Board texture describes how connected and coordinated the community cards are. Dry boards are disconnected and favor the aggressor; wet boards are connected and shift equity toward the caller.
Texture decides both how often and how big you bet. A dry board like K-7-2 rainbow has few draws, so the preflop raiser can c-bet a wide range small. A wet board like J-T-9 two-tone is full of straights, flush draws, and made hands for the caller, so you bet a tighter, more polarized range and size up to charge the draws.
Also watch paired boards (fewer strong hands, more room to bluff) and monotone boards (whoever holds more of the top suit gets the nut advantage). The first read on any flop is: does this texture favor my range or my opponent’s?
Texture also decides how much the next card can change. On 9♠8♠7♦, 17 of the 47 unseen cards complete a flush or straight for part of villain’s range, about 36% of turns — so an overpair like A♥A♦ bets now and bets big. A monotone board like Q♥9♥4♥ is dynamic in another way: with K♣K♦ and no heart, about 21% of turns bring a fourth heart, so the overpair checks or bets one-third pot, never big. Hand strength is relative to the texture: KK is a monster on 8-8-2 and a medium-strength hand on a monotone Q-9-4.
Worked example
FAQ
What makes a board wet or dry?
Connectedness and suits. Cards close in rank and of the same suit (many straight and flush draws) are wet; disconnected rainbow cards with few draws are dry.
Do you bet bigger on wet or dry boards?
Bigger on wet boards, to charge draws and protect equity with a polarized range; smaller and more often on dry boards you dominate.