Texas Holdem Pot Odds Explained

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Being able to calculate pot odds is the most important 'poker math' hold'em players can learn to do. Use pot odds to help with drawing hands, starting hand selection, and even when picking off bluffs. The American calls pot odds the cornerstone of the game and expresses how important they are in all formats of poker. “Pot odds influence every poker decision as an elemental cornerstone to the game. The concept and application fundamentally shape each and every hand for every poker player,” he says.

Understanding pot odds, like explained in the Texas Hold Em Poker tips paragraphs, can help you win more hands of poker and take home more money.

Poker, in its essence, is a game of probability. And the number one thing you need to remember when playing poker is this: you want to bet lots of money when you are probably going to win. Of course, there is always the chance your competition will pull a very lucky card and get the bigger hand, but with all things being equal, when there is a high probability you are going to win, bet your money.

A key thing here to remember is no one can control luck and you need to be playing your best all the time. You can’t play poker with a fear of betting because the other guy might get lucky. If you put your money in when you are the favourite for the best hand, you do that enough times and you end up winning in the long run.

Texas holdem pot odds explained poker

This is the first important thing to understand with pot odds, ok?

Texas Hold Em Poker Tips – Your Don’t Have To Be A Maths Genius

So, how do you know you have the best hand? This is where the mathamagic comes in. Don’t worry, understanding poker odds is just plain, basic math. Nothing fancy like logarithmic-hoodiggies or algabraic-catscratchers, just basic math.

Key point – you don’t have to be a great mathematician to be a great poker player. That’s the truth. You do however need a bit of a basic understanding of math to be a successful Texas Hold Em Poker player.

Texas Hold Em Poker Tips – How To Calculate Your Pot Odds

First things first, you need to be able to calculate your chances of getting ‘outs’. Outs are the cards you need to make the best hand you can, to hopefully win. These little guys are important because you need to win pots if you want to win money. You get the idea.

Texas Hold'em Poker Odds Calculator

So for an example. Say you have a pair of Kings and you are pretty sure your opponent has a pair of 10’s. The four community cards are something like 3-5-7-2. You 강남홀덤 know that your opponent needs a 10 to win. There is one card to go, the river.

So for the calculation: There are 52 cards in a deck. Eight of the cards have been used; your two, his two, four on the board, so there are 44 cards remaining. Two of those cards help you, so you are at 22-to-1 odds.

Because only 2 of the cards in the deck will help your opponent, you are in fact a 22-to-1 favourite to win the pot, which puts your at a humongous advantage.

Understanding pot odds and outs, which is the probability you will get your best hand, is very important because it gives you information to make the correct moves. In the previous example you know, from pure probability, that you will win 21 times out of 22.

So you can happily bet money and stay in the pot because overall, over the long run, you will win. You want the numbers to be on your side, that’s the point this Texas Hold Em Poker tips trying to get at.

What are Pot Odds?

You have probably heard of pot odds but maybe you’re not sure what they are or how to calculate them? Don’t worry, everyone has been there. Basically, pot odds are the comparison of the cost of making a call compared to the size of the pot. It is usually expressed as a ratio; however, the far more valuable tool is the conversion of ratio to percentage.

Texas Holdem Pot Odds Explained

How to Calculate Pot Odds?

Pot Size Versus Amount to Call = Pot Odds as Ratio
$100: $10 or 10:1
I think it is more valuable to see this as a percentage. To convert this, we simply add the pot size and the amount to call and divide the amount to call by the pot size. Using the example above, it would be:

$100 + $10 = $110
$10 / $110 = 9%

What is the Point?

Understanding the maths is very important to being a long-term winner at poker. Decision making is often based on the maths aspect, is a call profitable? Are they bluffing often enough? etc. In order to use pot odds effectively, a poker player combines the context of the situation with the odds at hand. It also allows one to manipulate the pot odds and enforce errors on the part of your opponents – a key skill requirement.
Let’s look at an example of how pot odds could be used for important decision making.

Texas Holdem Pot Odds Calculator

Example Hand

With a pot size of $50 and one card to come. Player A has a flush draw holding Kc 10c on a board of Ac 8c 2s 4s. Player B has Ad 8d with top two pair and is considering how much to bet. By betting $30, the pot will be $80 and Player A will be getting $30 for a pot of $110. Using the method above, we can see this can be converted to represent 27%. With a flush draw and one card to come we know there is approximately 18% chance of Player A making the best hand, thus, the bet enforces an error on the part of player A as Player A is not getting a sufficient price to make the call.
On the other hand, if Player B bets $10, Player A will have 16.6% and a turn call becomes profitable.

Texas Holdem Pot Odds Explained Poker

Conclusion

Texas Holdem Pot Odds Explained Chart

Texas

Texas Holdem Pot Odds Explained Payouts

As we can see from the above example, pot odds can influence decision making and affect your long-term profitability. They should be used in combination with your hand reading, context and implied odds (look out for future article on implied odds). One of the great things about poker is you are in control of your decisions. By understanding odds and relative hand strength, you can learn to manipulate pot sizes (something not possible with slot odds) how you want to and enforce mistakes from opponents.
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