Poker Pot Odds Calculator

So, what are Pot Odds?

In poker, pot odds are the ratio between the size of the pot, including bets made in the current round, and the cost of a call to try to win the pot. For example, if there are 10$ in the pot, and your opponent bets 5$, you need to pay 5$ to potentially win 15$. Therefore, your pot odds are 3 to 1.

What is a poker odds calculator An odds calculator is a handy tool for all poker players to quickly get the right probabilities for any scenario at the table. You can select different hand matchups and get the right odds in a second. The odds of winning are calculated with a precise statistical method to ensure the results are correct. Calculates implied odds (or how much you need to win if you do not have the right pot odds to continue). SPOCv2.1 - An earlier version of SPOC without the implied odds calculator built in. Handy for those of you that are too optimistic with the amount. Using The 'Outs' To Calculate Texas Hold'em Poker Odds. We have already determined that you have nine 'outs'. Now there are 52 cards in a deck and two of those are in your hand, leaving 50. A poker odds calculator is a piece of poker software that lets you run any scenario that you might see at a poker table. You can fill in your own hand and calculate the chances of you winning.

“Pot odds” is a great tool that many top poker players use when they are facing a decision. By comparing pot odds to the probability of winning the hand, one can deduct if calling is profitable or not. So, it works like expected value, helping you make the right choice, but reduces the necessary calculations.

When faced with a bet, to calculate your pot odds, you only need to compare the money that you will gain if you win the hand, the current pot including your opponent’s bet, to the money required to make the call. Then, to choose the right course of action, you must compare these pot odds to your estimation of the odds against you winning the hand.

If the pot odds are higher than the odds against you winning the hand, it means that when you win, you will be extracting enough of a reward to make the call worth it! On the contrary, if the pot odds are lower than the odds against you winning the hand, the amount that you will be gaining when you win will not make up for the losses. So, in this case, the right action is to fold.

Mathematical Explanation of Pot Odds

Let’s work some simple math to show the reasoning behind using pot odds as a shortcut. If a call has +EV (the same proof applies for -EV), this means that:

EV (Call)= P(win) * $(pot)- P(lose) * $(call) > 0, or

P(win) * $(pot) > P(lose) * $(call), and by deviding by P(win)*$(call)

$(pot) / $(call) > P(lose) / P(win)

So the pot odds (on the left of the equation) are higher than the odds against you winning the hand (on the right).

A Simple Example

We will demonstrate this concept with a relatively simple example.

You are facing two tight opponents. You are holding J♥9♠, and on the turn, the board is 10♥4♠8♣2♦, so you have a straight draw. The pot is 70$, and you have only 20$ more in your stack, while your opponents both have bigger stacks.

The first opponent to act goes all-in and the second opponent calls. So, what should you do?

How to Calculate Pot Odds?

To calculate the pot odds, you must compare the money that you may potentially win to the money that is required for making the call. You may win 110$ (70$ in the pot plus 20$ from each opponent) and need 20$ to make the call. Therefore, the pot is offering you 110 to 20, or 5.5 to 1.

Let’s now calculate the probability against you winning the hand. You have an open-ended straight draw (or up and down, two way). This means that you have two ways of making your straight (hitting a Queen or a seven) or a total of 8 outs. It is clear that one or both players have you beat. You are probably up against some combination of an overpair, two pair or a set. However, whatever your opponents have, all of your 8 outs will give you the nut straight.

Another aspect to consider is the possibility of another player drawing for the same straight. This possibility would make you split the pot when you make your hand and affect your calculations. However, given your starting hand and the fact that your opponents are tight, you are not concerned with one of them holding J9. So you can safely rule out sharing the pot when you hit your draw.

So, you have 8 cards that will make you win. The remaining 38 of the total 46 unseen cards will make you lose. The odds are 38 to 8 against you making your winning hand or 4.75 to 1. the pot odds you are being offered are better (5.5 to 1), making it a good call. This means that, even though you are an underdog to win the hand, the pot is offering enough of a reward to make the call worth it.

Calculating the Expected Value for Validation

You managed to reach the correct decision without doing the extra math of calculating the expected value. For demonstration reasons, the expected value of a call is:

EV = P(win)*$(win)-P(lose)*$(lose) = (8/46)*110 – (38/46)*20 = 2.61$

So on average, you win about 2.6$ each time you make that call.

Working with Percentages Instead of Odds

There are many software products, like Flopzilla or Equilab, that calculate your equity against an opponent’s range in terms of percentage. You can check out the tutorial on Hand Ranges to learn how to work with ranges. Whether you work with such software, or you are just accustomed to using percentages, you may want to be able to convert pot odds into percentages you can work with. Let’s look at how to do this.

To compare pot odds to equity percentages, you need to convert your pot odds to a percentage of your bet versus the final pot size, including your call. To do so, you have to:

First, divide the amount of the call by the size of the final pot. For example, if the pot is 10$ and you are facing a 5$ bet, you need to divide 5 (your call) by 20, the final pot amount, so you get 0.25.

Second, convert this into a percentage. By multiplying with 100, you can convert your result into a percentage you can work with. So, 0.25 equals 25%.

Now, to see if calling is +EV, you need to compare this percentage to your equity. If your equity is higher, the call has a +EV!

Conversion Table

An Example Using Pot Percentages

Let’s take a look at a different example, this time using percentages.

A solid opponent raised preflop from the middle position, and you called from the button with K♥Q♥. The flop was A♥5♥4♠, and your opponent check-raised all-in your semi-bluff flop bet.

There is 80$ in the pot, including your bet and your opponent’s all-in, and you have to call 40$ more to match his bet. What should you do?

Let’s calculate your pot odds in terms of percentage. To do so, you have to:

First, divide the amount of the call by the size of the final pot. So 40/120 = 0.33

Second, convert this into a percentage. We multiply 0.33 by 100 to get our percentage, 33%.

Now, we have o try to calculate your equity against your opponent’s range of hands he would go all-in with. You estimate that your opponent open-raises from middle position with a 15% range, like bellow.

Using Flopzilla we can see that, even if your opponent does not bluff and goes all-in with top pair or better, or a flush draw, like bellow, your equity is over 37%.

Since your equity against his range is higher than 33% (your pot odds in percentage), calling is +EV!

In a Nutshell

Using pot odds is an excellent way of making quick estimations on the table and choosing the right course of action. Even when there are subsequent betting rounds, pot odds are useful as they can help you understand the value of what is already in the pot relatively to your stack. However, when there are subsequent betting rounds in the hand, you need to consider the possibility of winning extra bets when you hit your hand. This concept is known as implied odds, in contrast to the expressed odds that the pot is offering you at any given moment.

In the next tutorial, we will present the concept of implied odds and how it is used to make educated decisions when there are further betting rounds. Please leave any comments or questions that you may have!

This tutorial is part of the Advanced Poker Strategy Course. You can continue to the next tutorial on Pot Commitment!

One of the first and most important examples of 'poker math' that new no-limit hold'em players need to learn is how to calculate 'pot odds.' In fact, when people talk about the 'math of poker,' a lot of the time they are mostly referring to pot odds and how an understanding of them can help you decide whether to bet, raise, call, or fold.

Put most simply, pot odds represents the ratio between what you stand to gain in a hand of poker and what you have to spend in order to get it — that is, the ratio between your reward and your risk when making any given decision during a poker hand.

Calculating Pot Odds

For example, if there is $80 in the pot and your opponent bets $20, that makes a total of $100 in the middle. That $100 is the reward you can get if you're willing to risk $20 to call the bet. Pot odds are expressed as a ratio (reward-to-risk). In this case you're having to risk $20 to win $100, so your pot odds are 100-to-20, or 5-to-1.

That's the scenario poker players most often describe when talking about pot odds — that is, when facing a bet and deciding whether or not to call or fold. You add the amount of the bet to what is already in the pot to calculate the reward, the bet you need to call represents the risk, and the pot odds 'being given' to call is that reward-to-risk ratio.

Of course, you can also talk about pot odds after a player raises. Say you decide not just to call that $20 bet described above, but to raise to $80. That would mean your opponent has to call $60 to have a chance at winning what is now $180 in the middle — 180-to-60 or 3-to-1 pot odds.

That might seem simple enough — a little bit of addition and an easy division problem, and you can calculate pot odds.

But why bother? There are lots of reasons.

One big reason why you want to stay generally aware of what your pot odds are — which means keeping track of how big the pot is at all times and being able to compare the pot size to each bet — is that doing so helps you estimate whether or not the pot odds being offered to you are favorable or unfavorable given the situation.

Let's look at three common circumstances in no-limit hold'em in which pot odds can be helpful when making decisions.

Using Pot Odds When Playing a Drawing Hand

Say you are on a flush draw and have with the board showing . There is $120 in the pot, and your opponent has bet $60. You could call to see the river card, but are the pot odds favorable enough for you to make the call?

It's easy enough to see that the reward is $180 ($120 in the pot plus the $60 bet), and so with a $60 risk you are getting 180-to-60 or 3-to-1 pot odds. Is that good or bad?

You believe you probably have to make a flush in order to make a better hand than your opponent's, so that means you have nine outs — the nine remaining clubs — to make your hand. You can see six cards (the two in your hand plus the four on the board), leaving 46 unknown cards, so you can estimate your chance of seeing a club fall on the river to be 9 out of 46, or just over 4-to-1 against.

Compare your pot odds (3-to-1 to call) to the odds you'll make your flush (a little worse than 4-to-1 against). It's clear that calling isn't such a good choice — that the pot odds aren't favorable for calling — because over the long term calling is not a profitable play.

Let's say you were to make this call 100 times. About 20 times you'd make your flush on the river (actually a little less, but we'll round it up). You'd be risking $60 x 100 or $6,000. But your reward would only be $180 x 20 or $3,600. After making this call 100 times and winning only 20 hands, you'd have lost $2,400! (Note: we aren't considering what extra money might be won or lost after the river card, but just the profitability of this particular turn call.)

Pot odds are favorable when they are greater than the odds against making your hand. If the pot odds were 5-to-1 here, it would be a good call with it being just over 4-to-1 against making the flush. But 3-to-1 pot odds are unfavorable when drawing one card to make a flush.

Using Pot Odds to Decide Whether to Call a Preflop Raise

Poker Pot Odds Calculator Bankrate

Pot odds can also be compared not just to a specific probability (like drawing to a flush), but also to a more general estimate of your chances in a hand.

Say for example you're playing $1/$2 no-limit hold'em and get dealt in the big blind. A player raises to $7 from the button and it folds to you.

First off... what are your pot odds here? There is $10 in the middle (the $1 small blind + the $2 big blind + the $7 raise), and you have to call $5 to stay in the hand. That's 2-to-1 pot odds.

Now, think about the prospect of playing out of position. It's a hand without a lot of potential that is almost certainly worse than whatever the player on the button who raised has. Unless you flop a couple of diamonds or perhaps trips or two pair, you're not likely to feel good about going very far with this hand. Are these 2-to-1 odds favorable?

No, they aren't. You could quantify this perhaps, noting how you with two suited cards you flop a flush draw about 11% of the time, you flop two pair about 2% of the time, and you flop trips about 1.3% of the time — that adds up to around 14% good flops, meaning it's worse than 6-to-1 against your seeing a good flop. That's just an estimate, really, but is obviously way worse than the 2-to-1 pot odds, so folding is in order.

What if a player raises to $7 from early position and five other players including the small blind call before the action reaches you in the big blind with your ? Now there's $44 in the middle and you have to pay $5 to see the flop. Those are almost 8-to-1 pot odds, which are in fact greater than the odds against your flopping something good — you might consider calling.

Using Pot Odds to Decide Whether to Call a Suspected Bluff

Pot odds can also be relevant when deciding whether or not to call what you think might be an opponent's bluff.

You've reached the river with your and the board shows . Your opponent raised before the flop and you called, and you called his bets on both the flop and turn. Now there's $100 in the middle and he's betting $50, giving you 3-to-1 pot odds to call.

You suspect strongly he could be bluffing, but you think it's possible he might have something like aces, kings, jacks, ace-queen, or king-queen and have you beat. While it's not feasible to calculate exactly the likelihood he's bluffing, you might be able to make a rough estimate — say, that he's probably bluffing at least a third of the time here.

Poker Pot Odds Calculator 2019

That would make it 2-to-1 against your tens being best, making 3-to-1 pot odds favorable for you — a profitable call to make.

Poker Pot Odds Calculator Cheat

Conclusion

Texas Holdem Preflop Odds Calculator

There are many other applications of pot odds in no-limit hold'em, but you can't take advantage of them until you start to become comfortable figuring out pot odds as a hand is playing out.

This is often easier to do when playing online poker, where the betting amounts and pot sizes are shown as numbers. But even when playing live, you can with practice become increasingly at ease keeping track of what's in the pot and calculating pot odds until it becomes second nature to you.

And once you do, you can then use pot odds to help direct your decision-making in a variety of contexts.

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