An Easy Lesson in Calculating Outs and Pot Odds
Calculating outs (the number of cards that could improve your hand)
and pot odds (ratio of the money in the pot versus the amount
required to make your next call) is often used as a basis for a
Texas Holdem Poker player on whether to draw and try to make their
hand.
However
this in my opinion should not be the sole basis of your decision on
whether you should draw for another card.
You also
have to decide on whether the hand that you are trying to hit will
win you the pot or not.
How to
calculate pot odds:
In this example, if the current pot contains $80, and the amount
required at the next call is $20, the pot is laying you odds of $80
to $20 or 4 to 1.
As long
as your odds of making the best hand are 4 to 1 or better than
making the call is the right move. A hand that is 4 to 1 means that
you will hit once in every 5 tries. You will hit the draw 20 percent
of the time.
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This
next example takes into account calculating pot odds and outs.
Assume
that your hole cards are a six and a seven (for this example suits
do not matter) and the flop came down 8-9-3.
In order
to complete your hand you need a 5 or 10. You have eight outs –
4-5’s and 4-10’s. Multiply your outs (8) by 4 and you get 32. You
have a 32 percent chance of making your hand. If there was only one
card left to draw you would multiply by two.
A 32
percent chance of making your hand means you have a 68 percent
chance of NOT making your hand. This is roughly 2 to 1 that you
won’t make the hand. So, as long as the pot contains $2 for every $1
that you have to call, it is worth going after your straight.
Doing
these quick calculations and interpreting them can be very difficult
and confusing for a beginner (and many advanced players as well!).
But I would recommend that you at least be able to quickly calculate
your outs to give you an idea of just how likely you are to make
your hand.
Then
decide if that hand will win the pot for you or not.
That wraps up our lesson in
calculating outs and pot odds. You should now have a good base of
knowledge that you can start using right
away. |
