Calculating Pot Odds

In case you have a draw it is very important to know how much you should bet in order to make money in the long run. In this way you know when to call or not. This principle is known as "pot odds". These "pot odds" determine whether or not you should continue with playing after the flop

After the flop there are three situations possible:

1. You have nothing

When you have nothing, because the flop wasn't of any help, you should check and/or fold For example you have and the flop is

2. You have a good hand

When you have a good hand you should bet or raise in most occasions. For example you have and the flop is

3. You have a chance to get a good hand

In case you have a draw you will have to know what the pot odds are in order to determine whether you should call or fold

Example:
You have and the flop is . In this case you have a flush draw. When another heart appears on the river or the turn you will have a flush (and in this case even the best flush possible: the nut-flush). In this case, in order to determine the pot odds you first have to count the number of cards that will give you a flush Of the 52 cards which are in the game there are 13 hearts (1/4th). At least four of them are already in the game, you have two in your hands and there are two on the table. This means that there are nine other cards that could give you the flush In poker slang it is then said that you have nine "outs".
An easy way to calculate the chance that the next card is hearts can be done by multiplying the number of outs with two and then add one.
In this example you'll get: 9x2+1=19 = 19%.
So the chance that the next card (the turn) is a hearts will be around 19% or a chance of 1 to 5.

After you've determined your chance on a draw you will then have to compare this with the amount you'll have to bet to see the next card in comparison with the amount in the pot.

For example:
There is $9 in the pot and you'll have to call $1 in order to see the next card. This means that you actually bet $1 in order to win a pot of $10 ($9+$1). $1/$10 = 10%.
We've just determined that the chance on getting the draw is 1/5 or 20%. For making a chance on this you only need to bet 1/10th of the pot. This means you have good pot odds (percentage of winning is higher than percentage of what it costs) so you should call

Let me explain this in another way: The chance you'll get your hearts and thus your flush is 19%, or around 1/5th. When you win you get $10. So you have a chance of 1/5th to get $10. This means the expected value when calling is 1/5th of $10 is $2 ($10/5). So it will cost you $1 (when you call) in order to get an expected value of $2!! That's a good pot odd! So you should do that and call!


Determining your pot odds and playing according to that is guaranteed profitable in the long run (not in the short run, because only in the long run bad luck is averaged out). Bad players do not determine their pot odds whereas good players do!!