If you’re a poker player, you’ve definitely heard the term pot odds before. Pot odds are the odds you will get paid off at if you win a hand. They are an invaluable tool for poker players online trying to determine whether to make a call or figure out how much to bet to get an opponent off of a hand. Online you don’t have the same opportunity to read your opponent as you do in a live game.
If you are not familiar with pot odds you should take a minute to learn the basics. A great poker odds calculator is not hard to find online, and it will improve your game significantly.
However, pot odds do not always tell the whole story. For the whole story, you need to consider implied odds.
What Are Implied Odds?
Implied odds are pot odds like texas hold em odds that have taken potential money won on later streets into consideration. The size that the pot is on the flop is not the same as what it will be on the river.
Unless everyone folds, you can expect to make more if you hit a winning hand than is in the pot at the time you are drawing. This fact can make borderline calls into likely calls and likely calls into easy calls.
Implied Odds Situation
Let’s say you hold 8d 9d. The flop was 4c 9s 3d. An opponent bets and you call. There is $100 in the pot.
The turn is the Ad. The opponent bets $100. Both of you have $500 more in your stacks. You press the request more time button – What should you do?
One option is a semi-bluff, but you have a pretty good idea that your opponent holds an ace and will go with top pair, so you have little or no fold equity. You need to call or fold.
It’s $100 to win $200, which is 2-to-1. You will probably win with any diamond, 8 or 9. This gives you 15 total outs out of the 46 cards you haven’t seen, meaning there are 31 losses and 15 wins, which is almost exactly 2-to-1.
You’re right back where you started. Should you call or fold? This is how implied odds come to the rescue.
Using Implied Odds
Implied odds allows you to include money won on the river in your calculation. Since the flush, if it comes, will come runner runner, your opponent is unlikely to put you on it.
Similarly, 8’s and 9’s are fairly harmless-looking cards and it will be hard for your opponent not to think he has the best hand if one of these comes. You can probably expect that your opponent will lead out with at least another $100 bet on the river even if you hit. If he does not, it will be very hard for him not to call a $100 bet into a $300 pot with top pair of aces on a non-threatening board.
Therefore, you can expect to win at least $300 on the hand, if not more. Suddenly your odds with implied odds have grown to 3-to-1 and you have an easy call.
If you find the implied odds theory hard to apply to your game, you can always download free online poker software that will help you getting started.
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