Pot Odds and Implied Odds

Poker players use pot odds in order to make important, calculated decisions at the poker table. In general terms, pot odds are the ratio of the size of the pot to the amount of the call to be made. The classic example is: the pot contains $100 and you must call $10 to stay in the hand. The pot odds in this case are 100:10, or rather, 10:1 (10-to-1).

Pot odds are used to compare against the probability of making your hand in order to justify your action. For example, if the odds of you making the winning hand on the next card should you make the call are better than the odds the pot is giving you, the call is justified.

An Example of Pot Odds

With one card to come in Texas Hold’em you have AcKc on a 10c4h2c7s board. The pot has $100 in it and you need to call $20 to see the river. The pot odds in this example are 100:20 or 10:2 or 5:1. The chance of making your flush (card odds) on the next card is roughly 4:1 (9 cards remain of the 46 unseen cards to make your flush; 46:9 or 4.11:1). In this example the pot odds of 5:1 is bigger than the card odds of 4:1 making it a profitable call in the long run.

Implied Odds

The main difference between Pot Odds and Implied Pot Odds (or just Implied Odds) is that you take future bets into account. In the previous example if the pot was $100 but you now had to call $30, the Pot Odds would be 100:30 or 10:3 or roughly 3:1. It is still 4:1 to make your hand but now the pot odds are smaller than your card odds and would be unprofitable in the long run. If you think you can get more money (more than$10) out of your opponent if you hit your flush, then it can be a profitable call.

Related posts:

1. Calculating Pot Odds Quickly and Accurately
2. Value betting the river