Learning How to Read the Board in Texas Holdem

An extremely important skill for new holdem players is learning how to read the board. The “board” is a term commonly used in reference to the community cards in texas holdem. Knowing how to "read the board" means having the ability to analyze and understand the different types of hands that could possibly be made by combining the community cards with any two hole cards.

This skill is important for new players because it allows you to understand the different ways in which you could be beaten at any given moment. In addition, this skill allows you to make better decisions about how to proceed with the hand you currently have.

The basic types of boards

When analyzing a board, it sometimes helps to group it into one of the following basic types:

• A connected board
  This is a board that contains sequential cards that could be used to make a straight. For example, if the board is K4567, a straight is possible for anyone holding an eight or a three. Conversely, if the board is KJ732, no combination of hole cards could make a straight.
  
  
• A suited board
  This is a board that contains three or more cards of any one suit. Since your opponents can only be holding two cards of any single suit, it means that there must be at least 3 on the board for them to complete a flush.
  
  
• A paired board
  When a board contains two cards of the same rank (such as a board of K556J), it is said to be a “paired board”. For hands like a full house or four of a kind to be possible, the board must be paired.

Understanding the types of hands possible with each type of board helps you to identify the types of hands that can beat you. For example, if you hold a straight, but the board has four diamonds on it, anyone out there with a diamond now has a flush and is beating you. If the board is not suited or paired, your straight is likely the best hand. Likewise, if you have an Ace high flush, and the board isn’t paired, you have the absolute best possible hand for that board (called the “nuts” in Texas Holdem). If the board is not connected, suited or paired, then top pair is likely the best hand out there.

As your experience level grows, watching for these simple types of boards will become second nature for you. However, until it becomes part of your natural line of thinking, I would highly recommend practicing your board reading skills at some play money or low limit tables in an online poker room. If you’re not sure where to start, visit our online poker sites page for a list of ones that we play at.