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Calculating Pot Odds
If you are on the road
of developing - and even nurturing - your poker strategy, you have
surely come across the notion of knowing when to stay in a game of
poker and knowing when to fold. One of the major
considerations a poker player should address at all times is the
risk of staying the game versus the return of the pot. This is
commonly called pot odds, which combined with your present hand, can
be the main determinant of whether you fold your hand or keep on
playing through the betting round.
The rule to remember is
that you should call if your pot odds are greater than the odds of
getting a card that will make your hand a winner. If it's just
the opposite, you should fold.
Although it gets much
more complex than this, the above should serve as a general rule for
all hands. To calculate hand and pot odds is not as difficult
as it needs to be. Let's say the cost to call is $4, while the
pot is holding $12. Pot odds are a calculation of the cost to
call to the total amount of the pot. This surmounts to $4/$12
+ $4 (your call) = .25 = 25%. Therefore, in order to make the
call, your hand should have better than a 25% chance of winning.
Anything less is not worth the call.
Calculation your hand
odds is a little more tricky and takes a good grasp of strategy and
a sound understanding of card odds. Card odds are calculated
by dividing the amount of possible cards that will make your hand a
winning rank by the amount of cards left in the deck.
Turn this figure into a percentage and you have your hands winning
odds. If its beats the pot odds, by all means make the call.
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