Pot Odds - What Are My Chances of Making a Hand in Poker?

Odds Relating to the Winning Poker Hands in Order:
Many want to know the winning poker hands in order, and you should know them before you sit at a table and play. More important however than the order of the winning hands are the odds of your opponents having them, and how that might affect your betting. This is a more detailed look at the odds of improving your hand. For each hand you want to make there a number of Outs or possible cards that can make your hand. You may be surprised to find that if you have four cards to a flush your chances are better to draw that than to improve a pair to three of a kind.
First you need to know about Outs and why they are important. Once you have your hole cards and then again after the Flop, you have some kind of hand or potential hand. The Outs are the cards you could draw to improve your hand. The more cards you can draw to make a hand the better the chance of improving the hand. While it is harder to make a straight or flush from the beginning of the hand, once you have the beginnings of a good hand, like four cards to a flush or an open ended-straight, the chance of filling it in are better than adding to your pair.
The following give you the Outs available to of improving your hand:
• 2 Outs to make a Pair into Three of a Kind.
• 4 Outs to make Two Pair into a Full House.
• 4 Outs to make an Inside Straight Draw into a Straight.
• 8 Outs to make an Open-ended Straight Draw into a Straight.
• 9 Outs to make Four to a Flush into a Flush.
• 15 Outs to make an Open Straight Flush Draw into a Straight, Flush, or Straight Flush.
So what is the probability of catching an Out? Well of course the more Outs you have the better, and keeping in mind that the most Outs you could have is 15 in Texas Hold'em, the following would be the odds of catching them at the Turn, River, or either:
• 15 Outs = 32% (Turn) 33% (River) 54% Overall.
• 9 Outs = 19% (Turn) 20% (River) 35% Overall.
• 8 Outs = 17% (Turn) 17% (River) 32% Overall.
• 4 Outs = 9% (Turn) 9% (River) 17% Overall..
• 2 Outs = 4% (Turn) 4% (River) 8% Overall.
Although the chance of getting a Flush is lower than getting Trips overall, the Outs and pot odds relate to improving your hand after the flop, and there are a lot more ways to fill in a Straight or Flush than to find one of only two card needed to make a Pair into Three of a Kind. Knowing these odds are as important as knowing what the order of winning poker hands is, so you should familiarize yourself with these odds before you throw your chips into the pot.

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