Let’s go back to that $100 pot example above. That means you must avoid making calls when you aren’t getting the right price. If you’re consistently making the correct mathematical decision, you’ll achieve that goal. The goal for every poker player, of course, is to win over the long term. Simple enough? It is, but determining if you’re getting the right pot odds, or price, depends on the chance your hand will be good at showdown. If the pot had $150 in it and you were facing a $50 bet, the pot odds would be 3-1 ($150 divided by $50). You take the $100 in the pot and divide it by the size of the bet ($50), which comes out to 2-1 odds (two times your bet). It’s a very simple calculation to figure basic pot odds. If there’s $100 in the pot and the bet to you is $50, you’re getting 2-1 on your money.
But we don’t want that to happen to you, so we have some valuable tips to improve your game and overall poker strategy. If you’re making mathematically incorrect decisions consistently, you’ll most assuredly become a long-term losing player. Knowing if you’re getting the right price to make a call is crucial to your success. Many players are unsure how to calculate poker odds, but it’s an important part of playing winning poker.
