When you are trying to learn poker, one of the toughest decisions a new player can make is to go all-in or just call when facing a bet. Online poker can be tough, but if you learn how to use odds to your advantage, making a decision whether to push or call will be easy.
If you want to play poker, you have to know how much your cards are worth relative to the pot you will win. One strategy to use in poker tournaments is called pot odds.
Pot odds are the ratio of the size of the pot compared to the cost of the call. This number compared with the probability of winning a hand, can give you a good indication of how much you should call, or if you should push.
To figure pot odds, compare the size of the pot to your call. For example, if the pot is $100 and you bet $10, your pot odds would be 10 to 1, or 10:1.
To use pot odds to play poker, you must compare your pot odds to the probability of your cards winning to determine the best move. If your probability of winning a hand is higher than your pot odds, then, over time, you would expect to win a bigger portion of the pot
For instance, if you have a flush possibility on the river, and need a spade to win with an ace high flush, the probability of you winning the hand would be roughly 4 to 1, or 4:1 (25 percent).
If the pot odds are 10:1 (10 percent), then you have a pretty good reason to call – one out of four times you will win $90 dollars on a $10 bet. Even if you lose three times with the same hand and hit the fourth time, you will come out ahead $60.
When playing online poker, use this tool to help decide whether to call or push. If your pot odds are high, but you have a decent probability of winning, calling would probably be a better choice as you stand to lose less money in the long run. If you have low pot odds and a great probability of winning, pushing in could pay off big.
There are a ton of websites that offer free poker, so get online and practice using pot odds until you understand it.
