Need recommendations on learing how to calculate odds...

[CWGriswold]

I am having trouble learning how to quickly calculate pot & hand odds. There seems to be a fair amount of calculator software out there. Can anyone recommend a good program or suggest any other way I can master this? Thanks.

[slickterp]

practice, practice, practice.

[Macedon]

There is an excellent texas hold em calculator on cardplayer.com. Plug in some hands and give it a try.

As for hand odds, you'll get a lot of recommendations on this sight about counting your outs and figuring your odds. Much of the information is confusing and difficult to remember when you are sitting at a table. For me personally, I use a handy formula for figuring if I have the right odds to call with certain draws.
Here it is:

When you are on a flush draw (4 to a flush on the flop) and you intend to see the hand to the river----going all-in, or calling your opponent's all-in bet---you multiply the bet in front of you by 3. You then check to see if the pot is offering you the same or more than the sum of your multiplication. If the pot is offering MORE than your sum, you CALL. If not, FOLD.

If you have not landed your flush and you have one card left to see (5th street), multiply the bet in front of you by 5.

So, if someone bets $4 and you have landed a flush-draw on the flop, multiply 4X3. If the pot is offering $12 or more, CALL!
If your opponent has bet $6 on 4th street and you are still waiting to land your flush, multiply $6 by 5. If the pot doesn't offer you $30, FOLD.

For a Str8t draw you must multiply the bet in front of you by 4 on the flop and 6 afterwards.

For a gut-shot Str8t, multiply by 6 and 11.

Now these numbers do not reflect implied odds and the like. They are all about Pot Equity and the percent chance to hit your hand. You can lower the number against weak opponents, but you must be strict with tight-aggressive opponents.

Just as a recap...
Flush Draw: 3/5
Str8t Draw: 4/6
Gut-sht Dr: 6/11

If you have any questions, ask away.....

[snowlarbear]

might i ask how you came about these formulas? just looking at general pot odd scenarios?

[Macedon]

Lots of books and articles.
And knowing the percent chance for every draw. That helps you figure out how much of the pot is yours---Pot Equity is the term.

Once you know what your chances are, you can figure out how much of a $ amount to call.

[slickterp]

i wouldn't use those formulas. for a $6 bet and a $30 pot that gives you 5-1 odds. since a flush draw is a 4.2-1 shot, you have odds, call. if the pot is $12 and the bet is $4, that's 3-1. flush draw 4.2-1, odds no good, fold. both scenarios your formulas are wrong.

[slickterp]

also:

flush ~4-1
open ended str8 ~5-1
gut shot ~11-1

[Dave H.]

I don't have SSH in front of me, but there is a page which discusses how to calculate odds and it's served me very well with a little practice.

Divide the number of cards unseen by the number of outs you have to make your hand. Subtract 1. There must be at least that many bets in the pot for a call.

Example: you have 2 hearts. Two more hearts fall on the flop. There are now 47 unseen cards. You have 9 outs to make your flush.

Divide 47 by 9 = 5.2
Subtract 1 = 4.2
There must be at least 4.2 bets in the pot for a single bet favorable call.

As others have said, you can memorize the "standard odds", but this method is a very easy one for me to use and it is accurate. In the example I used above, when I divided 47 by 9 and subtracted 1, I would have just said to myself: I need more than 4 bets in the pot. In other words, I wouldn't have worried about getting EXACTLY 5.2 when I divided 47 by 9.

Hope this helps.

[OrianasDaad]

I use a pocket calculator on my desk.

(Unseen - Outs)/Outs = odds to make your hand.
(Unseen/Outs) - 1 = odds to make your hand.

When deciding to call:
if ((Unseen-Outs)/Outs) * Bet > Pot size then I have odds to call.

Just follow the progression on the calculator, I only include the parantheses for correctness.

If you have 8 outs (on the flop), are playing .25/.50, and it's .25 to you, then the pot needs to have at least $1.22 in it to call.

((47-8)/8) * .25 = 1.219

[MycroftX]

Good article on cardplayer that might help you Griswold

pot odds made easy

eum, not to put him/her down, but don't use Macedon's formula's...I dont know where those came from.