Poker Odds for Dummies - Still don't quite understand all of it

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OwnedbyCow

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I guess I will just work my way down the page with items that I don't understand. If I know it, I won't bring it up.


The poker odds chart:

Since it is color coded red, blue, and yellow; why does it show an R inside of red boxes or C inside of blue boxes? It already states that the colors mean to raise or call.

When it says something like R>1, does this mean to raise greater than one BB?

At the bottom it shows NR, R, RR, and Cap. The only one actually used in the chart is R. Why are they there and how do I apply those? Plus what is a Cap?

No Raise, Against a Raise, Against a raise and a re raise, Against a cap.

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When you calculate your odds, it says to multiply your outs x4. It shows an example of 9x4=36. But earlier it shows 9 outs and says it is 4:1 and only 20%. Why is this different? Is one method better than the other? That is a large percentage difference.

If you calculate your odds to 10:1 it means you will win $100 from a $10 bet. How so? Or is it saying that it is only profitable and worth playing the hand if you will make $100 back on that hand. If this is true, is there another shortcut to be able to calculate all of this?
 
Nafor

Nafor

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It is always good to think these things through and force your brain to jump through some hoops.

I agree that the chart is hard to grasp. I have never used it myself. I can however recommend CC's own poker course which will explain many of the fundamentals in easily digestible manner.

Now I'll try to answer some of your questions...

When you calculate your odds, it says to multiply your outs x4. It shows an example of 9x4=36. But earlier it shows 9 outs and says it is 4:1 and only 20%. Why is this different? Is one method better than the other? That is a large percentage difference.

This is the 4 and 2 rule - a shortcut that can help you in many scenarios, and it is explained on that page. When the flop is already on the table and there are two cards yet to come, that is the moment to multiply your outs with 4 (if you are willing to see also the river). So 4x9 is correct.

Did you notice what happens in the earlier example with 4:1? There are already 4 cards on the table so there is only one card yet to come, so the right calculation is 2x9 which takes us very close to the 20%.

But think about this: if your opponent raises hard, and you decide that you are willing to see the turn card but not the river if your hand doesn't improve. Then you should multiply your outs only with 2 since you are willing to see only one card.

If you calculate your odds to 10:1 it means you will win $100 from a $10 bet. How so? Or is it saying that it is only profitable and worth playing the hand if you will make $100 back on that hand. If this is true, is there another shortcut to be able to calculate all of this?

Pay attention to detail. Parts 2 - 5 are all part of the same example.
We have already established that the chance to win the pot is 4:1, so 20%.

In the example there is already 90 dollars in the pot, and the opponent raises 10 dollars. You only need to pay 10 dollars to continue the game. 10:1 pot odds mean that you need to win the hand only 9% of the time to be profitable in the long run. Your odds of winning is 20% which is more than 9% and this makes your call profitable.

The idea here is to understand how to calculate your odds of winning the hand (e.g. 4 and 2 rule), and how to calculate your pot odds. When your odds of winning is greater than your pot odds making a call is usually profitable.
 
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