The term combination in poker refers to any meaningful arrangement of cards. A combination, or a “combo” for short, can relate to preflop and postflop alike.
For example, before the flop, the term combination refers to the two hole cards dealt to each player. In Texas Hold’em specifically, there are 1,326 unique hand combinations possible. One preflop combination is, say, 7c8d, another is 7d8c, etc.
Once the flop is dealt, there are more possible combinations to speak of, as two-hole cards can relate to the three community cards in different ways, creating hands like pairs, trips, straights, flushes, etc. Every one of these possibilities is a combination of its own.
Knowing the number of possible hand combinations in any given situation is important from a strategy standpoint. It allows you to better figure out the opponent’s range, which cards they can’t have at all, as you might be holding one of the key cards, etc. Learn more about poker combinations.
