Entries from March 2009 ↓

A quick guest post on implied odds.

Introduction to Implied Odds

Part of the skill in poker is about understanding the odds. The great poker players know all the math required to calculate whether someone is getting an edge.

Pot odds are crucial for this calculation, but it is not the end of the story. There are also implied odds that players must consider.

Pot Odds vs. Implied Odds

Pot odds are the most basic calculation in poker. They represent your payout odds. If there is $50 in the pot and you need to call $5 to get to a showdown, you are risking $5 to win $50, or $10 for every $1 you bet, or 10-to-1.

If your odds of winning are shorter than 10-to-1, this bet has positive expected value over the long term. If they are longer, it has negative expected value. Implied odds enhance this equation by including money not yet in the pot.

True Odds in Poker

When you use pot odds, you are comparing them to your real odds of winning the hand – something that any basic online poker pot odds calculator can do for you. The real odds calculate by determining the number of cards that can come to make you the winner vs. the number of cards that will give the pot to your opponent. In order to continue, these odds need to be better than the pot odds, plus the implied odds.

Implied Odds in Practice

Players on a draw frequently consider online Texas holdem odds. For example, if you hold Kc 9c and the board is 6c Ac 4d Js, you will probably need to hit your flush to win.

If there is $200 in the pot and your opponent bets $100, you have 3-to-1 pot odds. His bet makes it a $300 pot and it costs you $100 to call. You have nine outs to win the pot and 37 cards that don’t help you. 37-to-9 is about 4-to-1, which makes this a fold, unless considering implied odds.

Implied odds take into account money you might win on later streets. Let’s say you should call and a club comes on the river. Your opponent, afraid of the flush, checks, and you bet $150 into the $400 pot. Your opponent is getting 550-to-150, or about 3.7-to-1.

This means that if your opponent thinks you would bluff in this situation 22 percent of the time or more, he should call. When he calls and loses, you win an additional $150. If you go back and add this to your original calculation, you are risking $100 to win not $300, but $450. The implied odds are 4.5-to-1, making this a correct call.

I’m back from a skiing trip! It wasn’t great but it was cool, a pretty small place so there weren’t many options when it came to slopes.

I did see reindeers, they were dragging sleds, but I didn’t see santa up there in lapland, he should be there somewhere.

I really enjoyed the 6 day break from poker, I don’t know why but as you already know I am just starting to feel that I am pulled in a different direction, poker isn’t really feeling as awesome anymore.

I’m known to change my mind so don’t quote me on that.

I also listened to a pretty cool audiobook called Happy for No Reason, it’s good and it makes you realize how much you can do about your happiness (and I don’t mean the stuff you have or your job).

Did you know for example that researchers have come to the conclusion that 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes and 10% of the other 50% is determined by material stuff, such as job, relationships, money etc.

Pretty mindboggling isn’t it? I’ve always thought that the things in our lives have more impact than that, but the biggest impact comes from within your mind.

Another cool statistic (don’t remember the number exactly but you’ll get the idea). We have around 60,000 thoughts every day, 85-95% of these thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday, the day before that and the day before that.

On top of that, over 80% of our thoughts are negative! That’s an average number ofcourse but you get the main idea. These thoughts are automatic, you probably don’t even notice them and they’re making you feel like crap.

Change what’s going on in your mind and increase your happiness.

Here’s a guess post from my friend Allen.

It is important to consider some important pre flop strategies before you start betting in texas holdem.

The number of players in a texas holdem game constitutes the first important factor. With more players, be cautious, as the chances of someone else having a strong hand are very likely.

Another aspect in pre flop strategy is betting aggressively. If one player is raising every hand pre-flop, you’ll want to play tighter.

While playing texas holdem poker, you have to consider your bankroll. If you only have $2, then select you have a tough time having many buy-ins because the lowest buy-in table at most sites is $0.01/0.02 and you have just a buy-in for that, but then again, if you only have $2 I think you’re playing mostly for fun so jump right in and have fun .

With a larger bankroll, you can afford to take higher risks. Moreover, if you are in late position, you are able to influence the size of the pot considerably.

Your pre flop strategy will also determine your style of play; you may want to play more or less aggressively pre-flop depending on the table.

Today I woke up, lying there in bed, I felt incredibly weak. I wonder why, I drank a lot of water before bed so it couldn’t be dehydration. Maybe something I ate? Who knows.

Then I proceed to get a glass of water and it smells and tastes like some kind of raspberry concoction, and I’ve never drank something like that from that glass, so I have no idea what was going on.

It’s nice though, I enjoy those times when you don’t really understand what is going on and you’re staring at the wall trying to figure it out, then you just relax and enjoy the fact that you might be going insane.

That’s an awesome feeling.

I read a great article today on Leveling Up by Steve Pavlina. It struck a few inside my mind regarding poker and how hating poker isn’t going to get me anywhere, pretty obvious you might say, but I’ve found that it’s easier to say “yeah no shit sherlock” than to actually apply it when you’re sitting there at the table getting owned by some tardemperor.

Although those thoughts did cross my mind before I read that article. It’s interesting how coincidences happen.

I’m sitting there thinking about purple birds for three days and then someone like Steve Pavlina posts pictures about purple birds, it’s confirmation, someone is saying “yes sir, you are on the right path”.

Obi-Wan, is that you?

Alright, I couldn’t wait any longer. I love to hate.

1. You Can Meet Some Pretty Shady People

If you’re not careful!

Here’s one example. I had a coach which I came in contact through CardRunners about 1½ years ago. He was claiming to be winning 8ptbb/100 at $2/4NL so I thought okay I’ll try some coaching.

I sent him like $1,100 or something for a 10 hour-block and I did 3 hours of that block and then just thought fuck this, this guy isn’t teaching me enough stuff that I want to keep going. So I said, I want my money back, he said okay, I’ll send it to you as soon as I can.

Needless to say, 1½ years later he was been promising to send the money to me and nothing has happened. He still owes me $700.

I mean these kind of things just piss me off. What kind of morals do you have if you keep jerking someone around? I’ve been trying to be nice versus this guy but he’s just been avoiding me and saying he doesn’t have money, but my patience is very thin now.

If you’re a poker player, you should easily be able to pay someone their money back. I mean he had my money, what did he do? Spend it and never earn any money ever again? He should easily be able to send me $50-100 a month to pay his debt off but I guess he’s just hoping I’ll go away and forget about it?

This is sickening, why do people do this?

2. The Swings Can Be Brutal

I’m not going to lie to you and say that poker is a dance on roses and an awesome game where you win lots of gold coins and get the princess at the end.

It’s more like you get some gold and then get shafted by Shrek the green god of variance.

This is why it helps to have rakeback when you play, atleast then when you’re running like a paeorjafshzn you get some monies because you play!

I’ve been playing for almost 5 years and I’m beginning to feel like I want to do something else. Maybe coaching or something? I’ve been talking with Tommy a bit about this, but I am still not sure how to go about it.

My coaching would most likely be on the other things of poker, tilt, money management (not much needed there, have lots of money and you’re good!),  game selection and all that stuff. Basically the discipline side of the game.

A bit of a tangent there, let’s get on to the next point.

3. Addiction

I wish I was addicted to this game. It would be awesome to be addicted because I would make so much money. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be a winner and just want to play all the time? Money, money, money!

But if you think about it, nothing of value can be bought with money, pretty deep, right?

Oh yeah, addiction, trying to keep my focus here.

I guess some people who aren’t winners get addicted. My thinking is that if they don’t have poker to be addicted to it will just be something else. Maybe I just want to think that way because it makes it easier for me to justify all this and bla bla bla. Mind loops, they go on forever. Maybe I am really thinking that I’m thinking that or just this or that or whaat.

Here’s a picture of my gf’s dog, dogs are good for poker, they ease the pain of poker!

Until next time ORCS