Poker Guide | How to Use Pot Odds for Strategic Play

How to Use Pot Odds for Strategic Play

Posted By: Admin - On: September 09, 2008
The best winning strategies for playing Poker online is to know the mathematical statistics. It may sound complicated at first, but once you know your odds and percentages it can really make winning much more likely. A lot of the newer generations of Online Poker players use these odds and statistics to know what bets are worth taking regardless of the cards that they have.

Pot Odds One of the main strategies used is known as Pot Odds. These odds are calculated by figuring out the ratio between the amount of the pot in relation to the size of the required bet. Once knowing the Pot Odds, the player must then figure out his odds of winning. If his odds of winning are greater than his pot odds he or she will almost always call. These are two very important equations to be considered in playing.

Implied odds Implied odds is another concept that requires some sort of estimate. Implied odds are what the poker player believes will be in the pot at the end of the hand. This is conjunction with the pot odds, and odds of winning are all taken into consideration. If the player has a draw, and is likely to beat out a player that will call him to the river, he is going to bet.

Some determination is made due to position. The player with the button is said to have position. He or she is the last player to act, and gets to know where every other player is before committing any money to the pot. If you are in early position, one of the first to act in a hand, it can be difficult. Even if you have a decent pair or a good starting hand, if you bet you could be causing your self to be pot committed. You can make a bet that can be raised, or re-raised, even has someone push all-in, causing you to either call or fold. You are not going to let a good pair go easily, but you do not want to risk all of your chips on something mediocre. Early in the hand it is more difficult to use pot odds, unless a player is going all-in. In this case you would not have to worry about implied odds, unless there is another player or players that may be in question. You will know exactly what your odds are as of pot odds, but you need to determine what the other player has in order to figure out your winning odds.

These theorems and formulas will help in a coin flip type situation. If you are unsure what you want to do, try applying these aspects. It is important no matter what to remember that these are not rules or laws. There is no guarantee in poker. Even if the odds are greatly in your favor, there is always a chance that someone may come from behind. Unless, you know you have already have your opponent drawing dead. (meaning there is no other card or cards he can draw to win)

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