How I (Ab)used Poker Calculators To Dominate The Tables

Poker is all about calculating your odds.

The more you know about how to estimate your odds, the better chances you have to control your play and win.

If you know how to calculate your odds then you can build a strong hand.

This is also important if you want to become a good poker player.

Also read: Poker Odds Calculators: Why You Need Them

There are several factors you need to consider when calculating your odds.

These factors determine what you need to add up or multiply to get your best bet.

A poker calculator lets you understand how to increase your chances of getting a desirable hand.

This also means long-term profitability.

The following sections show you how you can take advantage of poker calculators as well.

You should be raking in winnings in no time.

Understanding the Percentages of the Poker Games You Play

Related article: Poker Hand Odds To Learn To Avoid Getting Screwed At The Table

Getting or computing for poker odds rely on the type of game you play.

For instance, you have to get a different hand to win Texas Hold ‘em as opposed to the 7-card stud. You also have to use a different formula to check your chances on these games.

Look at all cogent variables prior to computing your hand odds. More importantly, understand that hand odds refer to the turn chances or river cards that can give you a good hand.

The best time to check your odds is after the flop. Remember, when playing Texas Hold ‘em, you have two cards to deal with.

The dealer will reveal three cards called as the flop. You can use these to create the strongest hand possible.

The best way to “abuse” or take advantage of your calculator is to base your computations on facts available.

Do not make projections on what other people’s cards may be. This can only get in the way of your odds. In this case, compute for your chances of building a winning hand.

Look at your cards, the flop, then do your calculations.

Find out how many outs you can have.

A good read: These Top 10 Poker Stars Will Inspire You

Outs refer to cards that affect your hand directly.

They tell you how far you can go in building your hand. There are cases you can get two outs only.

This means you have a small chance of building a desirable hand. Ideally, 1 out of 15 different out will let you build a strong hand. Make sure you tally your outs.

To do this, evaluate your hand following the flop. Decide what hand you can build after.

The following provides a guide on computing your odds at different instances and given cards:

• Nothing – this happens if you have cards lower than or unsuited to at least one in the flop. This gives you six outs to get a pair. For instance, if you obtain a 5 and a 9, any of the cards remaining (5 and 9) will let you create a pair. You will have 6 outs for the turn and river.
• Pocket pair – if you have a low pair of cards (this means at least one from the flop cards is higher giving your opponent a chance to create a higher hand) you get two outs to create 3 of a kind of something higher.
• 2 overcards – this happens if you have two cars like a queen and an ace that are above any of the 3 flops given. This gives you 6 outs: queens and three aces.
• Flush draw – this happens when the flop has two cards with similar suit and you have a suited card. Given you have four suited cards in your set then there is a total of 13 cards per suit. Your chances of achieving a flush are around 9 outs.
• Flush and open-straight draw – in this instance, you took the jack and 10 of diamonds. The 9 of spades becomes the flop so it the 4 and 8 of diamonds. You have an incredible advantage with 15 outs. That is, any 7 or queen (6 outs to achieve the straight) or any diamond (9 outs to achieve flush).

Computing for the Percentage or Change You Hit Your Hand through a Single Card

You can also compute for the chances of the river card.

To know your chances of completing your hand through the card, get the difference between the number of cards remaining and your outs.

Only count the cards you have in figuring out the remaining number.

In this case, calculating for the river meant using 42 cards left. Subtract 6 from 52 (1 turn, 3 flops and 2 hold cards).  

Divide the resulting number with how many cards remain.

This gives you your hand percentage.

Getting the Flop-to-river Percentage

This is more complicated compared to previous calculations.

This requires considering the turn, river and two cards in separate draws.

To compute for flush draw hand percentage, get the difference between the number of cads remaining and the number of outs.

This means 47-9. Divide the result by 47. Quotient is at 0.81.

For the river, subtract the outs (9) from the cards remaining (46) and divide the result by 46.

This quotient is 0.80.Multiply the resulting quotients. This gives 0.65. Get the difference between 1 and 0.65 for the hand percentage. This gives 0.35.

This means you have 35 percent chance of obtaining a flush from a flush draw.

Hand Percentage and Odds Ratio

You can use your hand percentage to get the odds ratio.

This is essential if you want to becomea Texas Hold’em winner.

You need to compare the hand odds to the pot odds to see whether you should continue playing or not.

To compute for the hand odds, assign a whole number for your hand percentage. For instance, 24 are considered 24. Divide 24 by 100 and you get 4.17. Round this to 4 which is the nearest whole number.

Pot odds mean the chances out of 100 that you can create a hand to break even.

Experienced players often check their pot odds to the hand odds before deciding if they will go for the bet.

These are just some of the ways you can use a poker calculator to your advantage.

Computing for your chances should come easy after a few tries.

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