Poker is a game that requires skill, strategy, and a bit of luck. One important concept that all poker players should understand is implied odds. While most players are familiar with pot odds, which refers to the ratio of the current size of the pot to the cost of a contemplated call, implied odds take into account future betting rounds and potential winnings that may come from hitting a draw.
Implied odds refer to the amount of money that you can expect to win on later streets if you hit your hand. It’s important to note that these odds are not set in stone and can vary depending on how your opponents react to your bets and raises.
For example, let’s say you’re playing in a no-limit hold’em game with $1/$2 blinds. You’re dealt 8h-9h in middle position and decide to call the $2 bet.
The flop comes 6h-7s-10h giving you an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. The player in early position bets $5 into the $7 pot, and everyone else folds to you.
The question is whether or not it’s profitable for you to call this bet with your draws. Pot odds tell us that we need at least 33% equity in order to make a profitable call (i.e., we need to win at least one out of every three times for our call to be profitable). In this case, we have eight outs for our straight (four 5s and four Jacks) plus nine outs for our flush (the remaining hearts), which gives us a total of 17 outs.
Using basic math, we can calculate our chances of hitting either our straight or flush by multiplying our outs by four (for two cards left) or two (for one card left). This gives us roughly 68% chance of hitting one of our draws on either the turn or river.
However, just because we have the odds in our favor doesn’t necessarily mean we should make the call. We need to factor in implied odds as well. Implied odds take into consideration the additional money that we could win if we hit our draw.
In this case, if we hit our flush or straight, there’s a good chance that the early position player will bet again on the turn and river. Let’s say he bets $10 on the turn and $20 on the river.
If we hit one of our draws and call all three streets, our total investment would be $17 ($2 preflop call plus $5 flop call plus $10 turn call). However, if we hit our draw and win the pot, we stand to win a total of $57 ($7 pot plus $10 turn bet plus $20 river bet plus our own investment of $17).
Therefore, even though our pot odds are 33%, our implied odds are much higher because of the additional money that we stand to win if we hit one of our draws. In this case, it’s definitely profitable for us to make the call with 8h-9h.
It’s worth noting that implied odds can vary depending on your opponents’ tendencies and playing styles. If you’re up against a tight player who folds frequently after making a bet or raise, your implied odds will be lower since you won’t be able to extract as much value from your draws. On the other hand, if you’re playing against an aggressive player who is likely to continue betting even if you hit your draw, your implied odds will be higher.
In summary, implied odds are an important concept in poker that can help you make profitable decisions when playing drawing hands. While pot odds give you a basic understanding of whether or not it’s profitable to make a call with your draws, implied odds take into account future betting rounds and potential winnings that can come from hitting your hand. By understanding and utilizing implied odds, you can improve your overall poker strategy and increase your chances of winning at the table.
