Pot Odds / Equity are they really that important?

[johnny tigre]

I've been playing poker both live and online for some years now, but i still dont get the idea on how these pot odds or equities helps a player. I never calculated pot odds or equities ever before, maybe thats why i get insulted by some players when they get beat by my non-standard way of betting.
I tried learning the way they calculate these but it seems that i get distracted more when i tried to do it.
Can anyone provide a laymans way of explaining the advantage of using or knowing how to use these poker maths? Im good with numbers but i see a lot of conflicting ideas of how these odds and equities are being calculated. And besides that, i always see cards with high probability of winning on the turn but ends up losing with a lucky river for the villain.

 

[diadiavalik]

I've been playing poker both live and online for some years now, but i still dont get the idea on how these pot odds or equities helps a player. I never calculated pot odds or equities ever before, maybe thats why i get insulted by some players when they get beat by my non-standard way of betting.
I tried learning the way they calculate these but it seems that i get distracted more when i tried to do it.
Can anyone provide a laymans way of explaining the advantage of using or knowing how to use these poker maths? Im good with numbers but i see a lot of conflicting ideas of how these odds and equities are being calculated. And besides that, i always see cards with high probability of winning on the turn but ends up losing with a lucky river for the villain.

I think that the more unconventionally you play, the more chances to win. Your opponent does not have the opportunity to read you.

 

[vinnie]

I would have a hard time believing someone can be a long-time winner without knowing and being aware of equity. You'll be paying too much, too often, to make a profit.

In some games, you might be fortunate enough that people aren't charging you the wrong prices to draw. In those cases, you are unintentionally playing the equities correctly. Otherwise, you're just running well.

 

[braveslice]

Calculating equities on the tables is not really needed; after all, the same situation repeats itself so often you know what the right thing to do is. IF you have studied the case off- line using math. Without math you don’t know if you play correctly or not.

“my non-standard way of betting” screams bad habits and losing plays, you can take one of those hands and study it to see if there is room for improvements offline. What others say has not that much meaning though if they lose

 

[twizzybop]

Lets see if I can keep a simple pot odds for you

Lets just say you are in the sb and hold 9,10 suited and there is sb of 5 and bb 10. Now 3 others limp in making that 10 a piece equals 30. Add 30 plus 10 plus 5 is 45.. you are getting 9 to 1 just to limp with your 9,10.. 5 more chips into a pot of 45.. 5 into 45.. to me you would be getting great pot odds to just call...

 

[MarkInThePark]

Poker odds, outs and equity

Does anyone know a good site, App or program where you can learn it?

 

[FailX21]

You can already find a lot of informations here on CC : https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php

Else, if you type any of those things in google, you'll find plenty of sites with what you are looking for !

 

[MarkInThePark]

You can already find a lot of informations here on CC : https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php

Else, if you type any of those things in google, you'll find plenty of sites with what you are looking for !

Thank you! I tryed looking for it on google but all it did was make it more confusing, guess i need like "poker odds for dummies" hahah

 

[Tommyc9494]

You see I feel like I get this but then when I read a little about it or watch an online vid within 2 mins my head is blown

 

[polote21]

I would not say that there is unusable information, everything in order to make the best decision when making our games increase our chances of playing more effectively, using information of a practical nature is still the most objective

 

[karl coakley]

I've been playing poker both live and online for some years now, but i still dont get the idea on how these pot odds or equities helps a player. I never calculated pot odds or equities ever before, maybe thats why i get insulted by some players when they get beat by my non-standard way of betting.
I tried learning the way they calculate these but it seems that i get distracted more when i tried to do it.
Can anyone provide a laymans way of explaining the advantage of using or knowing how to use these poker maths? Im good with numbers but i see a lot of conflicting ideas of how these odds and equities are being calculated. And besides that, i always see cards with high probability of winning on the turn but ends up losing with a lucky river for the villain.

The math does get very complicated and people make it more so. You just need to know the basics to help with decisions, poker is really a people game.

Learn the rule of 4 and 2.

You count your outs, on the flop x them by 4 and x them by 2 on the turn. This will ROUGHLY give you the odds of you making your hand. From there you can simply figure out if you are getting the correct odds to call.

For example, if I have a flush draw there are 9 cards that complete my flush. On the flop I have roughly a 36% chance of making my hand by the river (9x4). On the turn I have an 18% chance of making my flush by the river (9x2).

I'm going to round these numbers to make this even more simple and just say I have a 33% chance of making my flush on the turn and 20% chance of making it on the river.

There are three 33s in 100. Only 1 is a winner so you have a 2-1 chance of making your hand. 2x you are going to miss, 1 will get there. There are five 20s in 100. So you have a 4-1 chance of making your hand, 4x you are going to miss and 1 will get there.

If there are is 600 in the pot and on the flop the villian bets 1/2 the pot (300) I have the odds to make the call with my flush draw. The pot (600) plus the bet (300) = 900, I have to call 300, so I'm getting 3-1 but only need 2-1 to make the call. In laymans terms, There are 3 chips out there for every 1 I have to put in but I only need 2 out there for every 1 I put in to make it profitable.

You can see that it is a much more difficult call to make on the turn because I need 4 chips out there for every 1 I put in to make it a good call.

It is okay to round the numbers up and down like I did in my example. This is a rough guide to allow you to make a good decision on the info available.

 

[PokeRocK]

Without odds knowledge and equity calculation, you are not playing poker, you are gambling.
It's definitely necessary to have at least a basic knowledge of the consequences of your actions math-wise.
It is also important to adjust according to your opponents' tendencies and playing styles (see also: implied odds).

 

[AlexStar1981]

And this already for whom as!
There are people who like robots memorizing the theory of the game play without departing from the rules not a step!
And others still trust their intuition.
And the third at all play only on intuitions and enthusiasm )))

 

[kraemer]

Are pot odds important? Depends on if winning is important to You...
Without calculating pot odds You never know if the bet You make
is a winning or a losing play... And I would consider that to be a big
disadvantage.

 

[Pwohar43]

This may work for a quick calculation
Flush draws when it comes to you.
Double the amount of the bet
If there is that much or more in the pot, it’s a call.
If there is less than the doubled bet, its a fold.
Quick n easy