Combination

In poker, the term combination or combo is used to describe any variation of a particular hand, especially in Hold’em and Omaha. The term usually describes starting hands, although it is sometimes used after the flop as well.

For example, there are 4 combinations of each suited hand, 6 different combinations of each pocket pair, and 12 combinations of unsuited hands in Texas Hold’em. To break it down further, here are an example of each hand and possible combinations:

• Pocket aces – AsAc, AsAh, AsAd, AcAh, AcAd, AdAh.

• Ace-King suited – AhKh, AsKs, AdKd, AcKc.

• Ace-King offsuit – AsKc, AsKh, AsKd, AcKh, AcKs, AcKd, AdKc, AdKs, AdKh, AhKs, AhKc, AhKd.

There is a limited number of combinations or ‘combos’ as they are also called in poker. In Texas Hold’em, there is a total of 1,326 unique preflop combinations, while there are 270,725 possible starting combinations in Omaha, as you start with four instead of two hole cards.

An example of the use of the term combination after the flop would be something like, on a board of Q-5-3, there are three possible combinations for each set, which brings the total number of possible set combos to nine.