Poker Pot Odds
March 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The mathematical game of poker is something that anyone can learn and understand if they take the time to learn the theory and study the numbers. no matter how much of an instinct-type of player you are, you don’t want to be one of those players who are too lazy to learn how to understand when you have the best of it.
The math of poker is the grinder’s foundation from which he or she builds their game. The true poker player does not omit it from their game because their ego tells them they need not learn it.
This part of the game should not intimidate you. The math isn’t hard calculus. It’s just some basic ration and percentages that can become second nature after a while. Pot odds are simply the ratio of the size of the pot compared to the bet that has to be called. This has nothing to do with your cards. It only compares the amount of the bet to the amount of the pot into a ratio. If the pot has $60 in it and someone bets $10, then the pot odds are 6 to 1. If the pot is $160 and someone bets $40, the pot odds are 4 to 1. Learning to calculate the odds for every hand will take a little while to become second nature, but practice will certainly make it so.
Once you understand how to figure out the ratio, you have to convert that number into a percentage. This doesn’t take genius to understand. If your ratios is correct, all you have to do is add the two numbers together and divide the second number by the new combined number to get the percentage. 4 to 1 odds would be 4 + 1 = 5. Then 1 divided by 5 = .20, so your percentage is 20%.
If you’re in a drawing situation and you have to decide whether to stay in the hand for another card, you need to compare the pot odds against the odds that your hand has to win. Your hand has a winning percentage at every step of the hand. Your winning percentage for the draw will be determined by the amount of outs you need to hit the winning hand, or what you think will be the winning hand. You can learn what your winning percentage is by studying an “outs chart”, which displays all the percentages for each number of outs.
This theory must be flexible sometimes. In some situations, it may be required for a player to use implied odds instead of the actual odds to make the best decision. Implied odds are an estimate of how much the pot will be at the end of the betting round. If you have a middle position and there is a bet ahead of you, your decision to call or fold may require that you assume one or more opponents will also call the bet. This will change the ratio of your pot odds, making some negative chance situations change into positive ones, if in fact those other players remain in the hand.
once you can calculate and compare the two percentages, you can begin to make some of your decisions with this information in mind. If your pot odds are bigger than your draw odds, you are in a negative drawing situation. If it’s reversed, then you can call the bet. Math can make some difficult situations a little easier to decide upon when you find yourself in front of a tough call.
5 Card Draw Poker
March 2, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The rules of 5 Card Draw are similar to the rules of Holdem. The game is played as follows:
- A small dealer button identifies one player as the dealer. The dealer button moves one spot clockwise after every hand.
- Before any cards are dealt, players must post any mandatory bets, known as ‘blinds’ or ‘antes’.
- In Draw, the player directly to the left of the dealer must post the ‘small blind’.
- The player two spots left of the dealer must post the ‘big blind’.
- The small blind is most often smaller than the big blind, usually exactly half.
- After the mandatory blinds and/or antes are posted, each player is dealt five cards face down.
- A betting round begins, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind. This player is said to be ‘under the gun’. As in every other form of poker, players can choose to check, fold, bet or call as appropriate throughout the round of betting.
- After the first round of betting, players have the option of discarding up to 5 cards, and exchanging them for new ones. It is not mandatory that players discard and exchange- it is strictly optional. If a player chooses to keep all of his original cards, this is known as ‘staying’.
- After each player has discarded and exchanged his desired amount of cards, a second and final round of betting begins. The action starts once again with the player under the gun.
- Once the final round of betting is complete, any remaining players must show down their hands. As in all other forms of poker, the player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. If two players show down identical hands, they must split the pot.
- Once the pot has been transferred to the winner, the dealer button is moved one spot clockwise, and a new hand may begin.
