Expert Plays for No Limit Tournaments
Poker Odds Made Simple -
No You Don't Need to Be a Math Professor
What Are Odds? Why Are Odds Important?
1. Pot odds: The pot odds are the ratio of the size of the pot to the size of the bet. For example, if the pot has $800 in it, and your opponent bets $400, the pot is $1,200. For you to call that bet, you have to put in $400.
Therefore, the ratio of the size of the pot is $1,200, to the size of the bet or $400. $1,200 to $400 is 3-1.
2. Why are Pot odds important: The pot odds are important since you want to make bets where the pot odds you are getting are better than the odds of you making your desired hand.
In the above example, if you flopped a straight draw your odds are about 2.2-1 to make your desired hand by the river. Therefore, assuming you are going to the river, you are getting favorable pot odds and should call the bet.
3. Implied odds: Implied odds are based on how much you expect the pot
to be at the end of the hand. It is often calculated where you plan to fold if you miss on the next street, but you will continue to play if you make your desired hand.
The implied odds are important since there are times where the pot odds are not good enough to call a bet, but the implied odds change a fold to a call.
Using the above example, if your opponent had bet $1,000 into the $800 pot, your pot odds are $1,800 to $1,000 or 1.8 to 1. These odds are not favorable for a straight draw. However, if you and your opponent have deep stacks, and your straight is not obvious when you hit, you may be getting favorable implied odds to make the call.
That is, if you hit your straight on the turn, you might estimate that your $1,000 bet will end up in your winning a pot of $5,000 or more. That would mean you believe you are getting implied odds of 5 to 1.
What Is Poker Domination?
No, It's Not Some Kinky Poker Game
Players like to have a hand they say "dominates" their opponent. What
exactly does this mean?
A dominated hand scenario is when you and your opponent hold the same
highest-ranking card, but you have the better kicker. A common example
in a no limit tournament is when one opponent moves all-in pre-flop and you call his all-in bet holding Ace-King. Your opponent reveals his hand is Ace-Queen. You are said to "dominate" his hand..
In general, in these types of heads-up "domination" scenarios, the player with the higher ranking kicker is better than a 2-1 favorite. In the example above, your Ace-King hand is about a 74%/26% favorite against the Ace-Queen.
However, the word domination is a poor choice. Domination means you have control or power over someone. You don't have anything of the sort. You are going to lose almost one in every three heads-up battles when you "dominate" your opponent. In the above example, it's every one in four hands.
And, often times, it will be at the worst possible time when your opponent beats the odds as he either knock you out of the tournament or severely hurts your chip stack.
So next time someone says your hand dominates, feel good about being
in the lead pre-flop. But domination isn't all that dominate in poker. There are five community cards to be dealt, and while being a 2-1 favorite or better pre-flop and all-in is a great scenario, the fact is that you do not control anyone.
You are simply the clear favorite. The poker gods are the ones in control.
About the Author
Mitchell is a successful
poker author,
coach, & player.
He is a strategist
to business including
Procter & Gamble
and Hewlett-Packard.
PokerStars Intellipoker selected his first book
for international distribution to educate players worldwide.
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