By: John Olsson
Learning how to calculate poker odds is a basic requirement of online poker. If you have the ability to calculate the odds, it gives you great information if you are in a good or bad situation. This means that you will be able to make more money from your play, which is the major reason for all poker players. Maybe you have tried doing calculation by yourself and finding that it is not that simple as it is told in the books. Why isn't it easy, in poker books it seemed very simple. The answer is - when you read poker books you can sit back and relax, read over and over again and reflect over what you have read. In poker you don't have that time, you need to calculate the correct odds in real time. Only the best poker players have that ability to calculate the exact odds in the middle of a Poker game. If you use to play more than one table at the time - guess if the calculation becomes easier or harder? Right! If you multitable you need to be more sharp. If you can´t calculate for one table it is impossible if you play multi tables.
One way around this problem is to memorize the odds for the most common situations and draws, like learning starthands, how many outs a straight draw has, the possibility to get two-pair when you have a bottompair etc. If you are a newbie in calculation this could be an appropriate start in your calculation career, but if you want to win more than coffee money you have to aim higher? You must be able to handle all kinds of situations that appear around the poker table. You need to take instant decisions, -when should I raise, -when should I fold, -All in now? Lots of decisions to make and the decisions are based on calculations. Pheww...it is hard to play poker.
Counting outs is one of the easiest ways of calculating odds. I think you know how to do it, but the question is, are you able to do it in real time and when you multi table. I don't think so. I you are incapable to do it, it will be expensive; making wrong decision is no good among the sharks. You will be eaten like a raw fish. The understanding of odds makes the game easier, you will know when to play loose or tight, if you should re-raise or fold etc.
This hand I think you have experienced, both as winner and looser - "the flushdraw hand". You know the situation. The flop is 2 suited, you have your top-pair, no matter how you raise, the opponents will call. And on the river....the third card of same suit falls and you are beaten by the flush. You think this was a incorrect play from your opponent, calling all the way. Maybe it wasn't, he calculated the odds for the specific situation.
For example, the odds of getting flush when you have suited hole cards and the flop makes you a drawhand with 4 of the same suit is 1/2. It means that for every time you get your flush you fails to get it 2 times. Let me tell you how I calculated: There are 13 cards of each suit in the deck; you can see 4, your holecards and 2 on the flop. Left is 9 outs for you, the unseen cards of your suit. Totally there are 47 unseen cards which means that you have 9/47 chance of hitting the right card on turn. That is about 19%. Ok, easy so far. If you don't hit your card on turn there is the river card left. Now there is 46 unseen cards which gives you 9/46 which is close to 20%. This means that you have about 20% chance to flush in every round.
Does it sounds complicated? Keep in mind that this is only one scenario, and it is one of the easier calculations. Other types of hands desires more complicated calculations.
Finally - if you want to become a successful poker player you have learn to calculate.
