All about the Money - Pot Odds

Whether you’re a novice or a veteran, knowing about pot odds is necessary if you want to take your game further. Pot odds are poker theory that takes a lot of content from mathematical concepts (a lot of it is actually based on probability).

Everyone knows that, in poker, you’re betting to win the sum of money currently in the pot. It’s also common knowledge that the amount in the pot is always larger than whatever you’ll bet, so you don’t necessarily have to always win to make a profit (though that would be helpful, of course).

Pot odds are odds based on the size of the current pot as compared to the amount that you intend to bet, without regard for future bets. Using the concept of pot odds, it becomes easier to justify calls you make at certain points in the game. Using pot odds is recommended when you’re behind, and you’re thinking of betting to go after a strong hand.

Finding the Pot Odds

You could figure out pot odds by adding the pot and the bet you’re intending, and then multiplying that sum by your chance of hitting the winning combination. Thus your calculation should look something like ((your bet + current pot) * (your percentage chance of hitting) = odds).

The odds are in your favor if they’re larger than what you intend to bet. Suppose you’re betting $10 to win $50 and you’ve got a 20% chance of hitting, your equation would be ((10 + 50) * 0.2 = 60 * 0.2 = 12). Because 12 is larger than 10, it’s a justifiable bet to make.

Use with Other Poker Concepts

You could use the pot odds formula above in conjunction with the expected value formula to give an even more accurate picture of how much you stand to win or lose. For example, if you’ve got a flush draw in Hold’em, the chances of your getting the flush are 9:37 because only 9 cards will make you win with a flush (supposing the flush is the best hand possible).

That means your chances of hitting are at 9/46. Using the bet and the pot from the previous example, your expected winnings should be ($50 * 9/46 = $9.78), while your expected losses should be ($10 * 37/46 = $8.04).

Putting them together for the expected value would yield ($9.78 - $8.04 = $1.34). That tells you that, given those circumstances, you stand to make a little over a dollar for that round.