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Poker Pot Odds
Poker Pot Odds are defined as the ratio of the current amount of the pot divided by the amount of the next potential bet the player may be making.
Poker Pot Odds is one of the most important concepts of poker strategy.
The correct strategy of the poker game is influenced by the pot odds facing the player at any point and for every potential action of the game (call, raise, fold).
The higher the pot odds when faced with a call the more likely it is that calling would be the correct play, while folding would more likely be the right move while facing a call in case of lower pot odds.
Players frequently develop a sense of judgment regarding the size of the pot compared to their potential bets and make adjustments accordingly to the various situations they are faced with, but in some cases it is important to know the exact count of the odds before making a decision.
So let's talk about those odds that may help you improve your poker strategy and the chances of winning.
Calculating Poker Pot Odds
If for example, the pot value is at $200 and you are faced with $20 raise by your lone opponent and therefore you must pay $20 to call the raise for a chance to win $220 which is the original value of the pot plus the $20 bet of your opponent, then you are getting pot odds of 11 to 1.
If your chances of improving to a winning hand are 11-1 or better, then you should call. But in the case that your chances are less than 11-1 then you should fold.
You need to compare your exact pot odds with the odds of completing your hand when your opponent makes a bet during the next to last betting round of the game, and you are then faced with the decision on whether to call with your drawing hand.
You can conclude the chance of improving your hand by comparing the number of unseen cards still remaining in a deck of 52 cards with the number of cards that will complete your hand.
Let's assume that you are playing a game of Texas Hold'em and on the turn you have A-7.
The community cards are: 9-8-5-2 and you are certain that your opponent is holding A-9.
Your only chance of winning the pot in this case would be if a 6 was drawn, completing an inside Straight draw. You calculate your chance of winning as follows. Out of the 46 unseen cards, (52 cards in the deck - 2 cards in your hand and - 4 cards on the table=46 cards) only four will complete your Straight (any 6). In this case, the odds against you making this Straight are 42 to 4 or 10.5 to 1. Going back to the example from the previous paragraph, in this case you should call with as little as an inside Straight draw.
The concept of pot odds in poker can also be applied when there are no cards left to come.
Assuming that on the river you have Top Pair and a weak kicker. The pot is now worth $80 and the only remaining opponent bets $20, bringing the total worth of the pot to $100. In this case you must call $20 to win $100. You are being offered odds of 5-1. You should call if you figure to win the pot one time out of six, which is winning one round for every five rounds that you loose, therefore giving you the odds of 5-1. If you win one out of six rounds then you will loose $ 20 for each round, which is $100 in total. The sixth time you will win $100. This way after six hands you will break even.
Deciding whether to bluff on the final round of poker is also a situation you may be facing. What are your chances of winning with a Top Pair and a weak kicker against certain opponents? Knowing your opponent is an important factor in the game of poker. The game theory shows that one should bluff a percentage of the time equal to your opponent's pot odds to call the bluff.
You would bluff less often in a game with a larger pot.
In a pot-limit game for example, if the amount of the pot is $30 and you are considering $30 bet, giving your opponent 2 to 1 poker pot odds for his call, you should bluff half as often as you would bet for value.
If you are looking to further improve your poker skills, we would recommend visiting our poker strategy section. Thanks for reading and good luck!
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