Bruce Dias 
Poker is considered to be a game of chance. If you have no prior experience of playing poker, taking those tentative first steps can be quite intimidating. You will have to get your head around a whole new vernacular laden with a multitude of unfamiliar terms.
At the heart of the game are poker odds. For the math buffs, this will appeal to their wider senses. But for other novices, this in-depth guide will cover the core tenets of poker odds to give you more confidence as you approach games.
What are Poker Odds?
Before rummaging through the finer intricacies of poker odds, let’s explain what they are. Essentially, poker odds calculate the probability of you winning or losing your hand, and this will often boil down to knowing when you’re getting the right price to call to try and hit your card.
Poker odds are often known as pot odds in the community, and this describes the ratio or relationship between the pot’s size and the bet size. So, for example, if the starting pot has $20 and a player bets $10, the pot size will now be worth $30.
With more information widely accessible on the internet, you can get a glimpse into poker odds via cheat sheets. These will establish the strongest and weakest hand combinations in Texas Hold’Em. From here, you will have a greater idea of what you can draw during the pre-flop or post-flop stages, which in turn, will determine your chances of grabbing money from the pot come the showdown.
Knowing Your Outs
Knowing the odds of what card will be drawn next will act as a huge advantage. However, to keep yourself on top of things, you need to be aware of the ‘out’ cards.
The ‘out’ cards are the number of cards that can transform your hand into a formidable one. For example, if you are chasing a flush on the river, there are nine cards that can help you. You therefore need to ascertain what is already out of the pack and what is likely to come. So, if there are 13 hearts in a deck and four on the table, then there will be nine cards that can help you with your out.
The outs left in the deck will bolster your chances of making a winning hand. To give another example, if you have a pair of Aces and you are searching for another Ace to complete the set, then you will have two outs. This therefore means there are two Aces left in the deck that will supply you with a winning hand.
In the next section, we will flesh out more details on calculating poker odds, which will be invaluable in a game.
Importance of Calculating Poker Odds
To calculate hand odds, you need to know how many outs your hand has. There will often be various poker-out scenarios, but having the math to hand will save you a lot of hassle.
But to be profitable, you should play with hands possessing a positive expected value (+EV). Broadly speaking, it is best to consistently put yourself in a position where you are paying less for your draws than what they are worth, and conversely, charging your opponents the maximum for drawing.
If you have trouble remembering the odds, the 4,2 rule is worth adhering to. To calculate the odds of hitting a card on the turn or the river, you need to multiply the number of outs you have by four. Whereas to calculate the odds of hitting a card on the river, you will need to multiply the number of outs you have by two.
Having a Better Grasp of Poker Odds
Pot odds will change based on the situation you find yourself in a game. Position, as always, is critical, and if you are going last in a round, you will need to see how your opponent reacts to cards being drawn and act accordingly.
Ultimately, having a better grasp of poker odds will give players more confidence when it comes to raising and drawing more money from the pot. This will be applicable when playing at online sites where the action is unrelenting, and you will want to maximize your profits whether you are playing in Sit & Go or multi-table formats.
Final Thoughts
We’ve covered quite a few principles in this guide, but with poker, you can’t leave everything to chance or play off the cuff in the hope you will draw an incredible hand.
Practical application is key to consolidating your knowledge, but we recommend either bookmarking this page or referring to a poker odds calculator so you can fine-tune your skills when you are involved in a stakes game.
