[hoenir]

Anonymous -

First, I would suggest that you read HPFAP, or if you're just starting out, Hold 'em Poker by DS. Answers about preflop play can be found there. However, I do have some observations:

1) Your 76s has more value than just straights or flushes. You can also flop trips or two pair, which may win the pot. So even if it is 5-1 to make a straight or flush, you may not need odds that good. Of course, don't get carried away - you have small cards, and if you find yourself in a flush-over-flush situation, you are going to lose. You will have to learn to recognize those because, while they are rare, they can be costly if you don't figure out what's going on.

2) Don't just consider immediate odds. You also need to consider future bets, both those that you will pay, and those that you will receive. You can play a small pair, for instance, getting less than what the probability of flopping a set would indicate.

3) Getting 5-1 in a multiway, unraised pot is a lot different from getting 10-2 in a multiway raised pot. In the former case, you may be able to draw a turn or river card for free; in the latter, you may have to pay two or more bets on some streets if you flop a draw but not a complete hand.

4) Your question about the odds you need to start playing offsuit gap hands is not the question you should be asking. You may think, "Gee, k9o isn't a great hand; i wonder what kind of big pot I need to play it profitably." The answer is, paradoxically, either very big or very small, and the reason is that hands like k9o play poorly in multiway pots. So you can play hands like that to steal, or maybe if absolutely everyone has come in. But in general if the pot is, say 5 or 6 way, and you flop anything but a monster you are probably not going to like what happens.

In summary, I would say that we can probably answer the exact questions you ask, but the answers probably won't make you a better poker player.

Oh, wait: if there are 5 limpers, or even 4 or 3, play that 76s.

Good Luck

Hoenir