Outs and equity across two boards

1. The rule of four and two, per board

In any form of Omaha a draw with N clean outs hits about N times four percent of the time with two cards to come, and N times two with one card to come. We use the same arithmetic, board by board. A nut flush draw is nine outs: 36 on the flop, 18 on the turn. An eight-out straight draw to the nuts: 32 and 16. A thirteen-out wrap to the nut straight: 52 and 26. A made hand that is already the nuts is not an out count; it is a made number from the coach's table.

Count only outs to the nuts. In a nine-handed bomb pot with four or five cards each, a draw to the second-best hand is a draw to lose a big pot: on a king-high flop someone among seven opponents already holds two pair or better about three times in four in our simulations, and the frequency tables show how often the hand you are drawing to is already beaten.

2. The floor: how many are in the hand

The same draw is worth more against one player than against seven, because against one player the pot is often yours even when you miss. So the table adds a floor to a draw board before the multiplication:

• Against one or two opponents: 20 + outs x 4 on the flop.
• Three to five opponents: 10 + outs x 4.
• Six or more: outs x 4, no floor.
• On the turn, outs x 2 with the same floors. A board is never worth more than 85 until the river.

A board where you hold nothing is 20, 10 and 0 at the same three table sizes: against one player, nothing still wins sometimes; against seven it never does.

3. Average, then compare with the price

Your share of the pot is the average of the two boards. A pot-sized bet needs 33 to call, two thirds of the pot needs 30, half a pot needs 25. Three hands, same flop, same nine-out nut flush draw on the top board and nothing on the bottom:

• Full table, seven opponents: 36 on top, 0 below, average 18. Folds to any bet. Even a half-pot bet needs 25.
• Mid table, four opponents: 46 on top, 10 below, average 28. Calls a half-pot bet, folds to a pot bet.
• Heads up: 56 on top, 20 below, average 38. Calls a pot bet, and in position bets it as a semi-bluff.

The number of players changes the answer more than the size of the bet does. That is the single biggest difference between this game and the single-board Omaha you learned outs in.

4. Why pot odds mislead you here

Pot odds are computed for the whole pot. In a double board bomb pot you can usually win only half of it, and the half you win is divided among everyone who shares your board. Work it through with a pot of thirty. Someone bets the pot, three players call, you hold the nut flush draw on one board and nothing on the other. It looks like five to one. The bettor, three callers and you each put in thirty: 180 in all. When you hit you win half, 90, and 30 of that was yours. You risked 30 to win 60. Two to one, and a nine-out draw with one card to come is not two to one. Fold.

The same arithmetic makes a nut draw heads up with a strong second board a monster, because strength on the other board adds to the average instead of halving it. An eight-out draw to the nut straight on top with the current nut flush on the bottom is a raise heads up, not a call: you lead one board and can improve the other, and the pot is your stack.

5. A draw plus a made hand

When one board has a draw and the other has a made hand, each board gets its own number and the average decides. The nuts on the bottom (70 at a mid table on the flop) with a nine-out nut flush draw on top (46 at a mid table) is 58: a bet, and against a bet a call that does not raise, because half of every raise goes to a board that is not yet yours. Two pair on the bottom is grey in our method, worth about 20, so two pair plus the same draw is 33: a call against a half-pot bet, a fold against a pot bet. People lose the most money on exactly that hand, because two pair plus a flush draw feels like a lot.

6. After a raise: only what beats the nuts

One bet can be anything. A bet and a raise, or the same player betting big on two streets, is a hand. Then stop counting what you have and count only what beats the nuts: a safe nuts is a hundred, a nut straight is fifty because it is shared so often, otherwise nut outs times four on the flop and times two on the turn. Average, compare with the price, call or fold. A middle set that was red a minute ago can be a four against a raise. The strategy page has the worst-case rule in its place in the method.

7. The river

On the river outs are zero and only made hands count. The three sums that matter are on the river math page: the nuts on one board and nothing on the other bets the pot, a lone nut straight calls up to the pot and folds to a raise, the second nut flush calls one player and folds against two.

Where to go from here

• The method: the five sentences and the whole table, free.
• Frequency tables: how often the table already has the hand you are drawing to, four and five cards, one to nine opponents.
• The trainer: deal the draw against the seven player types and compare your count with the coach's.
• The course: day sixteen is this arithmetic, ten questions, dealt by the engine. Lesson one is free.

Every number on this page is the method's own table, checked on 17 October 2026. If you find one that is wrong, write to hello@bombpotcoach.com and we will correct it and say so.

Questions people ask

How do I count outs in a double board bomb pot?

Per board, and only outs to the nuts. On the flop a board with a draw is worth its nut outs times four, on the turn times two, on the river zero. Add a floor for small tables: 20 against one or two opponents, 10 at a mid-sized table, nothing at a full table, and never go above 85. Then average the two boards and compare the average with the price: a pot-sized bet needs 33, two thirds needs 30, half a pot needs 25.

Is a nut flush draw on one board enough to call a pot bet?

At a full table, no. Nine outs times four is 36 on that board, nothing on the other is 0, the average is 18, and a pot bet needs 33. Heads up it is a different hand: 20 + 36 = 56 on the draw board and 20 for nothing on the other, average 38, which calls. The number of players changes the answer more than the size of the bet.

Why do pot odds mislead in a double board bomb pot?

Because they are computed for the whole pot and you can usually win only half. A pot bet with three callers looks like five to one. Work it through with a pot of thirty: the bettor, three callers and you each put in thirty, 180 in all. When you hit you win half, 90, of which 30 was yours: you risked 30 to win 60, two to one. A nine-out draw with one card to come is not two to one. Fold.

How much is a wrap worth across two boards?

A thirteen-out wrap to the nut straight is 52 on its board on the flop, which is red in our method: enough on its own, even with nothing on the other board, to make the first bet and to call one. With a second board that is also live it is a raise. On the turn the same wrap is 26 and needs help from the other board.

Do I count outs differently when I face a raise?

Yes. A bet and a raise means someone has a hand, so count only what beats the nuts: a safe nuts is a hundred, a nut straight is fifty because it is so often shared, otherwise nut outs times four on the flop, times two on the turn, zero on the river. Average, compare with the price, call or fold. Never raise without a safe nuts.