Odds and Wagers

Introduction: Odds and Holdem

Outs and Draws (and the magical rule of four)

Odds and Wagers

Tilted Donkey's Pot Size Rule of Calling

Important Calling Examples

Betting and Raising

Wonders of Betting and Raising

Making Estimates

General Points

Rules of Thumb for Drawing

People like to bandy about a bunch of jargon in justifying their poker decisions-- pot equity, implied odds, reverse implied odds, pot odds, money odds, outs, expected value (E.V.) and a bunch of others. Having statistical training, we find most people who use such terms don't really understand them (but it makes them sound knowledgeable!).

So avoid the terms and understand what poker "odds" are really about:

Wagers

Poker is a game played through a series of connected wagers.

• You decline a chance to wager by checking.
• You accept a wager by calling.
• You decline one by folding.
• You propose a wager by betting.
• You accept the current wager and propose a bigger one, when you raise.

So to be a successful poker player you need to understand when the wager will be profitable, and when it won't be, and act accordingly.

That is all there is to poker, like any gambling game where you are wagering upon event outcomes. (Never think of it as "just a card game"!)

To analyze a wager properly you need to look at its Costs versus its Benefits.

People who just want the bottom line on when to call... go to the bottom line.