How Do You Calculate Poker Odds

How Do You Calculate Poker Odds Rating: 4,1/5 121 votes

This pot odds poker quiz will help determine how strong you are at one of the more important concepts in Hold’em. Beginning players are often confused by pot odds or scared of them, but if you want to be consistent winning poker players you have to learn how to use them. Poker Percentage Odds Chart. Odds Charts: Ratio Chart: Percentage Chart: Conversion Chart. This percentage poker odds chart highlights the percentage chance of completing your draw based on the number of outs you have at different points in a hand. The odds of completing your draw have been rounded to 1 decimal place in this percentage chart.

Using mathematics and probability inpoker is one of the most useful (yet underused!) skills for earning profit over the long run.

We’ve put together a list of top poker tips used by the pros to help you play your best in every hand. Adding these invaluable skills to your arsenal will help to support the decision-making process.

  • Pot odds in poker simply means the “price” that it costs you to continue with your hand. For example, if you’re in a hand where the pot is $100 and your opponent bets $50, you’re getting 3 to 1 pot odds to call. The pot is $150 (the $100 that’s already there plus the $50 bet) and it costs $50 to continue. Divide the $150 by $50 to get 3.
  • There are 2,598,960 many possible 5-card Poker hands. Thus the probability of obtaining any one specific hand is 1 in 2,598,960 (roughly 1 in 2.6 million). The probability of obtaining a given type of hands (e.g. Three of a kind) is the number of possible hands for that type over 2,598,960. Thus this is primarily a counting exercise.
  • We always put our opponent on a range of poker hands, and with our Texas Holdem Odds Calculator, we can calculate the odds of us winning against that entire range. Once calculated, you can copy/paste the results and share on social media or post in a poker forum.

For instance, adding certain calculations to your game will enable you to determine whether making a call, raise or fold in any given situation is the most profitable play in the long run (also referred to as +EV). While there are a few different calculations which can help you to elevate your game, one of the most fundamental is factoring in pot odds.

Take a look at the list of premier poker skills to master, below. We’ll explain exactly what pot odds are, how they work, and how to best incorporate them into your game.

What are poker pot odds?

Pot odds are the immediate odds you are being offered when you call a bet in poker. This is often called the “reward-to-risk” ratio and it calculates how much you stand to win immediately in relation to what you have to risk by calling a bet.

In the case of pot odds, the math is telling the player whether a call, raise or fold is a mathematically sound play, given the risk-to-reward ratio.

Take, for example, a hand in which you have contributed a huge proportion of your stack pre-flop and you are now heads-up. You have a made hand and are convinced that your opponent hasn’t connected. Now, if your opponent was to put in a bet on the river which was a mere fraction of the overall pot, you would call, right? Of course. This is because the “risk-to-reward” ratio is telling you that it makes sense to contribute just a few more chips for the chance to win the whole pot. Let’s dig a little deeper and find out exactly what this calculation looks like.

How to calculate pot odds?

Pot odds = [pot size]:[amount to call] where pot size includes any and all bets on the current street (pre-flop, flop, turn or river) as well as the amount in the middle. The final sum is expressed as a ratio.

Pot odds example

The pot is £400 and there is a £200 bet in front of you. You would follow the steps below to determine your pot odds:

Pot odds = [pot size]:[amount to call]

= [£400 + £200]:[£200]

= £600:£200 = 3:1

Pot odds = 3:1

What do pot odds really mean?

So what do 3:1 pot odds really mean? Well, in a nutshell, it means that you are required to put 25% more money into the pot if you decide to call. This is because the final pot size would be £800 and our call is £200 (800/200 is 25%).

We use pot odds to ensure we only call bets when we are getting good pot odds. While it’s best to use pot odds in conjunction with implied odds (we’ll cover this another day), equity and position, you can still use this calculation to see whether a call is preferable or not. As a rule of thumb, the bigger your pot odds, the better price you have for calling. In the above example, for example, it would be far more attractive to call a bet that gives you odds of 4/1 or 5/1.

Scenario

Let’s do a simple pot odds exercise to help you learn how to quickly determine pot odds ratios and percentages.

Question

Villain bets £50 into a £50 pot and it is your turn to act. What are your pot odds ratio and percentage?

Answer

If you said 2:1 or 33% give yourself a big pat on the back. Here’s how it is calculated:

Pot odds calculation

Pot odds = [pot size]:[amount to call]

Pot size = £50 pot + £50 bet = £100]

= £100:£50 = 2:1

2:1 pot odds ratio

Pot odds % calculation

How Do You Calculate Poker Odds

Pot odds – call size/pot size

Pot size = £50 + £50 + £50 call = £150

= £50 / £150 = 1/3 = 33%

33% pot odds

How to calculate hand percentages

Unlike pot odds, it can be extremely difficult to calculate hand percentages during a fast-moving game. This is often frustrating for poker players when they’re trying to make a quick decision or wondering what went wrong.

How do you calculate pot odds in poker

Enter, the Grosvenor Casinos Poker Odds Calculator. Using the “Monte Carlo” algorithm, this awesome tool estimates the percentage of making a hand by simulating what could happen in any given scenario. The calculator then runs all the possible outcomes based on what each player has at the time. If you’ve not given it a go, try it out! It could give you just the edge you need, especially with out annual Goliath tournament never being far away.

With all that math and problem solving considered, whether you enjoy playing for fun or to improve your game, Poker is a proven positive exercise for the mind. You won’t believe some of the cognitive benefits of Poker.

And if you’re looking to up your game or are new to Poker, you should definitely check out these top Poker tips delivered by real pro players.

With all this new information, tactics and pro-player tips at your disposal, why not join us for the ultimate test of skill and a straight face at the prestigious GUKPT? Or, if you’re feeling brave, take on Goliath – the UK’s biggest ever live poker tournament.

In the meantime, we’ve got plenty of fantastic live poker games online for you to hit the felt and hone your card skills.

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How Do You Calculate Poker Odds

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Odds Charts:Ratio Chart : Percentage Chart : Conversion Chart

This percentage poker odds chart highlights the percentage chance of completing your draw based on the number of outs you have at different points in a hand. The odds of completing your draw have been rounded to 1 decimal place in this percentage chart.

Look below the table for more information on how to use the percentage odds chart.

Percentage odds chart.

Outs1 Card To Come (flop)1 Card To Come (turn)2 Cards To Come (flop)
12.1%2.2%4.3%
24.3%4.3%8.4%
36.4%6.5%12.5%
4 (gutshot)8.5%8.7%16.5%
510.6%10.9%20.4%
612.8%13.0%24.1%
714.9%15.2%27.8%
8 (straight)17.0%17.4%31.5%
9 (flush)19.1%19.6%35.0%
1021.3%21.7%38.4%
1123.4%23.9%41.7%
1225.5%26.1%45.0%
1327.7%28.3%48.1%
1429.8%30.4%51.2%
15 (s + f)31.9%32.6%54.1%
1634.0%34.8%57.0%
1736.2%37.0%59.8%
1838.3%39.1%62.4%
1940.4%41.3%65.0%
2042.6%43.5%67.5%
2144.7%45.7%69.9%
2246.8%47.8%72.2%

Percentage table key.

  • Gutshot - A straight draw with only one card able to complete it. e.g. 6-8 on a 5-9-Q board (only a 7 completes).
  • Straight - A standard open-ended straight draw with more outs. e.g. 6-8 on a 5-7-Q board (4 and 9 complete).
  • Flush - A hand where another card of the same suit is needed to complete the draw.
  • s + f - Both an open ended straight draw and flush combined. e.g. 6 8 on a 5 7 Q board.

How to use the percentage odds chart.

  1. Work out the number of outs you have (use the colours to help guide you).
  2. Look up the percentage odds of completing your draw depending on whether you are on the flop or turn.
Poker

That's simple enough, but why are there 2 columns for percentage odds on the flop? The first 2 columns with 1 card to come are the odds that you should be using most frequently. These are the standard odds that assume we could potentially face another bet on the next betting round.

The last 2 cards to come column is for when you or your opponent are being placed all in on the flop. Therefore, because you do not expect to have to call another bet or raise on future betting rounds, you can now use these improved odds for seeing 2 cards instead of 1.

If you can't remember or figure out the percentage odds of completing your draw in the middle of hand, try using the rule of 4 and 2 as a rough guide. It's a great little shortcut for percentage odds.

How to turn a percentage in to a ratio.

Divide 100 by the percentage. Then take 1 away from that number and you will have x to 1.

So for example, if you have a flush draw on the turn, the percentage chance of completing your draw is 19.6% (let's call it 20%).

How To Calculate Poker Odds Quickly

  • 100 / 20 = 5.
  • 5 - 1 = 4.
  • So the ratio is 4 to 1.

It is a good idea to round the percentages to a number that you can easily divide in to 100 to help keep the working out as simple as possible.

Quick percentage odds chart example.

If you have 12 outs to make the winning hand on the flop, you should only call a bet that is equal to 25.5% of the total pot, which is roughly 25%.

So for example, lets say that our opponent has bet $50 in to a $100 pot making it $150. Because we are using the percentage method, we have to add our own potential call of $50 to create a total pot size of $200 - don't forget this! Therefore, based on this final pot size of $200 we can call up to 25% of this amount, which turns out to be $50 anyway. It's a bit tricky, but just as long as you add your own potential call to create the final pot size you will be fine.

How Do You Calculate Poker Odds Ratio

For more information on working out percentage odds with drawing hands, see the pot odds article.

How Do You Calculate Poker Odds Against

Go back to the poker odds charts.

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How Do You Work Out Poker Odds

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