Implied Odds

Implied Odds are similar to Pot Odds with the difference being that when you calculate pot odds you add to the amount of money that is already in the pot, the amount of money that you believe will be added to the pot with future betting. If you want to be successful at poker, you will need to be able to calculate implied odds.

Calculate Implied Odds; A Little Math

Here is an example of how you would calculate and use implied odds. For this example, say that you are playing in a game of $5 and $10 limit Texas Hold Em. You are in last position and someone bets $10 to you after the turn. You have a four card flush so your hand is not made yet. Your hand contains two hearts and there are two hearts on the board after the turn. Now there are 13 hearts in the deck and you know where 4 of them are so that means that there are 9 possible cards that could make you a flush. You can see 6 of the cards in the deck, the 2 in your hand and the 4 on the board. Since it is a 52 card deck and you know what 6 of them are, there are 46 possible cards that can come out on the river. You need anyone of the nine remaining hearts. So do the math with me. 37 times the river will not bring a heart and 9 times it will, so you divide 46 by 9 and you come up with a 5.11, subtract 1 and you come up with a 4.11 to 1 chance that you will make your flush. So in order to call the $10 bet, according to pot odds, there would need to be $10 times 4.11 or $41.10 in the pot to break even over time with the call.

When The Odds Are Right

Poker is a game of trying to always make the move that will put the odds in your favor so that, over time, you end up a winner. Note that if you have a rakeback deal then you are earning money for free anyway, our gr88 poker rakeback deal is the best one available. Now if the pot has $35 in it then pot odds would dictate that you would lose money by making the call because you will only make your hand every 4.11 times and to call a $10 bet 4.11 times you would have to wager $41.10 to win a pot of only $35. Now here is where implied odds come in.

If you call the $10 bet and make your hand after the flop, how much money, in additional betting, will go into the pot for you to win? After the flop, if a heart comes out, will your opponent bet into you? Will he call your raise? Are there any other players still in the hand that might call a bet? If you believe that, if you made your hand on the river, you would be able to pick up two $10 bets, then implied odds say that you would be calling for the $35 that is in the pot now and the $20 that will go into it after the flop, or a total of $55. Using implied odds it would make sense to call the $10 bet and draw for your flush.