Explaining
Pot Odds
What
are odds and pot odds?
Actual odds and gambling.
In
their simplest form, odds are estimations of how
likely an event is to occur. As any true gambler or
handicapper will tell you, the trick to being
successful is not what you bet, but the value you get
betting it. Professional gamblers search out occasions
where they can potentially get back more value from
their bet than they are risking.
For
example: A coin flip, there are two possible outcomes.
The coin can land on heads or tails and there is a 50%
chance of either coming up. This never changes. No
matter how many times heads has come up in a row, the
next flip you still have a 50% chance of seeing tails.
Therefore,
your actual odds are 1 to 1, for every $1 you
bet you will win $1.
Now
if someone said, “I’ll flip this quarter and give
you $2 for every $1” that would mean the odds are in
your favor. You are getting paid more if you win than
the actual odds of winning. That doesn’t mean you
will win this flip but in the long run the odds are in
your favor. This is exactly how casinos make their
money, they have an overall advantage and will
ultimately win more than they lose (a lot more).
What
are pot odds?
Pot
odds: The odds you receive when factoring the amount
in the pot (the pay off) vs. the amount of your next
call or bet (the risk). “There is $100 in the pot
already. You have four cards to a flush, if you hit
the flush, you win. Someone bets $5 - should you call?
Yes, you have pot
odds.”
As you can see, odds play a tremendous roll in poker.
If you see a sharp player making a call you think he
shouldn’t have made, chances are he had pot odds.
Read on to learn a few simple tricks that will have
you calculating pot odds for yourself in no time.
The
simplest way to calculate your pot odds is to already
have a working knowledge of your overall odds. You can
either take the time to do the math or check our poker
card odds section for some basic numbers. Once you’ve
figured out your odds of making a hand you can move
onto the pot odds to determine your next move.
Simple
example: You have a pair of 5’s. There has been a
raise and a few calls, now it’s your turn. You don’t
think your 5’s will win outright but you think a set
of 5’s would. You know that your chance of hitting a
3rd 5 on the flop is about 8 to 1. So there
would have to be more than 8 bets already in the pot
for you to call. Count the bets and raises, if the
number is over eight you have pot odds and may want to
call.
By
learning the basics of pot odds and continuing to
develop your game you will greatly increase your
overall profit. The key is not to overwhelm yourself,
apply the principles you learn over time. Developing a
well-rounded poker game takes time and patience but in
the end the rewards well out weigh the risk.
