Odds translated into percent?

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Mdf1992

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Hi All!

So I'm a bit confused. I just started calculating pot odds and hand equity, and the way I had been doing it is as follows:

If somebody raised 10c into a 1 dollar pot, I would calculate the odds as being 10/(1.20) = 8.3% pot odds. And then let's say I had a flush draw and so there were 9 outs for me, so I would divide 9/46 = 20% hand equity. So that would be a call because 20% > 8.3%.

Now here's the thing! I want to start doing odds/equity in the 3:1, 10:1 type of way, instead of percentages.

So my question is: is this how you would do it?

I would risk 10 cents to make 1.10 so that is 1.10:10 odds aka 11:1 odds?
And then my hands equity would be 46/9 = 5:1 odds?

Or isn't it the opposite? IDK can someone help me make sense out of this? I think the pot odds of 11:1 makes sense because I am risking 1 to make 11. But as for my hand equity, I don't understand how 5:1 makes sense? I want to intuitively understand what this means.

Again, I basically want to start seeing pot odds and equity in the 3:1 vs. 5:1 sense, instead of percetanges. Can someone help me here?/also, do you prefer to look at it in percentages or the ratios? I just thin ratios are more simple, especially when calculating pot odds, because I can just simply ratio the amount i need to call vs. the amount that i would win (instead of having to add my call to the denominator to get the percentage).

Thanks for any insight here!
Mark
 
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Delfino

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You must also include the money you put into the pot.

If the pot was 1$ and someone bets 10c, the pot is now 1,1$. You have to put 10c to win a total pot of 1,2$. Your can't invest more than 10/120~8% of the pot (of course not including implied odds).

Let's see simpler example. Let's say there is a bet which is equal to the pot. There are two bets in the pot at the moment, so the pot gives you 2-1 odds. In order to call profitable you have to win it once every three times. (2 times you lose 1 bet, 1 time you win 2 bets). If you want to translate it into percentages just add your bet to the pot - the pot will consists of 3 bets so you have to win it 1/3 times to break even, which is 33%=1/3.

Another example - someone bets half of the pot. There are 3 bets in the pot, so it gives you 3-1 odds. You have to win once every 4 tries (3 times you lose 1 bet, 1 time you win 3). Your brake even percentage would be 1/4=25%.

Honestly I suggest to use only percentages which work well with rule of 2 and forget about odds. Just remember to add your bet to the pot. For example:

Pot = 10 BB
Someone bets 5BB, there is one call.
Pot now consists of 20BB and you have to spend 5BB to win a total of 25BB. Your break even percentage is 5/25=1/5=20%. You need about 10 outs to win with one card comming (and 5 outs if two cards come and there will be no betting on turn).
 
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vinnie

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I prefer odds to percent, myself. But it isn't 46:9, it is 37:9. It is bad:good. There are 37 bad cards and 9 good ones. That works out to about 4:1 and since you are getting offered 11:1, it is an easy call.
 
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Mdf1992

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I prefer odds to percent, myself. But it isn't 46:9, it is 37:9. It is bad:good. There are 37 bad cards and 9 good ones. That works out to about 4:1 and since you are getting offered 11:1, it is an easy call.


THANK YOU! This is exactly the intuition I was looking for. Cheers!
Mark
 
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Mdf1992

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You must also include the money you put into the pot.

If the pot was 1$ and someone bets 10c, the pot is now 1,1$. You have to put 10c to win a total pot of 1,2$. Your can't invest more than 10/120~8% of the pot (of course not including implied odds).

Let's see simpler example. Let's say there is a bet which is equal to the pot. There are two bets in the pot at the moment, so the pot gives you 2-1 odds. In order to call profitable you have to win it once every three times. (2 times you lose 1 bet, 1 time you win 2 bets). If you want to translate it into percentages just add your bet to the pot - the pot will consists of 3 bets so you have to win it 1/3 times to break even, which is 33%=1/3.

Another example - someone bets half of the pot. There are 3 bets in the pot, so it gives you 3-1 odds. You have to win once every 4 tries (3 times you lose 1 bet, 1 time you win 3). Your brake even percentage would be 1/4=25%.

Honestly I suggest to use only percentages which work well with rule of 2 and forget about odds. Just remember to add your bet to the pot. For example:

Pot = 10 BB
Someone bets 5BB, there is one call.
Pot now consists of 20BB and you have to spend 5BB to win a total of 25BB. Your break even percentage is 5/25=1/5=20%. You need about 10 outs to win with one card comming (and 5 outs if two cards come and there will be no betting on turn).


Thanks! This is helpful intuition!
 
najisami

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Hi All!

So I'm a bit confused. I just started calculating pot odds and hand equity, and the way I had been doing it is as follows:

If somebody raised 10c into a 1 dollar pot, I would calculate the odds as being 10/(1.20) = 8.3% pot odds. And then let's say I had a flush draw and so there were 9 outs for me, so I would divide 9/46 = 20% hand equity. So that would be a call because 20% > 8.3%.

Now here's the thing! I want to start doing odds/equity in the 3:1, 10:1 type of way, instead of percentages.

So my question is: is this how you would do it?

I would risk 10 cents to make 1.10 so that is 1.10:10 odds aka 11:1 odds?
And then my hands equity would be 46/9 = 5:1 odds?

Or isn't it the opposite? IDK can someone help me make sense out of this? I think the pot odds of 11:1 makes sense because I am risking 1 to make 11. But as for my hand equity, I don't understand how 5:1 makes sense? I want to intuitively understand what this means.

Again, I basically want to start seeing pot odds and equity in the 3:1 vs. 5:1 sense, instead of percetanges. Can someone help me here?/also, do you prefer to look at it in percentages or the ratios? I just thin ratios are more simple, especially when calculating pot odds, because I can just simply ratio the amount i need to call vs. the amount that i would win (instead of having to add my call to the denominator to get the percentage).

Thanks for any insight here!
Mark

Hey Mdf,

Sometimes things get confusing, especially when you don't have enough time to decide. Check out this little video, I hope it'll be of some help :

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dVZYyBxjg&t=232s[/ame]
 
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Mdf1992

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I prefer odds to percent, myself. But it isn't 46:9, it is 37:9. It is bad:good. There are 37 bad cards and 9 good ones. That works out to about 4:1 and since you are getting offered 11:1, it is an easy call.


So Vinnie, can I ask: usually it is said that you want your hand equity to be higher than the pot equity if you are to call. But if I am starting to go by odds (instead of percentage), it would actually be the opposite? Is that right? So for instance, if I am getting 21 to 1 odds on my hand, then actually I would want the pot odds to be like 22 to 1 or higher, right? Because if I am 21 to 1 on my hand, that means that I WON'T hit my card 21+ times, so basically the pot odds had better be something higher than 21 to 1 to justify a call aka my reward better be something higher than 21 to 1 to pay off such high risk of my hand odds?

I am trying to make sense of this in my head.
 
vinnie

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You are exactly right. You want to be offered more reward for every bad card.

So, if your odds are 22:1, and the pot odds are $21:$1, you aren't getting paid enough. 22 times you will lose $1, and only 1 time you will win $21. That means you lose over the long run.

You want the rewards to be more than the risk. $23:$1 is good when the odds are 22:1.

This can be tricky, if you have something like $5.70:$2.30 and your odds are 38:8, but you can try and simplify the numbers so the right side is one... 2*2.30 = $4.60 and 3*2.30 is $6.90... so you're being offered between 2-3:1 then 4*8 is 32, 5*8 is 40. So your odds are between 4-5:1. Since the amount you are being offered (between 2 and 3) is less than the odds you will lose (between 4 and 5), you should fold.

You rarely need to be super exact here. You get a feel for it. It also helps that most people bet in pretty standard fractions of the pot. You'll see the same odds offered over and over again. And, you'll have the same draws over and over again.
 
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Mdf1992

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You are exactly right. You want to be offered more reward for every bad card.

So, if your odds are 22:1, and the pot odds are $21:$1, you aren't getting paid enough. 22 times you will lose $1, and only 1 time you will win $21. That means you lose over the long run.

You want the rewards to be more than the risk. $23:$1 is good when the odds are 22:1.

This can be tricky, if you have something like $5.70:$2.30 and your odds are 38:8, but you can try and simplify the numbers so the right side is one... 2*2.30 = $4.60 and 3*2.30 is $6.90... so you're being offered between 2-3:1 then 4*8 is 32, 5*8 is 40. So your odds are between 4-5:1. Since the amount you are being offered (between 2 and 3) is less than the odds you will lose (between 4 and 5), you should fold.

You rarely need to be super exact here. You get a feel for it. It also helps that most people bet in pretty standard fractions of the pot. You'll see the same odds offered over and over again. And, you'll have the same draws over and over again.

Sweet! So wait...if it is $5.70:$2.30, I can still just use a calculator and do 5.7/2.3, which is 2.5 :)1). And same with my odds of 38:8...I can type in my calculator 38/8 and that is 4.75 :)1). That would be correct, right? 2.5:1 vs. 4.75:1?
Thanks again man. Idk why I find this so confusing...ugh. I'm probably just over-complicating it. I tend to do that.
 
vinnie

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Sweet! So wait...if it is $5.70:$2.30, I can still just use a calculator and do 5.7/2.3, which is 2.5 :)1). And same with my odds of 38:8...I can type in my calculator 38/8 and that is 4.75 :)1). That would be correct, right? 2.5:1 vs. 4.75:1?
Thanks again man. Idk why I find this so confusing...ugh. I'm probably just over-complicating it. I tend to do that.

Yes, you can do that, if you have a calculator available. When I play live, I don't really have the option of pulling a calculator out. And, when I am playing online, I usually don't have time. But, like I said, you will see the same basic numbers over and over again. You start to get a feel for it.

The other thing is stuff like implied odds on draws. If I have a gutshot straight draw, I need 10.75:1. Say I am playing a $1/$2 live game and me and my opponent have $200 stacks. If the pot is $8 on the flop and my opponent leads out for a pot sized bet ($8). I am being offered $16:$8. But my main concern is the odds I need to draw. I need about 11:1, so I have to ask myself if I can get $88 from this hand. There is $16 out there, so I need to get at least $72 more if I hit on the turn. Against some players, that is very likely. It seems really horrible to call to a gutshot draw getting 2:1, but if the stacks are deep enough and your implied odds are there, you can go for it.

Knowing my odds helps me calculate the implied odds that I need to get. If I am drawing for a flush (~4:1), and the bet is $15, I need to make $60 when I hit. If the pot was $25, there is already $40 out there. As long as I think I can make another $20, I can call. Obviously, I want to make more than $20, but that's the break even point. I don't always worry too much about the pot size out there, unless we're at the river or the bet puts one of us all-in.

That's the actual reason I prefer it over the percentage. It allows me to figure out how much I need to make to make the draw profitable.
 
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