Poker Odds Simplified

A short and concise article I put together on poker odds. No need to settle down for this one. I'll have you knowing what outs, pot odds and implied odds mean in no time! :)

Outs

Have you ever heard of the term "Outs" and wondered what it is? It's time for you to know now! :) Outs simply means how many unseen cards in the deck that will improve your hand.

Outs is only applied to a hand that is assumed behind or is the second best hand at the moment. For example if you had pocket sevens vs. pocket aces and the flop missed you completely, you would have 2 outs to improve your hand.

Pot Odds

Now that you know what outs are you can add pot odds to your library of poker knowledge.

Outs wouldn't matter if you didn't know pot odds.

Let's say you have the pocket sevens again and somehow on the flop the pot is $90 and your friend with pocket aces bets $10 into you.

The pot is now $100 and you have to call $10, that means that you are getting $100-to-$10 or 10-to-1 on your call.

This is an unprofitable call from a pot odds standpoint because for pocket jacks you need at least 23.5-to-1.

Implied Odds

The third monster in the odds family is implied odds. Implied odds means the odds you are getting when you count in the bets you will win AFTER you hit your hand.

For example, you have a flush draw (which needs 9 outs to improve) and the pot is $60, your friend with pocket aces bets $40 into the pot.

Your odds are now $100-to-40 or 2.5-to-1.

You need about 19% or about 4-to-1. Your effective odds say to fold.

But if you know that you will get a bet on the turn and river if you hit then your decision tips to a call because of your implied odds.

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