Texas Holdem Poker Hand Odds
Drawing Hand Odds
When playing Online Texas Holdem Poker at places like FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com...you must always be aware of how many outs you have, or simply what cards can be dealt to give you the winning hand. There are times in Texas Holdem when you know you are behind in the hand but it makes sense to call based on hand odds.
Often there might be 4 or 5 players in a hand where the pot has been raised and called around. You're holding 9
10
and call two bets before the flop where you may have the 3rd or 4th best hand at that point. The flop comes 7
8
Q
. What do you do at this point?First, you have to figure out your hand odds, or how many outs you have. Let's do the math here. In this case you have lots of outs. You have both a straight and a flush draw.
The straight draw gives you 8 outs (all the 6's and all the J's) and the fush draw gives you 9 outs (all the hearts in the deck) but remember you can't count the 6
and J
twice, so you really have 15 outs at this point, that's a good amount of outs. Now, you know you have 2 cards and there are 3 community cards on the table. That means there are 47 unseen cards (52 - 2 - 3 = 47). You have 15 outs with 47 cards unseen or a 54.1% chance of hitting your straight or flush.
Instead of explaining how we got 54.1%, I will provide a chart (at the bottom of this page) that tells you the odds of making your hand, based on the number of outs you have, after the flop has been dealt. I recommend committing this chart to memory if you plan on becoming a serious Texas Holdem poker player.
Both FullTilt and PokerStars.com have software at their sites that help you calculate your drawing hand odds on the spot!
Next, it's important to realize that even though you have lots of outs, your probably still way behind in the hand. All you have is 10 high, where there is a good possibility somebody has made at least a pair of Queens, an overpair, or is drawing to a higher flush. This is where, in Texas Holdem, it gets a little complicated and where a good amount of feel is needed.
From this point forward in the hand there are many factors that influence how you should proceed: your position to act in the hand, the size of any bet in relation to the total amount of chips in the pot, the type of players that are at your table, the amount of chips you have in relation to everyone else, what stage of the event your in, just to name a few.
Here in lies the beauty of Texas Holdem, how to navigate through these tough decisions and survive to fight another day. What makes the difference between a good Holdem player and a great Holdem player is their knowledge of hand odds, and the judgment they exercise in playing these types of hands. But one thing is for sure, they all are aware of how many outs they have to draw on and so should you.
Based on the below chart you can figure out what the chances are of you making your hand no matter what it is. For example, if you have a small pocket pair, your chances of making a set (2 outs) on the turn or river, is 8.4%. Hardly enough to stay in a raised pot after the flop, I would think...
Both FullTilt and PokerStars have software at their sites that help you calculate your drawing hand odds on the spot!
Click the banner above to go to the only legal US poker room!
( See Full Size Chart under "Outs and Odds"
section under Texas Holdem Essentials. )
Good luck and we'll see you at the tables!
To complete your knowledge of the math behind Texas Holdem Poker, read these sections: Pre-Flop Odds, Outs and Odds, Starting Hands and Drawing Hand Odds.
Get started at FullTiltPoker.com today!
****Important Update: (for 2008)************
1 - The 2 most popular online poker rooms - FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com - are STILL OPEN TO AMERICAN PLAYERS. In fact, (FT) FullTilt Poker has made it easier than ever to be playing real online poker in less than 5 minutes, no joke! Feel free to take advantage of our customized player bonuses by clicking on any FT links you see.
2 - Our site recently underwent a bit of a facelift, we added many new articles to blend in with our original content - much of which we decided to leave undisturbed. We felt it was important for our audience to have access to all the inside information on playing winning online Texas Holdem. Enjoy!
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Get started today, click on any of the links you see throughout the site and take advantage of these very special offers! We have chosen our affiliated sites very carefully, and highly recommend them as places to play Texas Holdem Online. FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com are class organizations and you can feel very comfortable joining their player ranks. Good Luck.
