Pot odds are certainly very useful in poker since they give players a good idea of whether or not they should call. However, pot odds only get you so far because you also have to know what your chances are of winning a hand; this is where equity comes in. Here is a very simple way to calculate your equity, and avoid lots of detailed math.
Count Outs First
The first thing you need to know as far as equity goes is how many outs you have. For instance, if you have a flush draw using two hole cards and two cards from the board, you’ll have 9 outs to make the flush since there are 9 more cards of that suit left in the deck. When counting your outs, remember to remove any cards that will help an opponent more than you – e.g. you have an open-ended straight draw (8 outs), but one suit will help opponents hit a flush so you must remove two outs thus giving you 6.
Calculating Equity
A quick shortcut for calculating equity is to multiply outs by 4 on the flop, and multiply outs on the turn by 2. Once you’ve done this, convert the multiplied number into a percentage, and you’ll have your chance of making a hand. For instance, on an open-ended straight draw, you’ll have 8 outs and this is how your equity would look on the flop:
8 outs X 4 = 32% equity (chance of making your hand)
Once more example would be if you have a flush draw (9 outs) on the turn:
9 outs X 2 = 18% equity
Using Equity
With your equity number in hand, it makes the decision to call or not even easier since you also have pot odds to help you. To put equity to use, along with pot odds, you simply need to know if your equity will be higher than your pot odds. For example, if you calculate your pot odds to be 16%, and your equity is 18%, then you would make money in the long run by calling. But always keep in mind that implied odds can change things dramatically when making these calculations.
If you’re like most of the poker world then you spend a lot of time playing Texas Hold’em. And like most of the poker world, you probably light up when you have pocket aces in a Hold’em game. However, pocket aces don’t play as big of a part in other poker variations. So it is definitely worth taking a look at how having two pocket aces plays in other poker games.
The flush draw is one of the most exciting drawing hands you can get in Hold’em. That’s because hitting a flush could potentially give you a nut hand, and allow you to take down a huge pot. However, just because you’ve got a flush draw doesn’t mean you should play it every time. You have to look at a number of factors first to determine if playing a flush draw is the right move for you.
Those who play a lot of Omaha know that it can be a very risky game. After all, there will be plenty of times when you’re forced to put a lot of your money into the pot without knowing if you will get a made hand or not. Of course this is where the art of knowing which draws to chase and which ones to avoid comes into play. And doing this becomes a lot easier when you know what Omaha hands can fool you into chasing a bad draw.
A lot of strategy pieces like to focus on what to do when you’re one-on-one with an opponent. And this is certainly very useful since you’ll find yourself in a lot of situations where you’re pitted against one person. However, the majority of the time you will be dealing with several players in multi-way pots which require a different strategy. Here are a couple things you should be aware of when in multi-way pots.
If you have the biggest stack and are in command of a table, it’s very easy to be aggressive with big bets and raises. After all, you’re in no real danger of being pushed out of the tournament, and you have the chips to bully other people on the table.
When we hear of the concept of playing poker with a partner, the word cheating immediately comes to mind. That’s because some people who play with a partner engage in the practice of colluding. But the truth is that you can have a partner in poker without cheating; you just have to know all of the details of playing with a partner first.
