In what situations do you use pot odds?

Question

When playing no limit texas holdem I am having trouble with pot odds. I understand the concept and how to calculate it but in what situations do you use them? Also I am having trouble calcuating it quick enough when playing online poker due to the quickness of the clock. Can you help. Thanks

Answer 1

always use pot odds. pot odds allow you to play cards that would otherwise be discarded.

check the site: it's great for beginners.

Answer 2

I'll try to give you a simple example.



The flop and turn have already been dealt. You have the Q-10 of hearts.



The board is now K-J-8-4 and the 2 low cards are hearts.



The pot has $100. You are heads up with 1 person left. The other person acts first, and he goes "all-in" for his last $50.



Should you call? You are quite sure your opponent has at least a pair of Kings.



Now we can figure out the "Pot Odds".



First - how many "outs" do you have to win? You will assume that all 4 Aces and all 4 Nines will make you win the pot. Plus there are 7 other hearts with which you can win. (I already counted the 9 and Ace of hearts, so don't count those again.)



So that is 15 ways you can win. There are 46 'unknown' cards left in the deck. 31 of these cards you lose with, and 15 you win with. Your odds of winning, then, are 31 to 15. This is approximately 2 to 1. If the pot is offering you 2 to 1 or better, then you can call.



How much was the pot offering? There was already $100, plus the $50 that was just bet. That's $150 total. You can gain $150 pot by putting $50 more. That is THREE to ONE. So your odds to win are 2 to 1, but the pot will pay you 3 to 1 if you win.



Should you call? Yes. How do we know? Because the "pot odds" show you it's worth it.



******



Important - understanding "Pot Odds" is much more important in "Limit" poker. When you're playing "No Limit", "pot odds" only help you when someone is "all-in" like my example above. Much more important is understanding "Implied Odds", but I'm going to let you learn about that from the first poker book you read. In a nutshell, not only do you need to know how much is in the pot compared to what the bet was, but you need to know how much your opponent has left in his stack, AND how much more of that stack are you likely to win if your winning card hits.

Answer 3

I generally use them when I have a draw (open ended straight or flush) and I have been bet into by a player I KNOW has me beat. Let's say I call from the button with low suited connectors. The board gives me a flush draw but there's also an ace. My opponent, who I know to be a relatively tight player, bets into me. I know he has an ace, and that if I raise he'll call, so the question is, do I call? Only if his bet is giving me the correct pot odds. You'll hit your flush about 1/3 of the time. So if you're getting 3:1 or better pot odds on a call, go ahead and make it. You'll win that bet more often than you lose. But if he makes a pot size bet you're only getting 2:1. And you should fold. Pot odds are usually used when you're drawing to your hand and have a pretty good idea where you stand regarding how many outs you have available. A quick way to calculate your odds is to use the rule of 2 and 4. Take the number of outs you have available. Multiply that number by 4 if you haven't seen the turn, and multiply it by 2 if you haven't seen the river. That will tell you your odds of hitting the hand, as a percentage. For instance, let's say you flop a flush draw. You now have 9 outs to make your hand. 9 X 4 = 36%, which is about 3:1. Or if you have an open ended straight draw on the turn you have 8 outs. 8 X 2 = 16%. That's a quick and easy way to figure out your percentage, and from there just convert it to a fraction to figure out what your pot odds are.

Answer 4

Are you using the rule of 2 and 4 for calculating pot odds. It makes it much easier. Check out that article on pot odds here: http://www.areyouapokerfish.com/outsodds.html

Just keep practicing and learning and before you know it it will become second nature. You won't even have to think about the odds you will just know them. Don't get too caught up in pot odds either. Being able to put your opponents on a hand is a much better skill to learn. It is hard to know how many outs you have unless you know what your opponent is holding. Check out http://www.areyouapokerfish.com/index.html for some other helpful poker tips. Good Luck!