Poker is a game based on mathematics and psychology. Math and psychology are very distinct aspects of the game, yet often they intertwine, and influence one another.
In order to be a solid poker player, you need to be an expert in both the mathematical and the psychological aspects of the game. Don’t worry though, while extremely complex mathematics can be used at poker, the core of the game remains simple and you do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand why it is mathematically correct to make a call in a given situation and why it’s not in a different situation. The bottom line is, all you need to do is learn how to calculate your pot odds and your hand’s equity and then compare the two.
The pot odds are easy to determine. All you need to do is take the total sum which is in the pot and to divide it with the sum it takes you to make the call. Here’s an example: there are $20 in a pot and a player in front of you bets $10 into it. In this case, you need to make a $10 call, which means that the chance to win the $30 pot will cost you exactly $10. Those are 30-10 pot odds, which cam be simplified to 3-1. Your pot odds in this very instance are 3-1.
Another example: there are $50 in a pot and your opponent makes a $10 bet. You need to call $10 in order to get a chance to take home a $60 pot. In this case, your pot odds will be 60-10, which simplifies to 6-1. The 6-1 pot odds are obviously much better than the 3-1 odds. For the same amount of money ($10) you get the chance to win twice as much ($60 instead of $30).
You equity is based on the number of outs you have for a hand that will be the best at the table and which will land you the pot. Your equity can be described as your chances to win the hand, compared to your opponent’s chances.
The simplest example in this sense is the 4-card flush on the flop one. This is how you determine your chances for making your flush on the turn: out of the 52 cards in the deck, 13 cards are of the same suit. Out of those 13 cards, 4 are already out (on the board or in your pocket hand) which means that there are 9 cards that will help you make your flush. Because two cards are in your possession and 3 are already on the board, you need those 9 cards out of a total of 52-5=47. Out of those 47 cards, 9 will help you but 38 won’t, which means your odds against making your hand are 38-9. That can be reduced to 4.22-1.
In order to determine whether or not you should make a call, you have to compare your pot odds to your equity. If your pot odds are 3-1, and your equity is 4.22-1, you should not make the call, because you’ll risk too much money on way too flimsy odds, with a too shallow potential return.
In the case of 6-1 odds, you should make the call, because those are bigger than the 4.22-1 odds you get against making your hand.
As you can see, there’s no rocket science involved here. Of course, sometimes the correct call is not the one that mathematics suggests. Sometimes you need to make a move based on a gut feeling or on a read you get: that is why poker is such a complex game. Signing up for rakeback should be a no brainer though. A rakeback deal like the ones offered at rakemeback.com will offer you a set percentage rebate on the poker rake you pay, and you will pay poker rake in cash games and in tournaments too, in the form of the tournament fees.
Author Resource:-
Steve Larson, an online poker player from Canada, visit his rakeback site for mor useful tips and strategies.
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