Pot Odds (or Immediate Odds) ought to be in the vocabulary of any poker player when playing for real money. It is astounding that so many players it seems have no clue about pot odds. Pot Odds is a terminology most frequently used in connection with Texas Holdem although the principle can be applied to any other form of poker - i.e. if you are playing 7 card stud high, you should calculate the odds of drawing a card that will greatly improve your hand relative to the cost of calling; note that it is even more accurate to calculate the probabilities at 7 Card Stud than at any other form of poker as you can see a lot more cards - memorise all the cards shown of players in the hand as well as those shown before others folded - then use the basic calculations shown here to make your decision whether to call, raise or fold. To make money on plays that you are drawing to you need to first make sure that you think you'll have the best hand if you hit. Besides playing too many hands, one of the biggest mistakes low limit players make is drawing to hands that won't win even if they hit so try not to do that!

The basic concept is based upon mathematics and probabilities. Poker like any other form of risk taking is based upon mathematics. So if you can quickly calculate the pot odds, it can help you to make mathematically better decisions on whether to bet, call or fold with the cards in your hand and at the table. It is primarily used when you are chasing a particular card or hand that you assume will win you the hand at showdown, preferably a NUT hand (unbeatable hand). Remember that Casinos profit from relying on the odds or the house edge (the percentage in favour of the Casino over the player). This might give you an idea how profitable it might be to be able to calculate the pot odds.

POT ODDS are defined as the ratio of the current size of the pot divided by the size of the next potential bet, from the point of view of the player about to make the bet.

Once you hit the flop, you should use pot odds to decide your next action. When you hit the flop, either you will be winning or hopefully winning (with a made hand) or you want cards to improve your hand (you are drawing). If you have a made hand, you should bet and raise. You want to win the pot now because more cards can only help your opposition. An example of a made hand is if you hold AK and the board is KJ4.

If you do not have a made hand, you are drawing. You must use 'pot odds' to determine if you should call or fold. First, you must count the number of outs you have. An out is a card that will make your hand the best hand, which is commonly referred to as a NUT HAND (i.e. an unbeatable hand). For example, if your hand is KJ, and the board is Q 10 7, then your outs are 4 Aces and 4 9's, or 8 outs total. To quickly estimate the percentage of hitting an out, you take the NUMBER of outs times 2, then add 2.

Once you figure out your chance of hitting a draw, you multiply it by the pot plus the bet to see what the maximum bet is that you should call.

For example, if the bet is $20 and the pot is $80, the bet plus the pot is $100.

Now let's say you have 6 outs (6 cards will improve your hand). This means you have about a 14% chance of hitting. If the pot is $90 and you must call $10, you should call because you can call as long as you have at least a 10% chance to hit (10/100- the total pot is 90+10). However, if the bet to you was $20, you should fold, because that would require a 18.2% chance of hitting (20/110). Another factor to consider when deciding on whether to call a bet on a draw is how much you already have in the pot. This is particularly important in NO LIMIT games when the raise might be $200 on an initial pot of only $20 prior to raise.

For every potential action (fold, call, raise) at every point in a game of poker, the correct strategy is influenced by the pot odds facing the player. For example, the lower the pot odds facing a call, the more likely it is that folding will be the correct play, and the higher the pot odds facing a call, the more likely it is that calling is the correct play (to take an extreme example, if you can call for $1 with a $1000 pot, there is essentially no hand that would be correct to fold, because you only have to win one time in a thousand in similar situations for the call to be profitable). Similarly, small pot odds favor bluffing, because they make it less correct for an opponent to call.

Frequently players develop instinct or judgment about the size of the pot relative to their potential bets in various situations and make adjustments, but in some cases it is important to get an exact count. For example, on the next-to-last round of a game when your opponent bets and you are facing a decision on whether to call with a Drawing hand, you need to compare your exact pot odds with the odds of completing your hand (though other factors may be involved as well). Another situation is deciding whether to bluff on the final round: Game theory shows that one should bluff a percentage of the time equal to your opponent's pot odds to call the bluff. For example, in a Pot limit game if the pot is $30 and you are contemplating a $30 bet (which will give your opponent 2-to-1 pot odds for his call), you should bluff half as often as you would bet for Value. With a larger pot, you would bluff less often.

The flop comes back:
K - 9 - 2 (rainbow) ~ $80 Pot

Player 1 bets, everyone calls. You can call $10 for $110 giving you about 1/11 odds right then. There are two 9's in the deck and three 10's giving you a total of 5/47 for the turn making it about 1/9.4 or 8.4:1. So IF you think your hand will win if you hit, you will make money by calling once. If you plan on calling till the river for it then your odds would be:

5/47 plus 5/46. You divide both and then add them together giving you a total of 21%: ~ 1/4.7 or 3.7:1

That means to make your call profit you'll need to get better then 1/4.7, 3.7:1 return on your money for the WHOLE hand, not just that specific card (turn or river). That's where implied odds come in. So that means that if the total cost till the river for you was $70: $20 preflop, $10 flop, $20 turn, $20 river you'll have to make back something like $220 to show a profit.

If you figure in that you won't be good a lot of the time even when you do hit, it doesn't make it a good play to go till the river. It would be ok to call once on the flop to see if you can hit on the turn card but you need to be careful to not give too much back if the person does still have you beat with a better hand.

So the bottom line is draw to a winning hand and don't be a sucker and try to draw on hands in small pots. Also remember that if you have a hand like the above and he has a hand like AK then you not only have a weaker hand but a weaker draw. You have the same odds to catch your T as he does his A. That makes your play even worse if you chase it down.

Let's do one more example so you have a good understanding of odds and implied odds. You hold 89s in a $3/6 game on the dealer button. One person raises and 5 people call including you. That means there is ~$36 in the pot already.

The flop comes back: Js 7h 4h.

You have a gutshot to the nuts. Is it worth calling? The first person bets and two other people call before you. That means there is already $36 + $9 = $45 in the pot. A gutshot straight has 4 outs (all the Ts) out of 47 cards for the turn and then 4/46 for the river. To hit it on the turn you'll have a 1/11 chance. To call $3 for the pot being $45 you'll definitely have the odds since you'll also make more on later betting rounds if you hit.

The turn brings: Js 7h 4h 6s

Now you have a really nice draw since any T or 5 gives you the nuts (8 outs) and any spade gives you the flush (9 outs). Two of the spades double for straight cards. That means for you to improve you have 15/46 which is about a 33% chance of hitting. If the person bets and even raises in front of you, you'll still have the odds to call it since even $12 compared to the $60 pot gives you awesome odds!

Learning to calculate pot odds and implied odds is very important. It doesn't have to be exact but just a general idea if it is worth it or not is good enough. You'll rarely be in situations where it is just barely off the odds. Those don't cost much. What costs a lot is if you rountinely make the wrong decision when to draw. Also understand that what is currently in the pot isn't all that matters in calculating odds, what matters is the amount of money that is in the pot now plus what will be made if you hit your hand...future bets. This is what implied odds is all about.

"Winnings to cost to stay in" = cost/(pot size + cost) = required probability of winning or drawing

Probability of improving your hand = number of outs/cards not known to you

Let's assume as an example that you are at the final round of betting with the following hand:

You hold: 4 and 8 of diamonds
Community Cards: 7 of Diamonds, A of Diamonds, 6 of Clubs, K of Spade
Pot Size: $12
Amount to Call: $4

The required probability to call for a most likely winning hand is = 4/(12+4)=25%

To hit a flush, there are 9 outs and to hit a straight, there are 3 outs (5 of diamonds has already been counted - don't double count), which gives a total of 12 outs. There are 46 cards not known to you.

Probability of improving your hand = 12/46 = 26.1%

As 26.1% is greater than 25% of the required probability to call for a most likely winning hand, it is correct to call. However, there are a number of other factors that you need to consider when calling. If there are other players still in the hand, you need to consider what their actions might be. If a player sits behind you, he/she might raise. Using the assumptions in the example above, if you were expecting the player behind you to raise another $4 and the original bettor to call, then your pot odds are now 5 to 2 (pay $8 to win $20), elevating the threshold for staying in the hand to 8/(20+8) = 28.6%.. In that case, to draw the possible winning card is only 26.1% which is less than the 28.6%, then you should seriously consider folding. Also, knowledge of your opponents is not only required for an accurate estimate of hand strength or potential, but also to determine if you can expect to have to pay more or anticipate that if they are still in the hand, they might be holding higher diamond suited cards; they are still in the hand because they like you believe that they either hold the strongest hand with the cards on show or able to draw the winning hand.. When considering potential this also assumes that the cards you are hoping for will make your hand the winner and not the second best. Further complications arise when there is more than one card left to be dealt, but the principle is still the same for all rounds of betting.