Board Texture

If you listen to hand analysis done by experienced poker players, you'll often here references to the texture of a given flop or board. If you've heard these terms and been left confused, don't worry; board texture is a relatively simple concept once you know what to look for.

The most fundamental question about board texture is whether a board is "dry" or "wet." Simply put, a wet board is one in which many hands are likely to have connected with it to make a straight or flush draw (or, if possible, a made straight or flush), while a dry board is one in which such hands are unlikely. Dry flops often look something like:

5♠ K♥ 2♦
or
4♦ 4♣ 8♠

Wet flops, on the other hand, are ones that are similar to the following:

T♠ Q♦ 4♦
or
J♥ 9♥ 8♠

On either of those latter flops, it's quite reasonable that a player could have either a flush or straight draw (and on the second board, a made straight is possible). On the dry boards, it is highly unlikely that anyone would have flopped a straight draw, and only backdoor flush draws are possible.

Of course, many boards fit somewhere in between these two extremes. The "wetness" of a given board lets you know how dangerous it is to proceed with a hand that is strong, but not likely to improve -- such as top pair, top kicker. Because wet boards are more enticing to more hands your opponents might hold, it is usually correct to make larger bets on wet boards than on dry boards.