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Utilizing Pot Odds To Your Advantage |
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The debate why poker should be considered a game of skill rather than just a gambling activity has a lot to do with the fact that poker is a game of probability. If you learn how to calculate odds and outs you will have an apparent edge and increase your chances in winning long term. Pot odds are simply useful poker knowledge.
Pot odds are calculated by simply comparing the size of the bet you have to make and the size of the game pot. If the pot is $30 and you have to bet $10 the pot odds will be 3 to 1.
The pot odds should then be compared to the odds of your cards in order to decide if a bet or call is really worth it. What card odds you have depends on how many "outs" you have in hitting a potential winning hand. For example, if you flop a flush draw in any suit you have 9 outs that will improve your hand into a flush. There are 13 cards of every suit in the deck, and you have two of the clubs, plus the two on the flop. That leaves 9 cards/ clubs that can help your hand; these cards are your outs. 9 outs give you 35 % chance in hitting your hand on either the turn or river. This means you will hit your flush a little more than every third time, which gives you the odds of 2 to 1 to your disadvantage.
In order for this play to be profiting in the long run your pot odds consequently have to be at least 2 to 1 (you can win $30 or more by betting $10).
When it comes to outs there is one rule of thumb; every out you have gives you just about 4 % chance in completing your hand on turn or river. Following outs are specific for texas hold'em and Omaha; a flush draw with two overcards or flush and straight draw equals 15 outs, a flush draw with only one overcard gives you 12 outs, flush draw 9 outs, open straight draw 8 outs and two overcards 6 outs.
All this is a bit more complicated in real life though since you do not know your opponent's hand and there is normally more than just one round of betting that also needs to be included so called implied odds that can be a bit tricky to calculate.
Since it is very difficult if not impossible to put your opponent on one correct hand, one suggestion is to pick a number of likely hands and calculate your average chance to win against those hands. This may seem like quite indecisive science but learning pot odds strategy will improve your poker game, whether it concerns pot limit omaha strategy or getting in the money at tournaments.
Learn more
There are additionally many pot odds tools online that will help you in calculating pot odds for any hand combination or situation. If you want to become an advanced poker player and own at the tables follow up this article by checking the beginners's guide to pots.
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