I’m a successful poker player but I am absolutely
terrible at math. I don’t care for it and I avoid the
subject if it’s at all possible. So of course when I
decided to read up on poker strategy, I was bombarded by math
from all sides. I read about a hundred ways to count your outs
and figure your pot odds but they all seemed so complicated!
Eventually I found an easy way to count my odds while playing games at the best online poker sites so I’d like to pass that on to you today. It’s not a big secret or anything and I’d even go so far as to guess this is how most winning poker players figure their odds while seated at the table.
First of all, you have to understand how pot odds and drawing odds work together.
What Are Pot Odds In Online Poker?
Pot odds are pretty simple. All they are is a ratio that compares the size of a bet that you must call to the size of the pot. I’ll explain why this is useful in a minute. For now, let’s review a couple examples to demonstrate this concept.
If someone bets $50 into a $100 pot, you would have to call a $50 bet to have a chance at what is now a $150 pot. The pot odds are 150:50 which reduces down to 3:1.
If someone bets $100 into a $100 pot, the pot odds would be 2:1. This time the total pot size is $200 and the bet is $100, which would be 200:100. This reduces down and you get 2:1 pot odds.
Now keep that knowledge in your mind but set it aside for now. We’ll get back to it in a minute. Now that you understand your pot odds while playing online poker games for real money, the next thing to do is know your drawing odds. Some people say you need to count your outs right there at the table but I prefer to do it the easy way.
What Are Drawing Odds In Poker Games?
Instead of using a cumbersome equation to count your drawing odds, all you need to do is memorize a few of the most important draws. If you can memorize the odds of straights and flushes, that will get you off to a great start. After that you can add the odds of other draws such as turning two pairs into full houses and improving from sets to full houses.
All you have to do is compare your pot odds to your drawing odds and you’ll know whether or not it’s profitable to chase your draw. If the pot odds are bigger than your drawing odds, you can call. If the pot odds are not as big as the drawing odds, you should fold your hand.
If you refer to the chart at the bottom of this page, you’ll see that the odds of a flush draw completing are about 4:1 against with one card to come. Now let’s use an example with the flush draw to put it all together.
In this example, let’s say you’re sitting in a $100 pot with a flush draw against one opponent. Your opponent bets $50, which would give you 3:1 pot odds. In this case, you cannot call the bet and expect to profit over the long run because your drawing odds are 4:1 but your pot odds are only 3:1.
That’s all there is to it! Remember: compare your pot odds to your drawing odds and then call if your pot odds are greater than your drawing odds. It takes a while to explain it all but as you can see, it’s actually pretty simple.
Common Draws In Real Money Poker Games
- Draw 2 Cards to Come 1 Card to Come
- Flush 2:1 4:1
- Open Ended Straight 2:1 5:1
- Gutshot Straight 5:1 10.5:1
Note – If you’re a no limit player, I recommend that you always go by the odds of one card to come, even when you’re still on the flop. This will keep you from spending too much money on your draws because you never know how much your opponent will charge you on the next street. The only time you should use the odds for two cards to come is when your opponent is already all-in on the flop.