Texas Holdem Pot Odds

Holdem Hand Odds Calculator

Using the Odds Calculator
From left to right, select suit then rank for the two players cards. Repeat for the flop and river if desired. Click on "Calculate Odds". The EV for each player will be displayed momentarily.

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Pot Odds are a very important consideration when playing Strategic Texas Holdem.

Basically, Pot Odds is simply amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must add to the pot to stay in the game. A lot of people are familiar with the term, but very few people use pot odds consistently. Putting pot odds to work for you will definitely going to raise your game to the next level.

Pot Odds

You will find yourself calculating pod odds when holding marginal or drawing hands. To know when it's the correct decision to chase a guthot, a flush draw, and even overcards, you need to know your pot odds, and the odds that you will "catch your cards".

Calculating pot odds is relatively simple. You simply compare the cost of staying in the pot with the amount that is already in the pot (bet / pot). For example, suppose there is $150.00 in the pot, and a player before you bets $15.00. It will now cost you $15.00 to remain in the hands. The pot odds are 10:1, or 10%.

Odds of Catching your Cards

The odds of catching your cards are simple to figure out, also. First you need to know how many outs you have. Outs are the cards remaining in the deck that will make or improve your hand (for this purpose we ignore what the other players may be holding, since we have no way of knowing that).

For example, if you are holding two diamonds and the board shows 2 more diamonds after the flop. The number of cards remaining in the deck are 52 - two in your hand - three on the board = 46. The number of outs you have is 13 - 4 diamonds showing = 9. Your odds are, then, 46:9, or 19%.

Putting it together

The rule of thumb is this: If your odds are greater than the pot odds, it is correct to call the bet. If your odds are less than the pot odds, folding is the correct move. Using the examples above, we have a 19% chance of catching our cards, and a 10% pot odds. Since 19% is greater than 10%, we call the bet.

Probability to catch your cards: Shortcut

There is a very easy way to calculate your odds. If you still have the turn and the river to go, multiply the number of outs you have by four. If only the river card is left, multipy your outs by two. This method produces amazingly accurate results.

On the left, we used the equation 9/46 x 100% = 19% to figure find the odds of making a flush with 2d in the hand and 2d on the board. Lets use the easier calculation now and see what we get. With 9 outs, and one card to come, we have 9x2 = 18%. That's close enough to 19% to be a very useful forumula to use at the tables.

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Keep in mind that the odds are calculated only for the present betting round - without looking ahead to the next round. Obviously if we're still pre-turn, there is double the chance to catch the cards, but there is also likely to cost more to see the last card. Play one betting round at a time.

There are many times when you need to make hard decisions at the poker table. Using pot odds correctly will strengthen your play and increase your winnings over the long haul.