Explaining Pot Odds

Actual Odds and Gambling

In their simplest form, odds are estimations of how likely an event is to occur. As any true gambler or handicapper will tell you, the trick to being successful is not what you bet, but the value that you get betting it. Professional gamblers search out occasions where they can potentially get back more value from their bet than they are risking.

For example: A coin flip; there are two possible outcomes. The coin can land on heads or tails and there is a 50% chance of either coming up. This never changes. No matter how many times heads has come up in a row, the next flip you still have a 50% chance of seeing tails.

Therefore, your actual odds are 1 to 1, for every $1 you bet you will win $1.

Now if someone said, “I’ll flip this quarter and give you $2 for every $1” that would mean the odds are in your favor. You are getting paid more if you win than the actual odds of winning. That doesn’t mean you will win this flip, but in the long run the odds are in your favor. This is exactly how casinos make their money. They have an overall advantage and will ultimately win more than they lose (a lot more).

What are Pot Odds?

Pot odds:
The odds you receive when factoring the amount in the pot (the pay off) vs. the amount of your next call or bet (the risk). There is $100 in the pot already. You have four cards to a flush. If you hit the flush, you win. Someone bets $5 - should you call? Yes, you have pot odds.

As you can see, odds play a tremendous roll in poker. If you see a sharp player making a call you think he shouldn’t have made, chances are he had pot odds. Read on to learn a few simple tricks that will have you calculating pot odds for yourself in no time.

The simplest way to calculate your pot odds is to already have a working knowledge of your overall odds. You can either take the time to do the math or check our Poker Outs and Calculating Odds section for some basic numbers. Once you’ve figured out your odds of making a hand you can move onto the pot odds to determine your next move.

Simple example:
You have a pair of 5’s. There has been a raise and a few calls, now it’s your turn. You don’t think your 5’s will win outright but you think a set of 5’s would. You know that your chance of hitting a 3 rd 5 on the flop is about 8 to 1. So there would have to be more than 8 bets already in the pot for you to call. Count the bets and raises, if the number is over eight you have pot odds and may want to call.

By learning the basics and continuing to develop your game you will greatly increase your overall profit. The key is not to overwhelm yourself and apply the principles you learn over time. Developing a well-rounded poker game takes time and patience but in the end the rewards well outweigh the risk.