Learning more--what are Pot Odds exactly?

Could somebody explain in their own words what Pot Odds are? I've heard a few people talking about it, but never really knew what it is and what it entails and no one's really ever explained it to me.

Amount in the pot / the amount of the bet that you need to call/fold/ raise = Pot Odds.

There's 100 in the pot. You're faced with a $50 bet to play. So now there's $150 in the pot

You're getting 3:1 pot odds to call that $50 bet.

Edited: Corrected. I'm stupid.

The key element of pot odds is how they compare to drawing odds. Say you have 4 to a flush after the turn. Your chances of hitting that draw are 1 in 5. If there's 100 in the pot, and somebody bets 50, you need to pay 50 to win 150, 3 to win. So that's a bad call, taking a 1-5 chance to win 3-1. On the other hand, if the bet is 10, then you are calling 10 to make 110, 11 to 1. So that's a good call, taking a 1-5 chance to win 11-1.

Think of it in terms of betting on a coin-flip. A coin flip is a 50/50 proposition. If somebody offers to bet their quarter against your dollar, you are giving 4-1 odds on a 1-1 proposition, a bad bet. If somebody offers to bet their quarter against your dollar, you are getting 4-1 odds on a 1-1 proposition, a good bet.

Example:
There's ~11,000 in the pot.... you bet 5k.. .villain shoves ALLin... it cost you 17k to call a pot of 30k.... you're getting less than 2to1.

If you're holding two overs to a paired board (paired flop)..you're drawing to only 6outs if villain holds a pair,.... meaning you have a 24% chance of improving your hand for the win (if villain isn't on AA or KK that is). You are more than a 3to1 dog in the hand... and pot is giving you less than 2to1... therefore the call is a 'bad call' (not a profitable call... especially if it's a good chunk of your stack).

get it? Hope this helps!

PS.... #'s aren't exact... but just to give you an idea.

That makes sense. However, this is what I don't understand (and this is why someone like me would make the call because I see it differently--and please explain why my seeing it this way is wrong):

Let's use you the situation again. 11k in the pot, and after the flop I bet 6k (I remembered that number specifically), and villain pushes all in--and it's only 9k more for me to call.
So, at this specific moment, isn't there is technically 32k available for me to win? (11k, plus the 6k I bet, plus the 15k the villian pushed in), and (since the money I already bet is already in and not retreivable) it would cost me only 9k more to call. Isn't putting 9k in a 32k pot make the pot odds 3.5to1? Which would make my 3to1 underdog call just about equal and therefore a decent call and not necessarily a bad one?

Please explain if this is somehow incorrect.

total amount in the pot / amount it costs you to play = pot odds.

as far as outs, implied odds, equity completely different idea.

ok if you take 9 / 32 you need 28% chance of winning the pot to make it break even. if you only have 6 outs you chances are like 26% so this is a clear fold. don't forget you really can't count all 6 outs because there are time the villian has 2 pr or trips or even shares a hole card with you but also has a pair.

ok thats way off. i think its 9 / 41 so you need 21% chance to win. easy call. added to the fack that you pretty much commited yourself to the pot by putting in >1/3 you chips. and you can add a few %'s for the chance that there bluffing.

Ah! Right! The 9k that I would commit to the pot would bring the grand pot total to 41k, you're correct. So it would be a good call, yes?

Total amount in pot/The amount you have to put in to call.

e.g.
pot is 5k.
You need 1k. to call your opponents bet. Your pot odds are 5/1.

i read about pot odds but i dont really use them when i am playing and i reach FT often. You really dont need pot odds or implied odds in my opinion just develop youre own style.
maybe if you are becoming a pro it could be usefull though

Hello,

I don't have much to add right now. Seems like there are a lot of smart people here and i am intimidated. I know i shouldn't be, but i am.

Personally I think the pot odds are overrated when playing no limit hold them.

In limit hold them they are very applicable, however in no limit you are rarely in a situation prior to the river where a decision can be made correctly using pot odds because standard half pot three quarter past pot sized bets deny virtually any hand the correct drawing odds.

Therefore the concept of equity is far more applicable. However calculating equity is far more complicated. It's really a case of plug-in values into poker stove until you reach a point where you can estimate equity with some degree of accuracy.