Try any of method-R's papers, for example
"For Developers: Making Friends with the Oracle Database - Cary Millsap"
http://method-r.com/downloads/cat_view/38-papers-and-articles Karen Morton's use of:
SQL>select /*+ gather_plan_statistics */ * from ord where order_no = 256769 ;
SQL>select * from table(dbms_xplan.display_cursor(null,null,'ALLSTATS LAST'));
"Managing Statistics for Optimal Query Performance - Karen Morton"
in the same folder... very useful. Better than EXPLAIN PLAN, since it's "actuals" not "estimates".