Poker Skills - Pot Odds

Part of http://www.bethepokershark.com

This advanced guide to poker describes how to include 'pot odds' into your game, and become a much more successful player.

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Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• poker
• bethepokershark
• pot
• odds

[naughttube]

People often make the mistake and think 25% = 4:1 this is not true

1/4 would be 25%, but 1/4 and 4:1 are not the same

When using odds, the number on the left side of the colon is the number of times you will lose, and the number on the right side is the number of times you will win.

So 4:1 is a total of 5 events with 1 time being a winner

So 1 out of 5 times is 20% and not 25%.

Be careful not to just substitute fractions with potodds, because 1/4 does not equal 4:1 (it equals 3:1)

[zalmi1]

I think when he said you have a "4:1 or 25%" he meant, you're getting "4:1 or 20%" because you need to lose 4 hands and win only 1, to break even. For example, 4:1= pot of $200, and only $50 to call. Well if you call 4 times you lose $200, then if you call again, you win $200, thus your pot odds are 20% and not 25%. Remember 4:1 really means 1/(4+1)% which is 1/5=20%. Sorry if I lost anybody, but I just want to clear up what he meant, because 25% and 20% are major differences in poker.

[involverrrrr]

I would not just cal i push fucking all in and doent matter if he calls or not :)

[erichiguera]

2:21 should be "3 to 1" not "4 to one" because fractions and odds are not the same.

[gary4poker]

@naughttube wow thanks that was what i didn't get and couldn't find it anywhere to explain it to me thanks again

[artysmokes]

@best333WillC Multiplying by 4 gives a rough percentage of making the hand on EITHER the turn or the river. Multiplying by 2 and adding 1 is roughly the % for making it on the turn or river specifically. e.g. flush draw has 9 outs. Multiplied by 2 and adding 1 makes 19% chance of getting it on the turn. Or if you've made the 4-flush on the turn, it's 19% to complete it on the river.

[777static777]

@valleyboyben Well, no. But to use pot odds in most other ways, you need to have a pretty good read on the other player. For example, you may have pocket aces and, after the turn, may put your opponent on a flush draw. Your opponent then has 9 outs in the deck that can help them (obviously you're not holding one of them, because then you wouldn't be worried about them hitting a flush). Using this information and how much is in the pot, you can use pot odds to purposely give them the wrong odds

[valleyboyben]

do you use only pot odds when you got a drawing hand?

like pre flop you got 3-6s do you call and hope to get the flush or a drawing hand use pot odds to try and win the pot or fold. I know you should fold, its just that preflop I called 8-3s to use pot odds and I flopped a set

[BigSnow101]

Chinese poker you had ?

Or where is this ? Scandanavia ?

As it turns out we're 25:1 anyhow.

????? Don't ask me Charlie. I dunno ?

The man said it was poker.

[Harlingtonjnr3]

100% of players to the first pot... slightly loose game then and yet the pocket monster pair decide to play against 4 other players. Is he off of the little yellow bus? he finally leads out when out of position with his monster pair. 2.1 odds are great if he has fab implied odds which against these nutters he probably has.

[stompySharpNpointy]

boiled down for the noobs your pot odds and drawing odds need to be the same or its an incorrect mathmatical call. but if you know a players range you call at times ignore the math...wouldnt do it to many times tho

[mrCRAZYWACKER]

hi there thnks alot nd can u sebscribe me aswell thnks!alot mate