Beginner

Understanding Poker Odds - A Practical Guide

Learn how to calculate and use poker odds to improve your strategies and maximize your winnings.

If you're new to poker, one of the first concepts to master is pot odds. Understanding how odds work will help you make better decisions at the tables, maximizing your long-term chances of success.

What Are Poker Odds?

In poker, odds generally refer to pot odds. But as we'll see, there are other types of odds.

Definition

Poker odds are ratios that compare two events — the likelihood that something happens versus the likelihood that it doesn't.

You'll understand better with the examples below.

Different Types of Poker Odds

Here are the main types of odds you need to know.

1️⃣ Pot Odds

Definition

Pot odds compare the amount of money you must invest to stay in the hand to the total size of the pot after your opponent's bet and your call.

In other words, they tell you how much you're risking compared to what you could win.

Example:

You're on the turn and you check. Your only opponent (all other players have folded) bets 20 chips into a 60-chip pot.

What are your pot odds in this situation?

Here is the formula to calculate pot odds as a percentage:

\text{Pot odds (\%)} = \frac{\text{Call}}{\text{Pot} + \text{Call}} \times 100

In our example:

\frac{20}{60 + 20 + 20} \times 100 = \frac{20}{100} \times 100 = 20\,\%

In this situation, pot odds are therefore 20% (we'll see what this means shortly).

2️⃣ Draw Odds

Definition

Draw odds represent the chances of completing your hand (for example, a flush draw or straight draw) versus the chances of not completing it. It's the ratio of cards that help you (called "outs") to those that don't.

Example:

Suppose you have an open-ended straight draw on the turn.

Illustration of a poker table with cards showing an open-ended straight draw. — A seven or a queen at the river would give you a straight...

In this situation:

You have 8 outs that help you complete the straight (four 7s and four queens).
There are 38 cards that don't help you. This number comes from: 52 cards in the deck - 2 hole cards - 4 board cards - 8 outs = 38 cards.

The draw odds are therefore 38:8, or about 5:1. This means that for every time you complete your straight, you'll fail to complete it 5 times on average.

Converting Odds to a Percentage

Odds (5:1 for example) can also be expressed as a percentage using the following formula:

\text{Probability (\%)} = \frac{1}{\text{odds} + 1}

For example, for 5:1 odds:

\frac{1}{5 + 1} = \frac{1}{6} \approx 16\,\%

🏻 In general, using percentages is more practical, especially for easily comparing odds as we'll do in the rest of this article.

Image of a Greek woman thinking in front of mathematical writings. There are also poker chips in the image.

You might think that at a poker table, it's not easy to convert 5:1 to 16% in your head. The good news is that there's a simple trick to calculate this probability directly, which we detail in this article.

There is a third type of odds, implied odds, which we'll see below.

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Comparing Pot Odds and Draw Odds

Comparing pot odds and draw odds is an excellent way to make profitable decisions at poker.

Assuming you estimate you'll beat your opponent when you complete your draw, the rule is simple:

If pot odds are higher than your draw odds: calling to try to hit your draw is not profitable in the long run.
Otherwise (pot odds are lower than your draw odds): calling becomes profitable in the long run.

Practical example:

Let's return to the example above, assuming you're sure to win the hand if you complete your straight draw.

All players in the hand have folded except you (Hero) and Villain.

You check. Your opponent (Villain) decides to bet 20 chips into a pot of 60.

As we saw above, this gives you pot odds of 20%.

Likewise, as detailed above, the probability of completing your straight draw is approximately 16% (draw odds).

Therefore, your probability of winning (16%) is less than your pot odds (20%): it is therefore more profitable to fold your hand rather than call.

Understanding Implied Odds in Poker

In poker, there's a third very useful type of odds: implied odds.

What Are Implied Odds?

Definition

Implied odds in poker are an estimate of the future winnings you can obtain if you complete your hand.

Unlike pot odds, they account not only for the money already in the pot, but also for money your opponent might still add in future betting rounds.

How to Use Implied Odds in a Poker Game?

Let's return to our example above (open-ended straight draw on the turn) to illustrate how accounting for implied odds can lead to a better decision.

Imagine that if you complete your straight and bet 50 chips on the river, you're sure your opponent will call.

The potential pot you're aiming for goes from 100 chips to 150 chips (100 chips on the turn + 50 additional chips on the river).

Your implied odds are:

\text{Implied odds (\%)} = \frac{\text{Call}}{\text{Total pot} + \text{Future gains}} \times 100

\frac{20}{100 + 50} \times 100 = \frac{20}{150} \times 100 \approx 13.3\,\%

This time, the (implied) pot odds are 13.3%, which is less than the 16% probability of completing the draw — calling your opponent's bet is now profitable!

Tip: Implied odds are particularly useful against less experienced players who tend to call large bets even with mediocre hands. Learn to identify them and you can exploit this weakness.

Tools to Calculate Poker Odds

If you find it difficult to calculate odds manually, don't worry. Many free tools are available to help you.

Online Odds Calculators

These tools let you enter the cards you and your opponents hold, and automatically calculate pot odds and draw odds for you. Among the most popular options, you'll find Equilab.

Of course, you won't have time to use these tools when playing in online poker games. These are tools to use 'away from the tables' when you're working on your game.