Recently, I got a question from one of my students. It stated, "What precisely is pot probabilities and is Holdem pot odds strategy worth pursuing?"
One thing to keep in mind, any kind of Hold’em probabilities can and usually do get really confusing. On the other hand, let me break pot odds down in very straightforward terms. Please note that we are only discussing Pot Probabilities. Not outs, implied probabilities, straightforward odds or anything else like that.
In short, pot probabilities are the odds you obtain when determining the ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the quantity of money it’s going to price you to call the bet.
For example, let us say you are heads up with Player A. If there’s $150 in the pot following the flop and Gambler A places a 20 dollars bet it will expense you only 13 per cent of the pot to stay in the hand. If your likelihood of succeeding is greater than 13 per cent it is a no-brainer to call because you would have very good pot odds.
That’s all there would be to it truly. Holdem pot odds boils down to one factor. If your chance of winning is much better than the ratio of the pot size to the wager then you have good pot odds. If it is lower than you could have bad pot odds.
One additional thought about Holdem pot odds. You’re still wagering the player more so than something else. Wager on the gambler far more than your starting hands or the size of the chip stack and even, yes the pot probabilities.
If it is possible to learn to read your opponents well it is possible to utilize pot probabilities to support justify or solidify your conclusion. But Hold’em pot odds don’t need to be an end all whenever you produce a poker decision.
Knowing and understanding how Holdem pot probabilities work might be a useful and successful technique. Except again don’t produce Hold’em pot odds your only technique.