How to Calculate Your Winning Chances in a Poker Hand?

Understanding the odds when playing poker can help you to be more successful. This article provides you with odds and tips to help you to be a better player.

How Do You Figure Out the Chances of Winning in Poker?

Poker is arguably the hardest card game to play. It is not only about playing your cards right to wind up getting the winning hand but is also about reading other people. In fact, some would likely tell you that the ability to read the expressions of others and to bluff is far more important than any strategy you may develop.

The Online Options Losing This Important Part of the Game?

Millions of people head to casinos each year across this planet looking to dominate the poker table. They enjoy the competition. They enjoy the opportunity of outplaying another even when their hand was not a winner.

There are just as many, if not more, who are enjoying playing online poker. They find that this style of game is just as enjoyable, which may seem surprising to some. After all, your ability to bluff others seems to have been lost when you are unable to see your competitors. You cannot tell their facial expressions or see if they are giving away some type of hint as to what hand they have. Instead, you are having to go completely on your instincts.

What makes online poker more enjoyable for some is that they have to learn how to determine a player’s style through the computer. This can be just as much fun. It requires a different skill set, and this is why many who have wanted to test out there ability to read others have turned to the list of trusted poker sites in Kenya that have been reviewed by bestcasinosites.com. They can find great places to play their favorite game and put their skills to the test.

Online Can Be Much Better

It is understandable that there are those who will not be attracted to online poker. They like to be able to look into the eyes of opposing players, and this cannot be accomplished online. That is unless you are playing a site where live dealers are offered, and the site offers the opportunity to watch and view other players at the same time.

However, this is a technological world we live in. There are many who prefer to do all activities online. They communicate with and “meet” with their friends and family online. They play games and shop online. They choose even choose to go to school online or look for jobs they can perform online. So, it is not surprising that many people would see the clear advantages and playing online.

They can still find a great deal of enjoyment doing all the things they would have done in person, but doing them online now.

So, How Can I Win in Poker?

Even if you are very good at playing poker, you may have never considered how to determine your chances of winning. This is an important skill set to know, because it should provide you with additional strategies on whether to stay in a game or not. For example, what you may find is that if your chances of winning are extremely low and there is not a significant pot at stake, it may be worth your while to simply walk away. Knowing your chances of winning can help to make you an even better poker player.

For those who are not very proficient in math, no need to worry. Calculating the odds is not about being a mathematical genius. We will tell you upfront that if you are very good in math it can be helpful to you, but it is not essential.

What is important for you to know is to calculate the risk and reward of staying in a hand. As mentioned, if there is a small pot at stake and you do not have a particularly good hand, this may not be the time to whip out your best poker face. You want to pull out all the stops when the stakes are the highest.

Let’s Understand Some Terms

To get started, there are some terms that must be understood. These include:

• Flip
• Pre-flop
• Turn
• River
• Outs

Let us start with pre-flop. This term refers to the round where each player has been dealt two cards. These are referred to as the “starting hand” or “hole cards.” These cards are only visible to the player and not to anyone else at the table.

The pre-flop occurs after blind bets have been made. In this, players are simply putting an initial ante into the pot before any cards are dealt at all. This is why they are referred to as blind bets, because players are getting in on the action before any cards have been dealt at all. Outs describes any unseen card.

Flip refers to a situation where two players look like there is an even chance that either one can win. It is referred to by this term because it is much like a “coin flip.”. There is a 50-50 chance of either side of the coin coming up, and this is what happens in the flip in poker.

The turn card is the fourth card dealt in a game where each player will receive five cards. In this instance, each player would then have two cards showing and two cards down. This gives other players some indication of the hand that their opponents are holding.

The river is the final card dealt in a poker hand. This leads to a final round of betting.

Ok, So How I Know If I Might Win?

Now that we understand some terms, it is time to start discussing some odds. What is important about the terms you learned above is that they tell you a little bit about the likelihood or chances of you coming up with a particular hand.

Let’s take an example. Say you are holding two Ks in your hand. It does not matter whether they were the pre-flop cards or that they appeared as part of your flip. If you are at the turn and your two Ks are the only ones visible to you, meaning that no other Ks are visible, then you are able to start narrowing down the likelihood of you drawing a third K.

It is important to understand that some assumptions need to be made here. You do not know if any other player is holding a K as a pre-flop card. If you assume, they are not, and there are five players in the game, then 20 cards have already been dealt. Your chances of receiving one of the other Ks is one in 16.

Now, before continuing, you must consider what other people have appearing on the table. If one of your opponents is showing two Aces, you know you must come up with that other king to be able to win. Not only do you have to consider the odds of you getting another king (1 in 16), but the likelihood that the other player may also have a third ace. If no other aces are showing, there is a 1 in 16 chance of them drawing another ace when the final card is dealt, but their odds improve because they may have already been dealt an ace that is not visible. This is where your instincts need to come in to play.

Below is listed a probability chart that lets you determine your chances of receiving a particular type of hand after the flop. You want to consider this as well.

HAND	IMPROVE TO	OUTS	ON THE FLOP	ON THE TURN
Open ended straight flush draw	Straight/Flush/Pair	21	72.32%	47.73%
Open ended straight flush draw	Straight/Flush	15	54.10%	32.60%
Inside straight	Straight/One Pair	10	38.40%	21.70%
Four flush	Flush	9	35%	19.60%
Open ended straight draw	Straight	8	31.50%	17.40%
Three of a kind	Full House	7	27.80%	15.20%
Unmatched pocket cards	One Pair	6	24.10%	13%
One Pair	Two pair/Three of a kind	5	20.40%	10.90%
Two pair	Full House	4	16.50%	8.70%
Inside straight	Straight	4	16.50%	8.70%
One Pair	Two pair	3	12.50%	6.50%
Pocket pair	Three of a kind	2	8.40%	4.30%
Three of a kind	Four of a kind	1	4.30%	2.20%

 

While not a comprehensive article on odds, this should help you to be able to improve your game. As a poker player, you are well aware that every advantage you can gain is a good one.