Board Texture — dry, wet, dynamic flops

Board texture describes how the flop (and later streets) interact with ranges.

Image placeholder: “Texture map” (Dry ↔ Wet, Static ↔ Dynamic) + 6 example flops

Visual: place common flops on a 2D map (dry/wet + static/dynamic).

Texture affects:

how often players connect with the board,
how many draws exist,
how quickly equity can change on turn and river,
which player’s range is favored.

Texture map: dry to wet, static to dynamic, with example flops. Helps you spot who benefits and choose default sizes.

Three useful categories

Image placeholder: 3 cards panels (Dry / Wet / Dynamic) + 2–3 flop examples each

Visual: quick “at a glance” comparison of the three categories.

1) Dry boards

Few draws. Not many hands improve on later streets. Equity changes slowly.

Examples: A-7-2 rainbow, K-8-3 rainbow, Q-5-5 rainbow.

2) Wet boards

Many draws. Lots of hands can continue. Equity swings fast.

Examples: J-10-9 two-suit, 9-8-6 two-suit, A-K-Q two-suit.

3) Dynamic boards

The turn and river change a lot. Many “bad” cards exist for one-pair hands.

Dynamic boards are usually connected and/or two-suited.

What makes a board wet?

Image placeholder: “What makes it wet?” icons (straight draws / flush draws / low-mid hits)

Visual: show how connectivity + suits + ranks increase draw density and continues.

Connected cards (like 10-9-8) create straight draws.
Two or three suits create flush draws.
Medium/low ranks often hit defending ranges and create more pairs + draws.

What makes a board dry?

Image placeholder: “What makes it dry?” (rainbow / disconnected / paired) with examples

Visual: show how fewer draws = fewer continues = easier c-bets.

Rainbow (no flush draw).
Disconnected ranks (few straight draws).
Paired boards reduce combinations and remove many strong draw paths.

Who benefits from a texture?

Image placeholder: 3 mini matchups (High-card dry / Low connected / Paired) + which range is favored

Visual: “Who benefits?” cheat-sheet by board type.

A quick way to think about it:

High-card dry boards often favor the preflop raiser (they have more big cards and strong top pairs).
Low connected boards often help the caller/defender (they have more suited connectors and small pairs).
Paired boards can heavily favor whoever has more trips and strong overpairs in range.

Two important ideas: range advantage and nut advantage

Image placeholder: bar/Venn diagram (Range advantage vs Nut advantage) + example board (e.g., A-7-2r)

Visual: show “more strong hands overall” vs “more of the very best hands.”

Range advantage means one player has more strong hands overall.

Nut advantage means one player has more of the very best hands (sets, two pair, strong top hands) on this board.

On many boards, one player can have both advantages. On some boards, they split.

Default lines (simple strategy)

Image placeholder: matrix (Dry / Wet-Dynamic / Paired) × (C-bet frequency, Size, Key hands)

Visual: simple “default plan” matrix you can screenshot and remember.

On dry boards

C-bet more often.
Use small sizes (25%–33% pot) more often.
Bluffs work better because there are fewer draws to continue with.

On wet or dynamic boards

C-bet less often, check more.
When you bet, size bigger more often (50%–75% pot) for value and protection.
Strong draws and strong made hands become more important.

On paired boards

Small c-bets can work well because many hands miss.
But be careful: some players raise paired boards aggressively.
Trips and strong overpairs dominate the value region.

Examples

Example 1: A-7-2 rainbow (dry)

Image placeholder: A-7-2r with callouts (few draws, range advantage PFR, small c-bet)

Visual: mark “few continues” and “PFR hits more Ax.”

Few draws. Many hands miss. The preflop raiser often has a strong range advantage.

Default: c-bet small often, especially in position.

Example 2: 9-8-6 two-suit (wet and dynamic)

Image placeholder: 9-8-6ss with draw map (OESD, gutshots, flush draws, pair+draw)

Visual: highlight how many turns change equity; show “bigger sizing / more checking.”

Many straight draws, flush draws, pair + draw hands. Equity shifts fast on many turns.

Default: check more, bet bigger when betting, continue with strong draws and strong made hands.

Example 3: K-K-5 (paired)

Image placeholder: K-K-5 with notes (condensed ranges, Kx distribution, raise threats)

Visual: show why many hands are “dead” and why some players raise often.

Ranges are constrained. Many hands have low equity. One player may have more Kx.

Default: small bets work, but plan for raises and avoid over-bluffing.

Common mistakes

Image placeholder: “Do / Don’t” cards (same c-bet everywhere, too small on wet, overvalue one-pair)

Visual: quick mistake checklist with one example board each.

Using one c-bet strategy on every board.
Betting small on very wet boards and giving great odds to draws.
Overvaluing one-pair hands on dynamic textures.
Under-bluffing dry boards where folds are common.
Ignoring who the board favors.

Mini checklist (10 seconds)

Image placeholder: 10-second checklist card (Dry/Wet, Static/Dynamic, Who benefits, Default plan)

Visual: small “pocket card” style checklist.

Dry or wet? How many draws exist?
Static or dynamic? Do many turn cards change everything?
Who benefits? Who has more strong hands and more nuts?
Default plan: small and frequent on dry, bigger and less frequent on wet.

Practice identifying textures and default lines so your c-bets fit the board.

Next step: Board Texture Quiz

Try the Board Texture Quiz to learn which textures favor which ranges and what default lines work best.