Playing Postflop – Calculating Pot Odds

Whilst this may sound complicated, it is really just basic mathematics that are used in poker to determine whether you can call a bet profitably. Pot odds are used in conjunction with your equity to determine whether you can call a bet correctly or whether you should fold.

A simple definition of pot odds is that it is the ratio of the possible reward compared with the price you have to pay. So, basically, it’s a risk/reward calculation. Using this calculation, you can easily find out if it is profitable to make a call with a draw or whether you will lose money in the long run.

There are two ways you can calculate these, the most common method is the ratio method, shown below. However, due to us working with equity in percentage form, the percentage method offers an easier comparison between pot odds and equity.

Calculating Pot Odds – Ratios

The ratio method for calculating pot odds is probably the simplest method out of the two, but both are best explained using examples.

Pot odds = Potential reward : Needed stake

So, to use an example, if you are facing a bet whilst holding a flush draw, you have equity of 4:1 (as expressed in ratio form) to hit by the next community card. Say your opponent bets $20 into an $80 pot (this makes the pot a total of $100), you have to call $20 to potentially win $100, meaning the pot odds are 100:20, which can be expressed as 5:1.

So, how do you know if you should call? That’s really simple, if the pot odds are greater than the equity, you should call. In this case the pot odds are 5:1 and the equity of your draw is 4:1, meaning you can make the call.

Calculating Pot Odds – Percentages

This method is, in my opinion, easier to use when you are expressing the equity of your draws as a percentage. Again, it is easier to explain when using an example.

Let’s say again that we are facing a bet holding a flush draw, so we have equity of around 20%. Our opponent bets $20 into an $80 pot. This is where this method differs slightly from the ratios method, as we must add our own investment into the calculation. So, we must pay $20 to potentially win a pot of $120 ($80 + $20 + $20 = $120), which is around 17% pot odds. We know that we have a 20% chance of hitting our flush on the next card, and we only have to call 17% of the pot, so we can profitably make the call. If our equity percentage is great than the pot odds percentage, we can call.

Summary

• Pot odds are used in conjunction with equity to determine whether you can make a call profitably
• There are two methods for expressing pot odds, ratios and percentage
• The ratio method is the most widely used, and is calculated by taking the total size of the pot and expressing is as a ratio against the investment you need to make, if the pot odds are greater than the equity, you can call
• The percentage method is calculated by taking the total pot (including the players’ stake) and calculating the percentage of what you must call against the total pot. If your equity is greater than the pot odds percentage, you can call profitably.