1. 2013-05-28 10:15:13

   Pot Odds in Poker

   The mathematical aspect of poker can be a little unnerving for some players, but with a little bit of practice, a sound understanding of the fundamentals can go a long way.

   One of these fundamentals is pot odds.

   Pot odds are a mathematical expression that presents you with your risk-to-reward ratio for calling a bet. It is a quick calculation that you make when you are deciding whether to call a bet, particularly connected to action when you are holding a drawing hand.

   The calculation of pot odds takes into consideration the ratio of the pot relative to how much it is to make the call.

   Example: The action folds around to you in the small blind. At this time the size of the pot is your opponent???s big blind and your small blind.

   If you choose to call it is going to cost you another small blind. If you break your opponent big blind down into two small blinds then you can see that your cost of a call is 3 to 1.

   Now let???s imagine that you do make the call and after a series of plays you and your opponent find yourselves at the river. The pot is now $1,000 strong and you have one pair. You check and the big blind bets $200. The pot is now $1,200 and it costs you just $200 to call. 1.200/200 = 6 to 1.

   So, you should call if you believe these odds are good enough to justify the money that you put into the pot. The key criteria being do I have a better than 6 to 1 chance of winning this pot should I call? Or put another way, does your opponent have a hand that is worse than yours 14% of the time?

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   Posted by KCasey at 2013-05-28 10:15:13

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