 × 2 = 8. That's what the blockers questions ask.
Outs and the Rule of 2 and 4
Your outs are the cards that make your hand. Count them, then turn them into a chance.
There are four tens and four fives, so 8 outs. The quick rule is each out is worth about 2% for each card to come.
- One card to come is outs × 2. Here 8 × 2 = 16%, and the exact chance is 17% (8 of the 47 cards you can't see).
- Two cards to come (all in on the flop) is outs × 4. Here 8 × 4 = 32%, and the exact chance is 31%.
The rule is close enough at the table, and it's close enough in the drills. An answer within 3 points counts with one card to come, and within 2 points with two. The rule of 2 runs a little low with lots of outs. With 15 outs on the turn it says 30%, and the exact chance is 33%, which is why one card to come allows 3 points. The rule of 4 runs high above about 8 outs.
Clean outs. Some outs make your hand and someone else's better one. On Hard, only the clean ones count.
That looks like 12 outs, 9 hearts and 3 threes. But a three also puts 2-3-4 on the board, and anyone holding 6-5 makes a higher straight than yours. The three of hearts still counts, since it makes your flush. So you have 9 clean outs, the hearts.
The price to call
When they bet, divide what you have to call by the pot after you call.
Say the pot is $40 and they bet $30. You call $30, and the pot after you call is $40 + $30 + $30 = $100.
If they raise your bet, you only call the difference. You bet $20 into $60 and they raise to $70. You call $50, and the pot after you call is $60 + $20 + $70 + $50 = $200, so you need 25%.
The pot is $50 and they bet $25. How much equity do you need to call?
- 25%
- 33%
- 50%
Show the answer
25%. You call $25, and the pot after you call is $50 + $25 + $25 = $100. $25 ÷ $100 is 25%.
Then compare that price with your chance from the outs. Need 25% and hit 17% of the time, and the call loses. For more on this, read Should I call?.
Finding the nuts
The nuts is the best hand anyone could hold on this board. Check from the top down and stop at the first one that's possible.
- Straight flush. Are three cards of one suit close enough together?
- Quads and full houses. Only when the board is paired.
- Flush. Three or more cards of one suit.
- Straight. Three cards that fit inside five in a row.
- Set. Otherwise, three of a kind with the top card.
No straight flush and no pair, but three spades, so the nuts is a flush. The ace of spades with any other spade makes the best one. The next best is the queen of spades, then the jack.
Here the nuts is four queens, and only one combo makes it (the last two queens). Next come queens full of nines, then queens full of fives.
On K♠ T♠ 7♦ 3♠, which hand is the nuts?
- A♠ 2♠
- A♥ A♦
- Q♠ J♦
Show the answer
A♠ 2♠. Three spades make a flush possible, and nothing beats a flush on this board. The ace of spades with any spade makes the best one, even with a two.
What the turn changed
A new card can finish a draw and change who's ahead. Look for three things, a third card of a suit, a card that completes a straight, and a card that pairs the board.
That seven completes straights. Anyone holding J-T, T-6 or 6-5 just made one.
If the turn had been the K♣ instead, it would have been the third club, so the flush came in, and it's also an overcard, higher than everything on the flop.
Try it
Do today's board drills and use these steps on each question. A few minutes a day, and reading the board becomes automatic, which leaves your attention for reading the villain.