Subject: {FIRSTNAME}, here's how you go about getting the most from your online poker career ... Hello {FIRSTNAME}, Thank you for subscribing to my online poker ecourse! In this ecourse you'll learn all about: 1. Part 1 - The history of online poker 2. Part 2 - Poker 101 3. Part 3 - Playing texas hold'em 4. Part 4 - Pot odds and outs 5. Part 5 - Playing the river Let's go ahead & get started today with "Part 4 - Pot odds and outs". Part 4 - Pot odds and outs ============================ Probability and odds are huge factors in Texas hold 'em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probability of getting an over card, the percentage of times you're going to flop a set to match your pocket pair are all important factors in poker. Knowledge of these statistics is a key to winning. In online games especially with very few (if any) tells, statistical knowledge becomes the main factor when choosing whether to bet, call, or fold. Pot odds decisions are one of poker's most elementary, yet it is one of the most common mistakes made by amateur players at all levels. You will most likely always find a player who is making bad pot odd decisions or ignoring them entirely, meanwhile paying off the rest of the table! In Texas Hold 'Em, you commonly use outs and pot odds the most. This is also the starting point for those who want to learn about poker odds. To those out there who "ain't good at countin' much", you better get good because that is how it's done. Outs are defined as a card in the deck that helps you make your hand. At this point it's only simple division. The numerator (top number) will be the number of outs you have. The denominator (bottom number) is the number of cards left that we haven't seen. The result will be the percentage chance of making one of those outs. Therefore, the most math you'll be doing will be dividing small numbers by 50 (pre-flop), 47 (after the flop), or 46 (after the turn) Pot odds are as easy as computing outs. You compare your outs or your chance of winning to the size of the pot. If your chance of winning is significantly better than the ratio of the pot size to a bet, then you have good pot odds. If it's lower, then you have bad pot odds. For example, say you are in a $5/$10 hold em game with Jack-Ten facing one opponent on the turn. You have an outside straight draw with a board of 2-5-9-Q, and only the river card left to make it. Any 8 or any King will finish this straight for you, so you have 8 outs (four 8's and 4 K's left in the deck) and 46 unseen cards left. 8/46 is almost the same as a 1 in 6 chance of making it. Your sole opponent bets $10. If you take a $10 bet you could win $200. $200/$10 is 20, so you stand to make 20x more if you call. 1/6 higher than 1/20, so pot odds say that calling wouldn't be a bad idea. The next step is to use bet odds and implied odds. That's tougher, because it involves predicting reactions of other players. With bet odds, you try to factor in how many people are going to call a raise. With implied odds, you're thinking about reactions for the rest of the game. One last example on implied odds... Say it's another $5/$10 hold em game and you have a four flush on the flop. Your neighbor bets, and everyone else folds. The pot is $50 at this point. First you figure out your chance of hitting your flush on the turn, and it comes out to about 19.1% (about 1 in 5). You have to call this $5 bet versus a $50 pot, so that's a 10x payout. 1/5 is higher than 1/10, so bet odds are okay, but you must consider that this guy's going to bet into you on the turn and river also. That's the $5 plus two more $10 bets. So now you’re facing $25 more till the end of the hand. Next time we'll be discussing alittle about "Playing the river". For more information about this part of Pot odds and outs, please refer to my definitive guide to online poker at Take Care,