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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