| Calculating the Odds |
| When playing Texas Hold’em there will be are plenty of
times when you need a certain card to show itself on the flop,
or turn, or the river. So, it will be helpful to know what the
odds are that on the river you will catch the heart you need for
your flush, or the third nine you need to go with the two in your
hand. |
| To work out your chances of finding the card you need on the
board is not as complicated as it might at first have seemed. You
will need to know just two things – how many ‘outs’ you
have, and the number of unseen cards. |
| Outs |
| 'Outs' are simply the number of cards that can make your hand.
If you are looking for that flush on the river, there are 9 cards
that can help you. Since there are 13 hearts in the deck and 4
of them are in your hand or on the board, there must be 9 hearts
remaining. |
| Unseen Cards |
| The second thing to know in orderr to calculate the odds is the
number of unseen cards. Since two cards are in your hand, and just
prior to the river there are four cards on the board, that leaves
46 cards remaining out of a deck of 52. |
| Calculating the Odds |
| Calculating the odds becomes simple arithmetic. 9 is the number
of cards that can help you, and 46 is the total number out there.
Divide 9 by 45 and you have your odds. (9÷46=19.56%) |
| Ok, if you’re not too hot with the maths, commit a few
to memory. |
| Flush: When holding a four flush, the odds of catching it on
the turn are roughly 19%. Catching it on the river, the odds are
roughly 19%. Catching it on either the turn or the river is 35% |
| Open-Ended Straight: The odds of catching your card on the turn
are 17%. On the river it’s 17%. On either the turn or the
river it’s 31% |
| Gutshot Straight: Catching your card on the turn is 8%. Catching
your card on the river is 8%. Catching it on the turn or the river,
16% |
Trips: To turn a pair into Three-of-a-Kind on the turn, odds
are 4%. Catch at the river, 4%. Catch at the turn or the river,
8%. With pocket pairs it is more likely you'll want to catch on
the flop. Odds of that are 12%
|
