Poker Tip - Knowing the Pot Odds

You hear the term “pot odds” all the time if you watch poker on television. What exactly are pot odds and do you need to know them? Pot Odds are the ratio of what is already in the pot to the amount of money you have to bet to stay in the hand. For example, if there is $100 in the pot and you need to bet $20 to stay in the hand, the pot odds are 100-20 or 5-1.

Let’s say that the hand you are holding is not the best hand at the table, but it could be with a little bit of help. You might be working on a flush draw and need one more card to complete a winning hand.

The odds of completing this flush are about 5-1 so that means for you to make a bet there should be at least five times the bet amount in the pot. If you need $10 to call, there had better be at least $50 in the pot to make it worth it for you to call.

You actually would want more than $50 in the pot because you want better than those 5-1 odds.

Knowing the pot odds in online poker helps you make more intelligent decisions. That doesn’t guarantee you will win each hand, but it does mean you are playing smart, intelligent poker and that means a lot in the long term.

Let’s look at another pot odds example. Going back to that earlier example, let’s say there was $150 in the pot. You would now call the $10 bet; in fact you would call even more than $10 because the odds of you making your hand are 5-1.

Anything less than $30 in that case would be a good move for you to call. Most of the time you won’t hit the flush but you are playing pot odds.

If you know the pot odds in poker you at least give yourself some facts to go on. Poker is a game of math, people, instincts, feel, etc. The pot odds in poker will definitely help you when it comes to understanding the math part of the game. Experience will help you learn other areas like reading people, understanding bets, etc.

Everything that helps you is a huge plus when playing poker. Learn the pot odds and they will help your game whether you are playing at a land based casino or if you are playing at one of the many online poker sites.