1. Calculating Outs
2. Texas Hold'em Pot Odds
3. Pot Odds Outs

After the flop, your play will depend on many factors, including information gathered pre-flop, what you know of your opponents and how they play, and the probabilities of having or making the best hand. If you have hit top pair with a strong kicker on the flop, then you have a strong hand and should bet at the pot. But the more difficult scenario is when you have flopped a flush draw or a straight draw, or perhaps an inside straight draw with two over cards. If someone bets, should you make the call?

At this point, it is important to first surmise what your opponent’s hand is. Then, you must calculate the number of outs you have to make your hand the winning hand. The final step is to then understand the probabilities of hitting one of your outs, giving you the winning hand. These are all crucial steps in the decision making process.

For example, let’s say I am holding JT offsuit.

The flop comes A 8 9 – rainbow.

Learn how to calculate your pot odds and becoming a winning player. Learn how to calculate your pot odds and becoming a winning player. Pot odds in poker simply means the “price” that it costs you to continue with your hand. For example, if you’re in a hand where the pot is $100 and your opponent bets $50, you’re getting 3 to 1 pot odds to call. The pot is $150 (the $100 that’s already there plus the $50 bet) and it costs $50 to continue. Divide the $150 by $50 to get 3. See full list on texasholdemquestions.com.

Pot odds are defined as the ratio between the size of the pot and the bet facing you. For example, if there is $4 in the pot and your opponent bets $1, you are being asked to pay one-fifth of the pot in order to have a chance of winning it. A call of $1 to win $5 represents pot odds of 5:1.

The pot is current at $8.00, and Player1 bets $2.00. Everyone else folds.

Should I make the call?

Well, first I should think about what he may be holding. Let’s say there was no pre-flop raise and Player1 is in early position. He may have a pair of Aces with no kicker, or maybe a pair of 9’s.

So, if I put him on a pair of Ace’s, then I would need either a 7 or a Q to complete my straight and win the hand. Therefore, I have 8 outs – the four 7’s in the deck plus the four Q’s in the deck.

Now, if I have 8 outs, here is the calculation of hitting one of my cards on the turn or river:

There are 47 cards left unseen (I’m holding 2, there are 3 on the board, 52-5= 47). 47 – 8 outs = 39.

My calculation becomes: 1 – 39/47 (turn) * 38/46 (46 cards unseen prior to river):

1 – 39/47 * 38/46 = 31.5%

I have a 31.5% chance to hit my hand over the turn and river.

Now back to our scenario, I have to call a $2.00 bet to win what will be a $12.00 pot. Since my bet is only about 17% of the pot, yet I have a 31.5% chance of winning (across the turn & river card!), the “pot odds” justify making the call.

Now let’s say Player1 bets $12 instead of $2. I would have to call $12 to win what will be a $32 pot. My bet is 37.5% of the pot, greater than my odds of hitting one of my outs, and therefore I should fold (we will get to implied odds further down).

The above scenarios are important to grasp. Picture yourself on the flip side now. Let’s say you have a pair of Aces, and you do not want to allow someone to out draw you. You should do exactly what was outlined above – bet more than their odds would justify. If you bet the amount of the pot, then those chasing the straight (or the flush for that matter) are not getting proper pot odds to call, so you either force them to fold, or you force them to play incorrectly and chase a hand when they are betting against the odds. Your bet can help cause your opponents to make mistakes and incorrectly play their flush draw or straight draw.

So, how are you supposed to calculate your probabilities on the fly in the heat of battle… without a calculator? You don’t. See the chart below! You can right click and save the chart on your computer and even print it off to look at whenever you need!

Memorize these figures (particularly the first chart), they will help you justify your calls. Now, the above scenarios were pretty simplified. There are other, more advanced, factors to potentially consider. For example, if you do not hit your card on the turn, can you assume Player1 will bet again and how much? If you know this information, this should also be included in your calculation of the bet vs. pot amounts.

Let’s say you know Player1 will probably bet another $4 on the turn. So really, you are looking at calling $6.00 against a pot of $16.00. The percentage now is 37.5% (6/16) as opposed to our earlier example where it was 17%. In this case, the call isn’t as clear and the current pot odds don’t quite justify the call because 37.5% is greater than our 31.5%. However, there are implied odds to consider, and these odds may justify making this call.

This is the last factor that is important to consider; implied odds. In the game of No-Limit Hold’em, you potentially could win a much larger pot than the current pot you are calculating your odds against. If you do hit your hand, could you then bet the entire pot amount and assume Player1 will call? How much of a bankroll does Player1 have and is it possible to take it all on this hand? These are interesting questions and also can affect your decision. The total pot size at the very end of the hand, could easily justify making the call in the hopes of winning that pot. This is called “implied odds” and should also be considered.

Now go play and try incorporating this knowledge. I would say good luck, but luck is the enemy of a good player. Better yet, good pot odds!

You can test out some of this basic strategy and get some practice working with pot odds playing at REAL MONEY TABLES without making a deposit! Check out our list of No Deposit Bonus Poker Rooms. These online poker rooms offer new players a real dollar bonus without ever making an initial deposit! So once you register, get some practice at the real money tables, and hopefully make some money, with no risk to your bankroll!

Calculating the pot odds in Texas holdem helps a gambler know when to fold or raise. The pot odds are a ratio between the current size of a poker pot and the cost of a call. Calculating this ratio allows gamblers to make informed decisions on the probability of winning and whether betting is worth the cost.

Once a player knows the pot odds, they can calculate the expected value of betting. This is helpful in several situations, none more so than when a player holds a drawing hand. This is a hand in which you are behind at the moment, but your have the promise of drawing a winning hand later.

Example of Pot Odds

To give an example, let’s assume the raise in front of you is $10. If the pot is $40, then the pot odds would be calculated like so: 40:10. Players often shorten this to 4:1. Converted to a ratio, you would have 1/5 or 20%. You would be putting in twenty percent of the pot.

Expected Value

Earlier we mentioned “expected value“. Expected value is a comparison between the pot odds and the chances you’ll draw the card you need. To calculate this ratio, you’ll need to figure out how many cards remain in the deck which might improve your hand.

Drawing Hands and Outs

“Outs” is the term used for the number of cards still in the deck which give you the winning hand. Besides your two hole cards and the community cards, you might know what 7 of the 52 cards are. If you have a straight draw of A-K-Q-J, then you need a 10 to make your straight. If no 10’s are in your hand or among the community cards, you have 4 outs. If one 10 was showing, you have 3 outs. This isn’t always the case with straight draws, though. For instance, if you hold a 6-7-8-9, you could win if you collected either a 10 or a 5. If neither card is showing, you have 8 outs.

A flush draw gives a player 9 outs (assuming you have 4 to a straight), if none of your suit have been drawn. It’s more likely one or two of your outs are gone, though. Let’s say you have the 3-6-9-Q of diamonds. You have 9 outs, but if you see the jack and 5 of diamonds among the community cards, you only have 7 outs. A straight flush is best, since you have 9 potential outs for suit and either 4 to 8 outs for card rank.

Calculating Outs

Calculating Outs

Once a player knows how many outs there are, they can calculate a ratio. If you have 4 outs after the flop, then you have a 4/46 chance of collecting an out (or just under a 9% chance) of hitting the card you need on any given dead. Keep in mind you’ll have two more cards drawn, instead of just one. The odds are 8.69% you’ll hit the card you need.

Calculating the outs you have produces a ratio of the chances you improve your hand. Since you can’t know what your opponent has in their hand, the math isn’t as cut-and-dried as it is on television, where the broadcasters have up-to-the-second information on hand composition and strength. Professional players often have an idea what their opponent is holding, depending on their tendencies and how they’ve played the hand.

Rule of 4 and 2

If you aren’t a math whiz and you need an easy way of calculating the outs, use Phil Gordon’s “rule of 4 and 2” (found in Gordon’s The Little Green Book). This rules states that you multiply your outs by one of these numbers to calculate the percentage odds of getting the card you need. If you’re on the flop waiting for the turn, multiply your outs by 2. If you’re on the turn waiting for the river, also multiply the outs by 2. If you’re on the flop waiting for the river–that is, your opponent is all-in–multiply the outs by 4.

Two things need to be emphasized. This is meant to be a shorthand, so it’s not entirely accurate. In the example above, the 8.69% becomes 8%. Those dividing 46 by 4 might round up to 9%, if they’re an optimist, so understand you lose a little something in perspective by using a quick method. Also, a gambler is going to be divining their outs by 2 most of the time, because they won’t be all-in on the flop that often. Some players mistakenly use the 4 every time they’re on the flop, which causes a whole lot of busts. If you don’t like fractions and long division, Phil Gordon’s method should help you get pretty close at a fast rate.

Implied Odds

Simply figuring out the current set of probabilities is not always enough. Sometimes, you want to calculate the probable future bets, too. Since gamblers calculating pot odds are dealing with probability and possibilities anyway, it’s sometimes a more accurate measure to project what’s likely to be the odds next round. Let’s use an example.

If you have a drawing hand, then you are going to fold if you miss the card you want. Therefore, you know you won’t be betting any higher in that scenario. At the same time, if you hit the card you want, your opponent or opponents are likely to bet and you’re likely to make money off them. You need to calculate the odds not just of the current ratio, but implied future odds.

Why Make Calculations?

Any time you fold, raise, or make a call in Texas holdem, you’re weighing the odds (in some informal fashion) of what you should do. Pot odds let you do the same thing in a formal, mathematical way. If guesswork is a pitfall in gambling, then odds calculations takes some of the guesswork out.

Risk versus Reward

Texas Hold'em Pot Odds

The more information you have and can process, the better for you. Most of the time, you’ll have a vague idea of when it’s good to raise a bet and when it’s a bad idea. That’s not always the case, though.

When you don’t use precise math, you can make all sorts of mistakes and simply have fallacies about the game you just played. By doing the math on your pot odds, you eliminate some of the supposition. All of this can best be summed up as the risk/reward factor. Players want to know how much they need to risk and how much they’ll rake in if they win, so pot odds help you play a more mathematical game of Texas hold’em.

Pot Odds Outs

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