Texas Holdem,
Poker Odds
June 1 2008
You don’t have to be a math genius to use probabilities and odds to play better poker. Like it or not, the odds can often lead you to the right decision when you must decide whether to muck your hand or play it out. You don’t need to be able to do complex math in your head to know what the odds are of making a certain hand out of your hole cards. Here are three easy odds that all poker players should know to make calculating their own odds a little easier.
Say you’re holding a pocket pair. Do you know what the chances are of making three of a kind on the flop? It would be 8.3/1, but 8/1 is close enough because it’s much easier to remember. What about the chances of making three of a kind by the river with a pocket pair? That would be 4.2/1, but once again 4/1 is good enough for memory’s sake.
Flush draw odds often come up, but most players don’t know what they are and end up fumbling with the numbers inside their heads at the table. A mistake under pressure could lead to a bad call, or even worse, a bad fold. So what are your odds of making a flush on the river when you already have four of the same suit? That would be 4.1/1 or 4/1.
The only thing that tends to come up as often as flush draws – or maybe even more often – are straight draws. It doesn’t matter if they’re open-ended or gutshots; knowing the odds definitely helps. If you’re holding an open-ended straight draw with the river to come, you’re looking at 4.8/1 odds of making it. A gutshot straight draw is much harder to make at 11/1.
If you can memorize these probabilities it should improve your calling and betting and hopefully save you some money at the tables.
Need more? Find everything you need to know about poker in the Bodog Online
Poker Guide.
