Councilman's Corner -Vol. 15: It's Combo Time!
- Lance Palmer
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
What Are Combinations?
If you want to think like a serious No-Limit Hold’em player, you must understand combinations, or “combos.”
Combinations tell you how many specific ways a player can hold a particular hand. Poker isn’t just about what hands are possible, it’s about how likely those hands are based on math.
When you begin counting combinations, you stop guessing and start calculating.
In Hold’em, every starting hand is made from two private cards selected from a 52-card deck. There are 1,326 total possible two-card combinations, calculated as 52 × 51 ÷ 2.
Of course, we rarely think about all 1,326 hands at once. Instead, we organize them into three categories:
Pocket Pairs
Suited Hands
Off-Suit Hands.
Once you understand how many combinations exist in each category, you can begin constructing ranges and evaluating decisions with far greater precision and confidence.
Pocket Pairs, Suited, and Off-suit Hands
Every specific pocket pair has exactly 6 combinations. For example, AA can be formed in six ways because there are four Aces in the deck, and choosing any two results in
4 × 3 ÷ 2 = 6 possible combinations.
The same math applies to KK, QQ, 77, and every other pocket pair.
Suited hands have 4 combinations.
Take AK suited: there are four suits, so A♠K♠, A♥K♥, A♦K♦, and A♣K♣ make four total combos.
Offsuit hands have 12 combinations.
Since there are 16 total ways to make AK (4 Aces × 4 Kings), subtract the 4 suited versions and you get 12 offsuit combos.
This 6,4,12 structure is foundational. And the good news is THEY NEVER CHANGE!!!
Understanding these ratios helps you evaluate how frequently certain hands actually appear inside a range.
Why Combinations Matter in Practice
Imagine you raise from early position and the button calls. The flop comes A♣ 7♠ 2♦, and you hold A♦K♦.
You continuation bet and the button raises.
Now instead of asking, “Does he have a set?” ask:
How many combinations of sets does he actually have?
If villain’s range includes:
77 → 6 combos
22 → 6 combos
That’s 12 value combos.
Now ask: "How many weaker Ax hands call preflop?"
If he flats:
AQs (4 combos)
AJs (4 combos)
ATs (4 combos)
AQo (12 combos)
AJo (12 combos)
That’s 36+ combos of worse Ax holdings.
Now your top pair top kicker is ahead of far more combinations than it is behind.
Counting combos shifts your thinking from fear-based reactions to probability-based decisions rooted in math instead of emotion.
Card Removal and Blockers
Card removal, often called blockers, further refines combination counting.
Let’s change the scenario.
You still hold A♦K♦ on that same board of A♣ 7♠ 2♦.
Because you hold an Ace, your opponent cannot have all 6 combos of AA.
Originally:
AA = 6 combos
But one Ace is on board and one is in your hand. That leaves only 2 Aces remaining.
Now AA has only ONE COMBO remaining instead of the 6 possible.
That’s the power of blockers.
When you hold a card, you reduce the number of combinations your opponent can have of certain hands. This becomes critical when bluffing.
Example:
Board: K♠ Q♠ 5♦ 2♣
You hold A♠J♠
Holding A♠ blocks the strongest possible flush draw combinations such as:
A♠T♠
A♠9♠
A♠8♠
etc.
Because you hold A♠, opponents cannot have the ace-high spade draw, which is typically the nut flush draw. This is a major blocker effect.
You hold A♠, which removes these combos:
A♠K♦
A♠K♥
A♠K♣
But opponents can still have:
A♦K♦
A♦K♥
A♦K♣
A♥K♦
A♥K♥
A♥K♣
A♣K♦
A♣K♥
A♣K♣
So you minimally reduce the total number of AK combos, but you do not eliminate them.
Holding A♠J♠ is a powerful semi-bluff candidate because you block many strong flush draws that could continue against aggression.
Players often assume “strong hand = blocking strong hands.” In reality, blockers only matter when you share ranks or suits with the opponent’s possible holdings.
By knowing how many combos your hand blocks determines how credible your bluff will be.
Range Construction and Combo Counting
Let’s examine a realistic early position opening range:
77+, AJs+, KQs, and AQo+.
Pocket pairs from 77 through AA include eight pairs, each with 6 combos, totaling 48.
AJs, AQs, and AKs contain 4 combos each, adding 12 more.
AQo and AKo contribute 12 combos each, adding 24.
KQs adds 4 more.
Altogether, this range contains approximately 88 combinations.
Out of 1,326 total starting hands, that represents about 6.6% (88/1326) of all possible holdings.
Thinking in combinations allows you to quantify ranges rather than describe them vaguely.
Instead of saying someone plays “tight,” you can understand exactly how many hands they are entering pots with and how those combinations interact with specific board textures after the flop.
Bluffing and Combo Advantage
The strongest bluffs in No-Limit Hold’em are built on combination advantage.
Great players do not bluff randomly — they bluff when the math supports it.
Two factors matter most: blocking strong value hands and recognizing when opponents have many missed combinations.
You hold Q♣J♣
First, evaluate your opponent’s value range. If they can have AK (6 combos), AA (3 combos), and KK (3 combos), that’s 12 strong value combinations.
Now examine their missed draws. If their range includes 16 missed flush draws and 12 missed straight draws, that’s 28 combinations that cannot call a large bet comfortably.
When missed combos significantly outnumber value combos, your bluff becomes profitable over time.
Bluffing or making that hero call is not about courage. It is about understanding how ranges are constructed and recognizing when arithmetic favors aggression.
The Councilman's Final Thought: Turning Guesswork Into Structure
Poker is a game of incomplete information, but it is not a game without information.
Combinations provide the structure that transforms uncertainty into measurable probability.
Instead of asking, “What do they have?” you begin asking, “How many ways can they have it?”
When you count value combinations, identify draw combinations, apply blockers, and compare your equity to pot odds, your decisions become grounded in logic rather than fear.
You stop overestimating monsters and underestimating bluffs. You start seeing ranges as numerical distributions rather than single hands.
Over time, this discipline compounds. Marginal calls have become profitable. Poor bluffs disappear. Confident folds save stacks. In No-Limit Hold’em, players who rely on instinct eventually plateau. Players who rely on structured combination analysis continue improving, because math, unlike emotion, does not tilt.
Until next time, may all your cards be gems and may you never get stacked.
~The Councilman
You can reach the Lance at lance@misfitspoker.com or via FB messenger @lancejpalmer.
Catch him at a venue (our Locations) and ask for his number, he’ll give it to you.
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means Misfits Poker may earn a commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your continued support.
