This is a quickie but a goodie.  I realised one thing we didn’t cover when we took a look at calculating poker pot odds and our discussion of implied odds earlier was simply what percentage we had of making our hand depending on the number of outs in the deck.  Remember that ‘out’s are cards in a deck that make our hand.  For example, if we are on a heart flush draw with two hearts on the flop, we typically have 9 outs (nine heart cards still left in the deck that make our five heart flush). 

Now, we did take a look at one easy way to calculate our pot odds, but if you kick ass at counting how many outs you have, it also pays to commit to memory the percentage likelihood of hitting our hand depending on our number of outs. 

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So we’re sitting at a table during the late stages of a multi-table tournament, are getting slammed by blinds the size of Seattle, and look down at our hole cards to see two beautiful queens.  We happily raise the blinds, and are distraught as the cut-off re-raises all in for his (and if we call…our) entire stack.  When considering whether our opponent has us beat, it’s also worthwhile knowing just how badly we’re in shape if we call in this spot and the villain tables an overpair.  To do this, it helps enormously to be aware of the poker hand percentages involved in hand situations which regularly arise in poker.  For example, just what are the odds of winning when facing off with queens vs aces?  Let’s take a look at some of the common examples.

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Now that we understand what is meant by pot odds, we can now start to factor in the concept of poker implied odds to our decision making. It adds another important and dynamic layer into our poker playing strategy. Implied odds can literally make the difference between a call and a fold. 

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Probability and odds are huge factors in Texas hold ‘em. They are an integral part of determining how we will act at any given stage in any particular hand. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probability of hitting an over card, the percentage of times we’re going to flop a set to match our pocket pair…these are all typical situations we’re bound to face at the felt.   How we react to them demands an understanding of how to calculate poker odds.

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People consistently get stuck on the concept of understanding pot odds. Irrespective of whether we ‘play the player or the cards’ there invariably come times in poker where we get put to a tough decision, and will be forced to consider pot odds when making our call…or fold, as the case may be. So how can we go about calculating pot odds and using those odds to make the right decision… without getting too caught up in poker mathematics?

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