How To Read Board Texture
Board Texture Describes How Connected And Suited The Community Cards Are, And It Decides Which Ranges The Flop Favours: A Dry Board Such As K 7 2 Of Three Suits Changes Little From Street To Street, While A Monotone Flop Already Gives 45 Of The 1176 Possible Two Card Hands A Made Flush.
Postflop Lesson From Smarter.Poker, Updated
Dry And Wet Boards
A Dry Board Has Few Ways To Make Strong Hands Or Draws: Unconnected Ranks Of Different Suits, Such As K 7 2 With Three Suits. Few Turn Cards Change Which Hand Is Best. A Wet Board Has Many: Connected Ranks, Two Or Three Of A Suit, Or Both, Such As 9 8 6 With Two Hearts. Many Turn Cards Can Change Which Hand Is Best.
Texture Matters Because It Decides How Much Protection A Made Hand Needs And How Much Equity A Draw Has. On A Dry Board A Hand Such As Top Pair Is Fairly Safe And Can Bet Small Or Check. On A Wet Board The Same Hand Faces Many Draws And Often Wants To Bet Larger To Charge Them.
Counting What A Board Makes
Monotone Boards Show The Arithmetic Clearly. When All Three Flop Cards Share A Suit, 10 Cards Of That Suit Remain Among The 49 You Cannot See On The Board, So 45 Of The 1176 Two Card Combinations Are Made Flushes, 3.8% Of All Possible Hands Before Anyone's Range Is Considered. Real Ranges Contain More Suited Hands Than Random Ones, So The Share In A Real Range Is Higher.
Paired Boards Work The Other Way. A Board Such As 8 8 3 Makes Trips Only For The Few Hands That Hold An Eight, So It Is Hard For Either Player To Have A Strong Hand, And Small Bets And Bluffs Gain Value.
| Board | Example | What It Tends To Favour |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, High Card | K 7 2 Of Three Suits | The Preflop Raiser, Small Bets |
| Wet, Connected | 9 8 6 With Two Of A Suit | The Caller More Than A Dry Board Does, Larger Bets |
| Monotone | Three Cards Of One Suit | Players Holding The High Card Of The Suit |
| Paired | 8 8 3 | Small Bets, Hands That Block The Trips |
| Low, Connected | 6 5 4 | The Big Blind Defending Range |
Range Advantage And Nut Advantage
Two Questions About Any Board Help More Than Any Single Rule. Which Player Has More Strong Hands On Average, The Range Advantage? And Which Player Has More Of The Very Best Hands, The Nut Advantage? The Player With The Range Advantage Can Bet Often. The Player With The Nut Advantage Can Bet Large.
Ask Both Before The Flop Is Even Dealt. A Preflop Raiser From An Early Seat Has More Big Pairs And Strong Broadway Hands, So Ace And King High Boards Favour Them. A Big Blind That Defended With Many Suited Connectors And Small Pairs Has More Two Pair And Straight Combinations On Low, Connected Boards, And May Take The Betting Lead There With A Check-Raise.
Keep Learning
- Continuation Betting: When To C-Bet
- How To Check-Raise In Poker
- Counting Outs And The Rule Of 2 And 4
- Blockers: How Your Cards Change Theirs
Poker Terms In This Lesson
Practise It On Smarter.Poker
The Answer Above Is Complete. When You Want To Drill It, These Are The Matching Training Tools.
- Play Texture Reading The Training Game For This Lesson.
- Open Jarvis Training Insights Jarvis Explains Your Training Decisions In Words.
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