Texas Holdem Poker

For the last week or so, I have been answering a lot of  related questions from various Poker players all over the world. Some have been really mundane, while some have been rather strategy intensive. One question that I saw asked time and time again involved trying to figure out complex calculations in regards to figuring out pot odds and hand percentages.

There is a common misconception among Holdem players that you must be match inclined in order to figure out pot odds and drawing odds calculations. Many people cannot work many of the formulas that are presented by many of the experts and math brains of the world. I’m here to tell you today that there is a simpler way of figuring out pot odds using simple multiplication and division that will prove just as effective as those requiring advanced math. This method is known as the 4-2 method.

The first step in figuring out pot odds using the 4-2 method is calculating the number of outs you have. An out is a card that can come to give you a winning hand. Let’s look at the hand A-10 of clubs. If the flop was to fall Jc-9c-8h, how many outs do you think that you have? First, what do you think will win? You have an open ended straight draw. In addition, you have a nut flush draw. There is also a good chance that an ace hitting the board will win you the hand. That means you have 9 clubs, all queens, all sevens, and the remaining aces to help you. This would be expressed as 9+4+4+3=20. There is one small problem here. You are counting 2 of your outs twice. The queen of clubs and 7 of clubs are part of the 9 outs for your flush. As such we must modify your outs to 9+3+3+3=18. You have 18 outs to hit your hand.

Now that you know how many outs you have, it is time to figure out what the percentage is that you will hit your hand. This is where the meat of the 4-2 rule comes into play. On the flop, you will multiply the number of outs by 4 and then add 2 to the end result. In the example above, this will result in 18×4=72+2=74. The result is the percentage that you have to hit your hand by the river from the flop. If you are at the turn, you take your number of outs and multiply it by 2. You then must add 1 to the result. This is expresses as 18×2=36+1=37. You have a 37% chance to hit your hand by the river.

Now come the part that’s a little tricky for a few. We must figure out the percentage of the pot you must call when facing a bet. On the flop, there is $75 in the pot in the scenario above and your opponent places a bet of $50. What is the percentage of the pot that you must call in order to continue? First, what is the current amount of the pot? The pot currently sits at $125 when it comes to you. This is the original pot size plus your opponents bet. You call must be included into the pot to make the calculation. To figure out the percentage of the pot, you divide 50 by the amount of the pot, which is 175 if you choose to call. This is expressed as 50/175. This will result in a decimal percentage. In this case .285. Move the decimal over two spots to get your percentage and you come up with a result of 28.5%.

Now comes the simple part. In the example above you know that on the flop you have a 74% chance to hit your hand by the river. On the turn you have a 37% chance to make your hand by the river. On the flop the, your call is equal to 28.5% of the pot. When determining whether you have odds to make a call in Holdem Online Poker, if the percent of the pot that you must call is equal to or less than the percentage to hit your hand, then you have pot odds. In the example above, on the flop you have a 72% chance to hit your hand and only have to call a bet equal to 28.5% of the pot. You have odds to make the call. In the example above, if the flop was checked and a $100 bet was made at the turn, you have a 37% chance to hit your hand and your bet is equal to 44.4% of the pot. You don’t have pot odd in this case.

Let’s look at another example. You have J-10 offsuit in late position and called a small raise from two players. There is currently $30 in the pot. The flop is 9-8-2. What are your outs? You have 4 queens, 4 sevens, and probably 3 jacks. You have 11 outs. Based on the calculations presented earlier, you have a 46% chance to hit you’re your hand by the river. (11×4=44+2=46) An opponent bet out $15 into the pot and it is to you to call. From what you learned earlier you determine that you have to call a bet equal to 25% of the pot. (15/60=.3333) In this case you have odds to call. You are the only caller. On the turn the pot sits at 60. The turn falls a 3. Your opponent bets out 50. Now you look at your hand percentages and determine that you have a 23% chance to hit your hands. (11×2=22+1=23). You then figure out your pot percentage and come up with 45.45%. (50/160=.3125) Since you only have a 23% chance to make your hand and have to call a bet representing 31.2% of the pot, you do not have pot odds here and should fold.

Calculating pot odds can seem like a daunting task, but as you can see from the examples above, using the simplified 4-2 method can make things easier. I recommend you go out and work on some real life examples of pot odds to get yourself used to making these calculations in your head. The quicker you learn to do the math in your head, the quicker you will be able to use this at the table to make those difficult decisions to draw at hands.