How to Count Outs in Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Although Ultimate Texas Hold’em is much more straightforward than the classic variant, there are still some important strategic considerations that can boost your success. One of them is certainly knowing how to count outs. An out is a hole card that will cause you to lose the round. It is an unseen card that the dealer might have that will help them make a stronger hand than yours.

To help you understand how to count outs in Ultimate Texas Hold’em, we’ll go over a quick example. In Ultimate Texas Hold’em, any hand valued lower than a straight pushes, provided you have a stronger hand than the dealer. In other words, you need to have at least a high card over the dealer, or you lose the bet.

For this example, let’s say you have a weak 10 3 hand, and the board shows an A Q 8 6 4. If the dealer has any of the featured five cards on the board, they make a pair, and you lose.

Since the deck has four suits, the dealer has 15 outs to make a pair, as each of the five face-up cards comes in another three suits. Additionally, if they have any Kings or Jacks, you will lose, meaning that the dealer has eight more outs. Lastly, if the dealer has one of the three remaining 10s, you will also lose. All of this combined means that the dealer can beat you with 26 cards out of 45 remaining cards.

Now, armed with the knowledge of outs, how can you use this to your advantage? It's simple. If you find yourself with 21 or more outs, it's best to fold. On the other hand, if you have 20 or fewer, it's a green light to play. This straightforward guideline ensures you're always playing with the lowest house edge, boosting your chances of long-term success.