Understanding Implied Odds in No Limit Hold’em

Although poker is considered a game of skill due to the fact that superior players tend to win over the long term, there is an element of gambling involved. In any game with elements of gambling, odds are paramount. Casinos design their games so that the odds favor them. Similarly, successful poker players manipulate game situations so that the odds are on their side. Get a good look at all our featured online poker calculators

Understanding Pot Odds

Pot odds are the odds the pot is laying you to win the hand. If there is $40 in the pot and you must call $10 to continue, you are being offered pot odds of 40 to 10, or 4 to 1. How is this relevant? It means you need to win that pot at least one time out of five to break even. The one time you win the $40 will balance out the four times that you called $10 and lost. Of course, to be a winning player, you want to consistently get yourself into situations where the odds of you winning the hand are better than the pot odds. These calculations are pretty straightforward and there is even poker software on the market that can help you analyzing pot odds.


Understanding Implied Odds

Implied odds represent the pot odds with additional speculative money added to the pot based on the likelihood of winning future bets on later streets. For example, you play Texas hold em and has As 5s on a board of 8c 9s 3s. There is $100 in the pot and your opponent bets $50. You are being offered odds of $50 to win $150, or 3 to 1. Your odds of hitting the flush on the next card are 4 to 1 against. Mathematically, this would make it correct to fold. However, if you believe your opponent will call off more than $50 on the turn and river if you make your flush and bet, it would be correct to call.



Implied Odds Pitfalls

The problem with implied odds is that they are speculative. You must be very honest with yourself when deciding whether or not your opponent will pay off your flush. This determination should be based on your observation of the opponent over time and your analysis of the situation. You need to also consider the size of his stack. He might not even have enough left to pay you off in the amount you need. You can be more confident in your implied odds if there are multiple players still in the hand, since this gives you more players who may be willing to put money in the pot with a flush out against them. Also in online Texas holdem, players are usually more wiling to pay you off compared with live games.

You can be much more confident in your implied odds with a straight draw than a flush draw, since a straight draw is much better disguised. On a board of As Ts 3c 6s it is brutally obvious that someone who suddenly bets may have a flush draw. On the other hand, if the board is Qs Ts 3c Ac and the same player bets, it is much harder to put them on K J for the straight. They could just as easily be betting a paired ace or be semi-bluffing with a flush draw.


The Article forms a good introduction in the meaning of pot odds and implied odds but for more expert players it’s pretty uselss as it’s basic poker odds stuff. Nevertheless, I did get the powerful calculator Calculatem Pro through this page and Im still happy for it. I mean, Im pretty smart but lazy as well and I can count all my odds myself but just dont have the time or energy to do it. Now Calculatem Pro does it for me and I can say it has brought me lot’s of winnings and prevented me from making an awful lot of mistakes as well!
Jannes Hansson
Götenborg, Sweden