In poker, one of the factors you should track is the odds in every situation. As there are no betting lines which give you the odds, you will have to find out about it. For this you will have to count the cards likely to be dealt, and be capable of improving your hand so you can take down the pot. The cards are called draws or outs. Based on how many outs you can get in a hand, you can calculate your odds.
Example of a hand that needs outs to improve chances of winning
For instance, in a game with a flop of 2d-9d-8h, you may have a hand with 10d-Jd. The best hand will only have Jack High. So it is possible that a player with just a queen will beat you. To improve your hand to have the winning combination, you require a few outs. If you get any diamond on the flop or turn, you can get a flush, as you already have four diamonds.
A seven or queen will improve your hand to make it a straight. A jack or ten can help land a top pair that will let you take the lead. In this situation, you can get six outs for a straight draw, nine for the flush draw and four to get a jack or ten. This will bring the total outs you need to win to eighteen. According to the standard chart for percentage of two cards to come, if you hit one of the eighteen outs, you will have 62.4% chances of winning.
Odds of a few high-ranking hands
There are other odds you should consider when playing. They are based on the kind of top hands you can make in the game. Here are a few:
Four of a kind - About 1 in 4,100 hands. It is the second best hand in poker, which can be beaten only by the straight flush. The probability that you will be against a player with a straight flush when you have this hand is 1:88 million.
Three of a kind - 1 in every 46 hands. You can make three of a kind two ways - with two hole cards and one community card, or with one hole card and two community cards. The former is called a set, and the latter trips. If you make a set on the flop, play it, as your opponents don’t know you have landed a three of a kind.
On the other hand, if you get trips, your opponents will know you have it. Also, while you have two on the board and one in your hand, your opponent could have the fourth and land his own trips to challenge you. The probability of turning a three of a kind into a full house is 2:1. It shows you have a good chance of improving the hand during the game.
Flush - In case you have two cards suited, your chances of getting a flush on the flop are 1:118. An opponent with a higher card in the same suit will have a minimum chance of 2:1 of landing a better combination on the turn or river. The probability of completing a flush draw on the river or turn is 3.5:1. In case you don’t land the flush when on the turn, the odds are against you at 4.2:1.
