What Are Pot Odds

A lot of people talk about pot odds when playing poker, but how many of them understand the rule fully? Before you sit down and consider yourself a good poker player, you need to know everything there is to know about pot odds, as they need to be at the forefront of your poker strategy.

Examples

Pot odds definition - your chances of winning a hand at any given stage compared to the amount of cash you have to put in the pot to call. If the bet is $10 and the pot is $50 then you have 5:1 pot odds to call into the pot. This means that you need to comprehend if your hand has a better than 5/1 shot of winning.

Don’t Presume

Often the difference between a decent and a great player is the great player can take in enough information to know roughly what hand the competition is playing. If you are in a hand trying to hit based on pot odds, then the chances are you are on a drawing hand. However, you need to be 100% sure, if you hit your hand, you are in front. If you are unsure then it is best to fold, otherwise you leave yourself open to lose.

Understanding Implied Odds

Implied odds are the next stage that you need to learn after pot odds. You need to make sure that there is or is not future value in your hand. For example, if you have an inside straight draw on the flop (four outs), and the pot is $80, and the bet is $8, then your pot odds are 10-1 but your chances of hitting are 10.5-1, this suggests you should not call. However, if you are the second player to act out of 5, then you need to work out your 'implied pot odds', and then work out if it may be a good idea calling.

Pot Odds Can Work For You

As well as making sure you play pot odds correctly. You also need to defend yourself from people potentially playing pot odds. For example, if you are playing against somebody you have a good idea is on a flush draw, then bet big enough to make any call they make the wrong one If you play like this then you will win more often than not because you are giving yourself better than a 50% chance of winning.

Pot odds are pivotal to winning at online poker. There is not a profitable online/offline poker player who does not use pot odds as a part of their game. Therefore, you need to make sure you make this change sooner rather than later.