Don't guess! Know the odds in poker...

There will be plenty of times when playing Texas hold'em that you'll need a certain card to come out on the flop, the turn, or the river. So it's a great benefit to know what your odds are of making your flush or straight on the river. Maths is an important part of poker and you need to know your approximate odds at any time in a hand to make the most of your chances of winning.

It's not as complicated as you might think to work out the chances of finding that card that you need on the board. You really need to know two things:

• The number of unseen cards
• How many 'out' cards you have

Out Cards

'Outs' cards are the number of cards that can make your hand.

For example if you're hunting down a flush on the river there are 9 cards that can help you. As there are only 13 hearts in a pack and 4 of them will be out on the board and in your hand, there can only be the 9 hearts remaining.

The next thing that you need to know to calculate your odds is the number of unseen cards that there are. As there are already 2 cards in your hand, and before the river there are another 4 cards on the board, there are 46 cards remaining out of the 52 card deck.

Calculating Your Odds

Armed with the above information it becomes a matter of simple arithmetic to calculate your odds. If 9 is the number of cards that can be drawn to achieve your hand, and the total number out there is 46, you divide 9 by 46 and you have your odds.
(9 ÷ 46 X 100 = 19.56%)

If you're not Carol Vorderman and your quick fire maths skills aren't up to much then try to remember a few before the game.

Flush: if you are holding a four flush, the odds of nailing it on the turn are roughly 19%. Scooping it on the river, the odds are roughly 19%. Bagging it on either the turn or the river is 35%

Open-Ended Straight: The odds of nailing your card on the turn are 17%. On the river, the same, 17%. Your odds of bagging it on the turn or the river are 31%

Gutshot Straight: Nailing your card on the turn is 8%. Scooping your card on the river is 8%. Bagging it on the turn or the river, 16%

Trips: Turning a pair into Three-of-a-Kind on the turn, odds are 4%. Scoop at the river, 4%. Bagging it at the turn or the river, 8%. It's more likely that you'll want to catch pocket pairs on the flop. Odds of that are 12%

Pot Odds

When at the table, asking yourself, "should I bother staying in this hand?" could come up a lot. Using your 'pot odds' will help you to make the right decision by giving you more frequent correct answers than through pure guess work.

So what are Pot Odds?

Pot odds are the ratio between how much there already is in the pot and the amount that you have to bet to stay in the hand you're playing. As an example: if there is £30 in the pot and you have to bet £6 then your pot odds are 5:1 (30 to 6).

Why would I need to know my Pot Odds?

If your hand isn't the best at the table at that time but you could be on to a winner if the right card comes out next. There are 4 cards on the table, let's say, and you hold a four of diamonds. Your odds of getting a flush on the river are about 5:1 against you. That means for you to bet with pot odds there needs to be at least five times your bet amount in the pot already. So if you bet £3 there should already be at least £13 in the pot to make it worth your while.

It's also useful to use pot odds after the river comes out on the table. If there is £40 in the pot and your bet in front of you is £4 when the final bet comes to you, you can calculate your pot odds to help you to make a decision. Your odds on the pot are 10:1, and even though you might feel like another player has a better hand than you, ask yourself if that player is likely to have a hand that is ten times better than yours. If the answer is no then call the bet and see their cards.