Intro: “Flush” definition and basics explained

For start, let’s remind ourselves about the basics:

• flush (definition, click to open an external link from Wikipedia)
• possible poker hands combinations; you can check out the image below, or click it and get re-directed to a interesting blog article, which brought up all possible hand strength variations accross all poker game types:

  

 

Topic: Stop Getting Burned On Flush And Straight Draws

Have you ever lost a huge pot because you had a flush draw or straight draw and didn’t catch the card you needed?

It’s happened to all of us.

And frankly, it sucks.

Because when you’re on a draw, you’re just ONE CARD AWAY from raking in a ton of chips.

And you WANT to keep calling everyone else’s bets, in hopes that your card will pop out on the turn or river.

Am I right?

Of course, what ends up happening is you have to put a ton of your chips in the middle… just to call everyone else’s bets.

That makes you pot-committed… and if you DON’T catch your card, you’re screwed.

Now let me ask you…

Wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if every time you were on a draw all the other players would CHECK around?

That way you didn’t have to risk any chips, and could bet only after you KNEW for sure whether or not you caught your card.

That sure would be nice, wouldn’t it?

AND…

What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE HAND… even if you DIDN’T catch your card?

That’d be nice too, huh?

Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to make BOTH of these things happen.

Let me show you how…

OK, so let’s say I’m at an 8-person no limit table and I’m sixth to act.

I’m dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.

Villain#1 comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop bet. Villain#2 and Villain#3 both call.

Now it’s on me.

I love suited connectors… especially busting my opponents with them unexpectedly, so I jump in and call.

The players behind me muck their cards right away… scared to death of so much action.

The flop hits:

4d-9s-7d

That means I’ve just flopped an open-ended straight flush draw. I couldn’t have asked for a better flop in this situation.

Unfortunately, Villain#1 comes out firing (again) with a no-hesitation bet of $20.

Villain#2 and Villain#3 both FOLD this time…

And the action is to me.

I’m putting Villain#1 on a high pocket pair, or maybe A9 or A7. And he’s figuring the scraps on the board didn’t help anyone, hence the strong bet.

Which puts me in a tough situation.

Think about it… If I CALL, I might miss my flush or straight on the turn card. Then what? Villain#1 will make another strong bet… what will I do then?

And if I call to see the river and miss, then I’ll have just given Villain#1 most of my chips and lost a major hand.

On the other hand, I don’t want to FOLD, because I have a ton of outs and I want to WIN this!

Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in this situation?

Most amateur card players don’t think ahead, and they’d call Villain#1‘s $20 bet. And if they missed on the turn, they’d call another bet to see the river.

And if they missed on the river, they’d probably fold, watch Villain#1 rake in all the chips, and wonder why they “never catch the right cards”.

Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE what’s about to happen… and would probably call to see the turn, but then fold if Villain#1 bets again.

And of course, there are always the tight players who would never have played the 5-6 of diamonds in the FIRST place.

So what do I do?

Remember, I’m sitting on 5-6 of diamonds. The board reads: 4d-9s-7d

And Villain#1, who made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20 after the flop.

Here’s the answer…

I RAISE!

Not some wimpy raise either… I raise him $40 more to play.

Most players would NEVER think to raise in this situation… but here’s what I’ve done:

1. I’ve TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought myself a FREE CARD when it matters most.

You see, if Villain#1 calls the $40 raise, when the turn hits he’ll CHECK to me.

(Remember what I said at the beginning of this post?)

That means I get to see the turn and river for a total of $40 more, which is a BARGAIN compared to what Villain#1’s next bet would have cost me.

2. I’m representing possible trips.

Villain#1 now has to wonder whether I called his pre-flop raise with a low pocket pair and just caught trips on the flop.

Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair and I’m not “phased” by the flop.

3. I’ve raised the stakes of the hand in MY favor… not his. You see, if I just call Villain#1‘s bets and then hit a 8 of diamonds on the turn, what will happen?

Well, Villain#1 will SEE the three diamonds and the straight possibility, and he probably won’t make any more huge bets or call any huge bets from me.

This way, I’ve raised the stakes $40, which increases MY CHANCES at winning an even bigger pot than if I had just called.

Make sense?

And last but not least…

4. I’ve given myself a way to WIN even if I don’t catch the straight or flush.

 

Now I get to see Villain#1’s reaction to my $40 raise…

If I sense weakness, I may decide to BLUFF and buy this pot if I don’t catch my flush or straight.

If I only call Villain#1’s bets the whole way, he would’t fall for this type of bluff. But my raise of $40 will sure get him thinking.

OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND…

Villain#1 shuffles his chips around for a moment, and looks back down at his cards. It turns out he’s holding an A9… so he’s got top pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not a monster by any means.

He calls.

The next card comes out… Queen of spades.

No help.

Villain#1 checks.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT.

This is my “free card” opportunity that my $40 raise bought.

Now I’m in complete control… and feeling pretty good about this hand.

I can check and see the river for free. I’ve still got a lot of outs here.

Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Villain#1 away.

“One hundred dollars”, I say, as I push a huge stack of red chips into the middle.

True, I only have a Queen high… and the beginner card player may think this type of play is crazy.

But then again, that’s why they’re called “BEGINNERS”.

Anyway…

Villain#1 thinks for a minute and then mucks it.

I rake in a beautiful pot.

Even if Villain#1 had called, I still had a good number of outs.

And if I missed, I could have tried to bluff again.

 

Now think back to when the flop came out…

After Villain#1 bet $20, what if I had called? (And not raised.)

Well, here’s what would have happened…

The Queen would have came and Villain#1 would’ve immediately fired a huge $80 bet. 

I would’ve had to either call the $80 to see the river, or muck my beautiful straight flush draw.

And THAT, my friend, is why it’s CRUCIAL that you TAKE CONTROL of the betting.

This type of technique allows you to truly DOMINATE THE TABLES and win more money playing poker. Period.

That’s what makes Texas Holdem such a fascinating game… there are just so many scenarios that can occur, and so many special “tricks” and “techniques” you can use to beat the competition.

Of course, you’ll probably never figure them all out on your own… and that’s why I’m here to help.

If you’re serious about taking your card playing skills to the next level, then it’s time you get started on the tables now and become a poker SHARK.

This proven, step-by-step “roadmap” will improve your game TREMENDOUSLY and help you achieve your goals… by TEACHING YOU WHILE YOU PLAY.

Because only by constantly learning new strategies, and reviewing your previous sessions played, it’s the only way you can constantly keep improving your game, and building your BANKROLL!

 

Good luck at the tables!!!

Intro: Poker Hand Rankings accross all  game types and variations

First of all, let’s take a brief look at the possible poker hands combinations; you can check out the image below, or click it and get re-directed to a interesting blog article, which brought up all possible hand strength variations accross all poker game types:

 

Why You Shouldn’t Slow Play Big Hands

When you get a MONSTER hand, you should NOT slow play it.

Here’s why:

“Slow playing” means that you don’t bet very much, or bet nothing at all, in hopes that your opponent makes a big bet or tries to bluff.

For instance, if you got two Aces before the flop and only called the big blind, you would be “slow playing” your Aces.

Or if you flopped a straight and just “checked”, you would be slow playing your straight.

Does it make sense?

The problem is, most amateurs will slow play their big hands… trying to perform the famous check-raise

maneuver… or trying to “trap” their opponents…

But generally speaking, this is NOT a smart strategy… for two reasons:

1. Because many poker players will see right through you… and fold the hand as soon as you make your move.

2. Because you won’t win as much money when you slow play big hands versus betting them.

 

Let’s talk about the first reason…

The fact is, slow playing big hands will NOT confuse your opponents.

On the contrary, it will actually give them a SOLID READ on you.

Why?

BECAUSE MOST PLAYERS SLOW PLAY MONSTER HANDS.

That’s just the way it is.

You may think you’re being SLY, but you’re really just being STUPID.

I think it’s actually human INSTINCTS to slow play big hands…

Think about it. When someone gets a big hand, what are they thinking in their heads?

They SHOULD be thinking… “How can I get the most money possible out of this pot?”

But what they are REALLY thinking is… “How can I make sure everyone doesn’t fold and this great hand doesn’t go to waste?”

It’s the truth.

Especially since it will often take HUNDREDS of hands before you catch a monster.

And that’s the REAL reason why people slow play big hands…

Because they’re SCARED TO DEATH that if they make a bet, everyone will fold.

So the point is, it is NOT unique to slow play a monster… in fact, it’s what MOST card players do. Especially amateurs.

Now let’s look at the second reason why slow playing a big hand is a bad idea… and that is:

YOU WON’T MAKE AS MUCH MONEY.

The fact is, when you hit a monster, you should bet it. It’s that simple.

Even if you REALLY ARE thinking to yourself, “How can I get the most money out of this pot?”, the answer is to bet it.

Not slow play it.

You’ll win more chips and make more money by betting your big hands… especially when you look at it over a long term perspective.

Let me show you three reasons why:

1. Usually, one of your opponents will have SOMETHING… whether it’s a bottom pair, wired pair, straight draw… whatever.

This means that you’ll usually get one or more callers for your monster hand… which is “sure money” going into the pot that you’re about to win…

2. When you slow play big hands, you’re opening yourself up for BAD BEATS. You shouldn’t give your opponents the opportunity to see free cards.

When you let them see free cards, you’re just increasing the odds that someone catches a lucky draw… or the one “miracle” card that can bust your hand. Betting your big hand, instead of letting your opponent get free cards, will narrow down your chances of a bad beat.

3. Your opponents won’t see it coming. 

Since most players slow play monsters, your opponents will often put you on a BLUFF when you bet your big hand.

And if they think you’re bluffing, they’ll try to come back over the top of you with a raise.

This, of course, gives you yet ANOTHER way to make more money from your hand…

Now… let me talk about the EXCEPTION to this rule. And that is when you get a monster that is SO UNBELIEVABLE…

AND you sense complete weakness at the table.

The most common example of this is 4-of-a-kind. For instance…

Let’s say the flop came out 8,8,2 and you’ve got pocket 8’s.

The other two players check to you.

In this case, it will be smart to just check your big hand, rather than betting.

BUT, you’re not really “slow playing” it.

What you’re ACTUALLY doing is just letting your opponents “catch up” to you.

Since you know the 8’s couldn’t have helped either of your opponents, you want to make sure a turn card comes out… and maybe even a river card… in hopes that someone catches SOMETHING.

If the turn card is a face card, that’s good news for you. Because it means that someone might have made top pair and will be willing to give you some action in the hand.

But besides that, you should NOT slow play your big hands.

Now let’s see a real-life instance where this strategy helped me make more money at the poker table.

Just the other night I was at the riverboat and got dealt AQ. My positioning wasn’t good, but it was the first decent hand I’d seen in awhile, so I raised the pot to 1,500 in chips.

Only one player called me… the man on the button. This guy (we’ll call him “Mike”) is a very good card player. He goes to the casinos every single night… 7 days a week… grinding it out and making his living.

He’s one of the only players at this table that I generally avoid going heads-up with, actually.

So anyway… the flop comes out, and it’s:

Q-Q-3

I’ve flopped a set with an Ace kicker.

I’m first to act. So what do I do?

Most players would slow play… but not me. I come out firing.

I hesitate for like two seconds and then push in 4,000 in chips.

Mike is thinking there is no possible way I’d bet trips like that… so he’s probably putting me on a high wired pair (but not Queens).

Plus, he might think I’m just representing my pre-flop raise with this bet…

So instead of folding, Mike decides to represent the Queens out there… and act as if HE has the trip queens.

“Make it 10,000”, he says aggressively.

Of course, now I’ve got Mike EXACTLY where I want him…

I call his bet.

The turn card comes… it’s a 10.

I check… because I know Mike is going to make a big move on me.

“Make it 10,000”, he says again.

And I call again.

It turns out Mike is sitting on K-10… which means he’s got a pair. This will give him even MORE confidence to try to buy this pot.

Now that I’ve called his bets, however, he’s probably thinking I have Kings or Aces. Which means the only way he can win this pot is to scare me away.

The river hits… and it’s a 3. Which gives me the full house.

I check again, and Mike goes ALL IN with his huge chip stack… thinking he can bully me out of the hand.

I call… and I take down a MASSIVE pot from the seasoned rounder.

 

And it all started because I DIDN’T slow play my trips. Mike didn’t put me on the three Queens and was willing to push his entire stack into the middle to try to win that pot.

Of course… that won’t happen every time you get a big hand. And trying to confuse your opponent is definitely NOT the only reason to not slow play your big hands.

The reality is, when you bet your big hands you’ll CONSISTENTLY win more pots and make MORE MONEY playing poker…

And if you’d like to discover step-by-step strategies and concepts like this one that will improve your Texas Holdem skills, make sure you stay tuned for the next blog article 🙂

Most of the secrets to poker are CONTRARY to what you’d expect. And it’s only after you learn the REASONING and LOGIC behind these techniques that you’ll be able to take your poker game to the NEXT LEVEL.

Intro: in the following article, we’ll try to bring up some of the most common mistakes made when using an odds calculator. It is very important to understand the oddds if you want to improve your game, so we will try to point out the most common mistakes you can make using it.

People always say that “Practice makes perfect.”

I disagree. 

The truth is that “PERFECT practice makes perfect.”

Using an odds calculator at online poker is a crucial way to develop your skills and become a better player…

But I’ve noticed that even though the popularity of calculation programs is booming, many players AREN’T USING THESE TOOLS CORRECTLY.

This “bad practice” can easily cause lost profits, a frustrating learning curve, and unnecessary confusion…

So for this newsletter I want to discuss the seven most costly mistakes players make when using an odds calculator- and how YOU can avoid them.

(If you don’t own an odds calculator yet, you can easily find a free one by searching online)

OK, let’s get started.

MISTAKE #1: Not Bluffing Enough

Poker is a game of ODDS and SKILL… but it’s also a game of PSYCHOLOGY and LUCK.

If you listen to the advice of an odds calculator 100% of the time, yes, you’ll come out ahead. But you don’t want to become a predictable “robot” who only plays favorable odds and never bluffs.

Get my drift?

There are times in every poker game when you’ll want to buy the blinds because you sense weakness, over bet the pot to give off a certain table image, or “bully” the table with your huge chip stack. 

Odds calculators don’t bluff.

And they don’t tell you when to bluff.

That’s why you’ve got to stay alert and make these types of decisions based on your own intuition…

 

MISTAKE #2: Not Paying Enough Attention To Your Opponents

The right odds calculator can quickly become addictive. It’s easy to get in a bad habit of just listening to its “advice” without paying attention to the game.

This allows you to save time, save energy, and play multiple games at once.

BUT…

Just like bluffing, blindly listening to an odds calculator can be detrimental. It can prevent you from catching important TELLS at the table.

Pay close attention to your opponents so that you spot someone on “tilt”, identify an amateur, and pick up betting patterns.

MISTAKE #3: Not Considering “Likely Odds”

Let’s say you’ve got pocket Queens. You make a pre-flop raise of 3x the big blind and get four callers (at an 8-man table).

The flop hits: A-A-K

What a TERRIBLE flop, right? You figure one of your four opponents MUST have an Ace… or at least a King. And that means all you can hope for on the turn or river is a Queen.

If someone throws out a sizeable bet in this situation, you would fold… because you know you’re beat.

What’s interesting is that a “primitive” odds calculator would tell you that you have a STRONG hand: two pair with a great kicker. And it would probably tell you to call any bets… or even raise.

Crazy, huh?

You see, here’s the thing: Most odds calculators only look at YOUR hand… and don’t try to “deduce” what your opponents might have. They don’t look at what’s “likely”.

You and I both know that the only way someone would call a pre-flop raise of 3x the big blind is if they have something good… like an Ace. But an odds calculator that just pays attention to your cards has no idea.

Some “calculators” are different. Some don’t look at what’s “likely” and what’s not. It should take a look at those four players who stayed in the pot and calculate the likelihood that one of them is holding an Ace or a King… given all the possible conditions.

SO CHOOSE YOUR ODDS CALCULATOR WISELY!

Don’t download an odds calculator that doesn’t do “likely odds”, otherwise you’re just asking for trouble.

 

MISTAKE #4: Relying Too Much On Odds During “All-In” Plays

In no limit Texas Holdem there is no restriction to how much you can bet. This makes the use of an odds calculator more tricky in this game type.

For instance, let’s say there’s $20 in the pot and your opponent decides to go all-in for his entire stack of $480.

You have to make a decision to call or fold.

The “pot odds” in a situation like this aren’t very good. The reason is because there’s such a small amount in the pot.

In this situation, however, pot odds don’t mean much. Your decision shouldn’t be based on “math”… it should be based on WHETHER YOU THINK YOUR OPPONENT HAS A BETTER HAND.

An all-in situation is so “disproportionate” that odds aren’t really relevant… so don’t get too caught up in

them.

 

MISTAKE #5: Mis-Interpreting Odds Information When Playing Heads-Up (Or Short-Handed)

 

With just 2-3 players at the table, chances are NO ONE will get good cards. At this stage in the game, winning is more about bluffs and reading opponents.

Proof of this is the fact that most heads-up hands never get to “show down”. Someone almost always folds BEFORE the river.

Therefore, the odds of “winning by river” aren’t as relevant in this type of situation. Who cares if you have 7-2 offsuit? All that REALLY matters is what your opponent THINKS you have.

When I get heads-up, I don’t pay attention to the “hand strength” percentage or “odds by river” on my odds calculator.

 

Instead, I pay attention to the “odds on next card” feature, because that’s what is IMMEDIATELY relevant.

MISTAKE #6: Not Adjusting The Odds To Your Personal Style

When you download an odds calculator, make sure it fits your personal “style” of play. If you’re a loose pre-flop player, you don’t want your odds calculator constantly telling you to “play tight and fold”…

Instead, you want your odds calculator to be “loose” and simply show you when you’re deviating in the wrong manner.

Most Calculators feature “play settings” that you can customize for your own needs and preference.

(These settings apply both to pre-flop and post-flop play.)

This is also very useful depending on your game type. For instance, I set my pre-flop settings to be extremely tight in large multi-table tournaments… because my strategy is to sit back and be very patient.

But in a shorthanded Sit and Go, I do exactly the opposite, because “loose” hand selection is required to avoid getting blinded out.

 

MISTAKE #7: Using The Wrong Odds Calculator

 

An odds calculator is only useful if it has the FEATURES YOU NEED and if you USE IT RIGHT.

Avoid the common mistakes we’ve just discussed and you’ll be well on your way to maximizing your online poker profits.

The next step is to simply get the BEST odds calculator possible.

I’m not giving my recommendation, as you should choose a calculator according to your needs and game-play style… it also needs to have all the features we’ve just discussed… and dozens more.

 

Hopefully, by using a calculator and applying the tips I gave you above…  it’ll help you make more money at online poker.

 

Online Hold’em Odds Calculator Suggestions (External Links) 

Since it’s essential to review your past poker sessions, you can review what were the odds in a certain hand you played by setting up the same cards in one of the following odds calculators (the links are just suggestions based on author’s personal preferences):

Calculator 1

Calculator 2

Calculator 3

 

Intro: Poker Odds

In poker, “odds” are the mathematical foundation used to determine if a bet is profitable in the long run. To master them, you primarily need to understand the relationship between Pot Odds (the price of the bet) and Equity (your chance of winning). In this article, we will try to show you how to memorize odds… fast!

To review or learn all possible poker hands combinations; you can check out the link below (clicking it will get you re-directed to a interesting blog article, which brought up all possible hand strength variations accross all poker game types)

Possible Poker Hands Combinations

 

*** CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND ***

>>> MY FRIEND:

“I usually calculate the odds in percentages using a simple formula for calculating outs. It works well up to a high amount of outs, such as 15, where a decision is usually easy anyway.

You probably know what I mean, but what you do is take the amount of outs and times them by 2 and add 1, this is the chance you will make your hand on the turn if on the flop or the river if on the turn…

Then it’s just a matter of seeing if this percentage is higher than your bet or implied odds percentage.

What are your thoughts on this approach?”

>>> MY THOUGHTS:

Great point…

I actually LOVE this method for calculating odds, because it’s fast and EASY.

However, just like anything else, it has some pitfalls…

So basically, what you’re saying is that you can calculate the PERCENTAGE CHANCE you have of making your hand by DOUBLING the NUMBER OF OUTS and adding one:

(OUTS X 2) + 1 = % of getting a card you need

Remember, “outs” refers to the number of cards in the deck that will complete (or “make”) your hand.

For example, let’s say you’re holding J-10 and the board reads:

8-9-2

That means either a seven or a Queen will complete your straight. Since there are four sevens and four Queens in the deck, you have EIGHT OUTS.

OK… so let’s take a look at how this works:

First, let me give you the REAL percentages for each situation. I’ve created a chart.

The first column is how many OUTS you have. The second is your chance of hitting on the TURN card. And the third column is your chance of hitting on the RIVER card.

OK, so here’s the chart:

————————-

OUTS    TURN      RIVER

1      2.13%      2.17%

2      4.26%      4.35%

3      6.38%      6.52%

4      8.51%      8.70%

5      10.64%    10.87%

6      12.77%    13.04%

7      14.89%    15.22%

8      17.02%    17.39%

9      19.15%    19.57%

10    21.23%    21.47%

11    23.40%    23.91%

12    25.53%    26.09%

13    27.66%    28.26%

14    29.79%    30.43%

15    31.91%    32.61%

16    34.04%    34.76%

17    36.17%    36.96%

18    38.30%    39.13%

19    40.43%    41.30%

20    42.55%    43.48%

21    44.68%    45.65%

————————-

As you can see, the formula holds true… for the most part.

If you have three outs or fewer, there’s really no need to add one.

But then again, if you have three outs or fewer, you probably shouldn’t be calculating odds… you should be FOLDING instead!

And if you have more than ELEVEN outs, you should probably add TWO, instead of one.

So… to break it down:

1-3 Outs: Outs x 2 = % of hitting

3-11 Outs: (Outs x 2) + 1 = % of hitting

12+  Outs: (Outs X 2) + 2 = % of hitting

So already we’re getting kind of complicated, and these aren’t even giving us EXACT numbers. 

However… here is why this simple little formula is SO POWERFUL:

For the most part, in REAL LIFE poker situations, the times when you want to calculate odds are in situations where you have about 3-11 outs.

Think about it… in order to have MORE than eleven outs, you’d have to have something like an open-ended straight draw AND a flush draw. And that’s a situation where you should probably be aggressively BETTING or RAISING… not doing math.

OK… so now you know how to QUICKLY and EASILY figure out the odds of making your hand. What REAL VALUE does this add to your game?

The answer is, “Not much.”

You must know how to APPLY this knowledge to bet sizes… that way you can make the right decision on whether to call, raise, or fold.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE “BETTING PERCENTAGE” 

So now we need to learn how to calculate “betting percentage”. Luckily, this is very simple.

The two numbers you need to compare are:

1. Bet size
2. Pot size

The FORMULA is this:

Bet Size / (Pot Size + Bet Size)

For example, let’s say there’s $90 in the pot and the bet is $10. The betting percentage would be $10 divided by $100 ($90 + $10)… or 10%.

If you were looking at it strictly in terms of odds, you’d say your chances were 90:10.

90:10 means you’d miss 90 times and hit 10 times. That’s a total of making it 10 times out of 100 times, which equals 10%.

Now… the FINAL part to all of this is to compare your HAND ODDS to your BETTING ODDS.

If you have a higher percentage chance of MAKING your hand than the betting percentage, you should call…

Let’s look at some examples to make sense of all this madness…

Example:

You’ve got A-2 of diamonds and the flop hits:

5d-Qd-Ks

That means there are two diamonds on the board and two in your hand… so you’ve got the nut flush draw.

You’re on the button. There’s $40 in the pot from before the flop. Don bets $20 after the flop, and three players call.

The action is on you.

So the pot size equals $120, and you need to decide whether to call or not.

If you based your decision strictly on odds, here’s how it would look:

You have nine OUTS… since there are thirteen diamonds in the deck and you already see four of them (13 minus 4 = 9).

So we plug NINE into our handy formula…

9 x 2 = 18

Add 1 = 19% chance of making the flush 

Now… if we look at the chart (we don’t need to), we see that the real percentage is 19.15%.

Presto. Works like a charm.

Now we just need to compare the bet size and pot size to find our “betting percentage”.

The bet size is $20 and there’s $120 in the pot.

So we divide $20 by $140 ($120 + $20).

We don’t even need to do the math. We just need to figure out if it’s BIGGER or SMALLER than 19% (which can be rounded to 20%).

Obviously, 20/140 is smaller than 20%.

The conclusion?

Well, that means our odds of GETTING another diamond and completing our hand are HIGHER than the betting percentage.

This means our pot odds are GOOD. We should call or raise… but not fold.

OK, now for another quick example:

Let’s say we’ve got K-J of spades and the flop hits:

Ah-10d-4c

No spades… but we have an inside straight draw. All we need is the Queen.

Let’s use the same numbers from the last example:

Pot Size = $120

Bet Size = $20

Should we fold or call?

20/140 equals 1/7. We need to figure out if our odds of hitting our inside straight are higher or lower.

Well, since the only card that can really help us is a Queen, we have FOUR outs (the four Queens).

So we double the four and add one…

(4 x 2) + 1 = 9% of getting our Queen on the turn.

The REAL percentage is 8.51%. Pretty close.

So what’s bigger… 1/7 or 9%?

The answer is 1/7.

I always just round numbers to keep it simple. In my mind, 9% is about 10%, which would be 1/10. Obviously, 1/7 is higher than 1/10.

So that means our betting percentage is higher than our hand odds… which is bad.

So we fold.

In order to call, the betting percentage would have needed to be LOWER than 9%. And as you know, that’s VERY RARE.

So… that’s it. That’s the “quick and dirty” way to calculate pot odds. Here’s the 3-step review:

1. Double your outs and add 1. This equals your approximate percentage of “hitting”.

2. Divide the bet size by the pot size added to the bet size. (Bet Size / [Pot Size + Bet Size])

3. Compare the “hand odds” to the “bet odds”. If the hand odds are higher, you should stay in the hand. If the hand odds are smaller, get out.

That’s it.

At first, some of this may seem like an awful lot of work and effort… and requires extra THINKING.

But if you’re serious about poker, you’ve got to try these types of things. What you’ll discover is that after using this stuff for a little while, it all becomes NATURAL in no time.

And soon you’ll never have to actually do ANY of this.

For example… after figuring it out a couple times, you’ll quickly learn that you should NOT chase inside straights.

It’s not worth it.

Also, you shouldn’t stay in a hand with just an Ace high hoping to hit top pair (unless it’s a heads-up match or something).

And so on.

But the BAD NEWS is that calculating odds doesn’t always give you clear-cut “answers”. Odds are just another piece of the puzzle… to be added to your poker “weapons”.

In the first example I shared with you, we were on the nut flush draw with multiple players in the hand. This is a situation where the IMPLIED ODDS are so enormous that the “real” odds don’t matter.

Because think about it: If you hit your flush, someone ELSE probably hit it too… except you’ll have the NUTS. This means you’re very likely to get someone’s ENTIRE chip stack.

Also… odds don’t tell you whether to CALL or RAISE. As you know, raising is a key part of the game, and can often buy you a “free card” while on a draw.

And in the same way, it’s not even really “possible” to calculate the exact number of OUTS or the exact POT SIZE.

For instance… if there are three opponents in a hand and two diamonds on the board, you’d better believe SOMEONE ELSE is holding two diamonds. So you don’t REALLY have nine outs… since more than four diamonds are being used.

If you aren’t last to act, the exact pot size is unknown because you DON’T KNOW what the player(s) behind you will do. They may fold, they may call, or they may RAISE.

These are the EXACT reasons why the game of Texas Holdem is so complex and unpredictable… and exciting. And it’s also why I recommend using a tool like some of the following (see links below).

Online Hold’em Odds Calculator Suggestions (External Links) 

Since it’s essential to review your past poker sessions, you can review what were the odds in a certain hand you played by setting up the same cards in one of the following odds calculators (the links are just suggestions based on author’s personal preferences):

Calculator 1

Calculator 2

Calculator 3