Calculating Pot Odds...

I'm a pretty new 'live' player and am taking a trip down to lake charles this weekend with a friend to enjoy some low-limit hold em.


One of the things I'd like to concentrate more on is calculating pot-odds better. I ususally have a rough guesstimate of how many bets are in the pot, but often times I'm overly concerned with attempting to read the others players hands and getting a bead on how they are playing those hands. In some cases, especially lower limit games, I think the latter is equally as important as pot-odds - in many cases that is.


At any rate, when I'm in a hand I find myself a little bit overwhelmed at times (especially the hands where I'm really having to think hard about what's going on) with determining the state of my hand - reading other hands that are in the pot and calculating pot odds to determine whether or not it's worth it for me to continue playing the hand.


If anyone has any methods to their madness I would appreciate hearing about it. I'm sure there has to be some "on-the-fly" calculations that one can make that may not give them the exact odds but make it close enough that it warrants a bet or forces you to muck.


Thanks a ton in advance!

In some cases, especially lower limit games, I think the latter is equally as important as pot-odds - in many cases that is.


Reading hands is definitely more important than precise calculation of pot odds. If you can make a reasonable estimate of the pot size and continue reading hands, you're using a strong approach.


If necessary, just take a few seconds when the action gets to you on a tough decision and count the pot- quickly.

Counting bets is MUCH better than counting $ since its easier to add "one" to "6" than say "$5" to "$30", AND you don't have to divide the $pot size by the $bet size to determine your pot odds.


Also, ... how do I say this ..., you only need to know "exactly" how many bets are in the pot if you know "exactly" how likely you are to win the showdown. Since only in the most pristine cases do you know your actual win chances (you have a nut flush draw against a made straight and you can see his cards) it doesn't do you much good to know "exactly" how many bets are in the pot: Do you REALLY know your chances of winning when you have 2nd pair on the turn? I sure don't. There is little real difference between "7 bets" and "8.5 bets" when your chances of winning are somewhere between 6 and 10 to one.


Compare your "pot odds" with your chances of "winning", and don't confuse your chances of "winning" with your chances of "improving".


- Louie

Counting bets is much better, as pot odds (and implied odds) are used to decide whether or not to bet. For example, you have A9s and 2 of your suit on the board by the turn. Your odds of getting your nut flush at the river are just under 1 in 4, so you'd want to be paid at least 4x whatever you're gonna toss in the pot.


Easy: if it's gonna cost you 1 big bet to see the river and there will be 5 big bets in there at the river ... then you're essentially even money (discounting the fact that you might win otherwise, say with your ace, or that the other guy might beat your nut flush with a boat). Any more than that in the pot and it's a clear case to stay in and chase.


Counting dollars makes no sense to me, as you have to convert bets to dollars both ways. For example, say you want to know what's in there: you count the bets that went in and multiply out. Later on, you need to decide how to handle a decision that will cost you 2 big bets. Okay, then you take the dollar total in the pot and divide by bets to see how your 2BB proposition stacks up. Lotta work IMHO.


This is something I'm currently trying to improve (counting bets in the pot) and I just had a cool idea borrowed from counting cards at blackjack: using your chips to count the pot! For every bet that goes in the pot, use one of your chips qand start a little stack in front of yourself. Small bet = 1, big bet = 2. Remember to pull out a chip or two to cover the rake, and when you have a tough decision simply look at the stack in front of you.


Man, I feel like a genius all the sudden, but I have yet to try this in real life. I'll do it tonight.

Let me know if anyone jumps all over you for collusion signaling...

Didn't think of that, good point.


Me: "No, really - I was just counting the pot!" Gorilla: "Tell it to the baseball bat."