Pot Odds in Texas Hold'em (Page 2 of 2)

So, there are 9 hearts which will make the flush and 4 queens will make the straight. One of the queens is also a heart, so we need to be careful not to double count it: 9 hearts + 3 non-heart queens = 12 outs.

Now, you know your 2 cards, and the 3 cards on the board, so there are 47 unknown cards. Of those 47 cards, there are 12 "good" cards, and 35 "bad" cards, which makes a ratio of bad to good cards of 35 to 12, or just about 3 to 1. So, you want a risk-reward ratio to be at least 3 to 1 in order to call a flop bet.

This risk-reward ratio (which is really a reward-risk ratio -- the amount of reward you will get compared to the risk you are taking) is your POT ODDS. It is the ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount you must call in order to be eligible to win the pot. In this example there is $30 in the pot. So, if the first player bets $5, and the next player raises to $10, we will still have a positive expected value if we call for $10, even if no other players call the raise. Why? By the time the pot gets to us, it contains $30 + $5 + $10 = $45. It costs us $10 to call, so the pot is laying us odds of $45 to $10, or 4 to 1. We know that we are only a 3-1 underdog, so we are being more than fairly compensated for the risk of seeing the turn card.

Continuing with this example, let's assume it's not our lucky day, and the turn card is the 2d. Now, we still have 12 outs, and there are now 34 unknown cards, so we are again about a 3-1 (it's actually 34 to 12, or 2.83 to 1) underdog to make our hand on the river. Since there is now $55 in the pot after we call the turn bet, it is again correct for us to call if our opponent bets $10 now, since our pot odds are 5 to 1.

Although we might not make our straight or flush here, if we consistently put ourselves in situations where we are making bets with the proper pot odds, we will show a long run positive expectation. We will be compensated enough on the occasions where we do make our hand that we can afford the losses on the times where we do not. In other words, we have positive EXPECTED VALUE.

You need to always be aware of your Pot Odds. When you're playing online, it's fairly easy to keep track of, as sites like Empire Poker show the exact pot size at all times.

Now that you know your pot odds, read about implied odds.

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