Pot odds is one of the most important casino concepts to understand for a poker player. The term refers to the size of the pot divided by size of the bet. If you are sitting at a table with $20 in the pot and you want to call a $4 bet, you are in fact getting pot odds of 5:1. To call a $10 bet with the same pot, you are getting pot odds of 2:1.

To be able to calculate your pot odds you need to always be aware of the pot size. This is no problem when playing online poker since the pot is displayed on the casino screen. When you play poker in real-life this takes a little more effort, but it is crucial that you do it.

When you know how to calculate your pot odds, you need to start applying the information and connect the pot odds to the value of your hand. The key is to calculate your chances of making a better hand than your opponents. If you have a flush draw on the flop when playing hold’em, there are nine cards (outs) that will give you a flush. Every out gives you approximately 4 percent chance of hitting the turn and the river. This means that nine outs give you a 36 percent chance (approx. 2:1) of making the flush on the turn and the river. In other words you need pot odds of at least 2:1 to call a bet on the flop.

However, when betting you need to know more than what is currently in the pot. This is more complicated than bingo. You must have an understanding of implied poker odds, the expected size of the final pot compared to the bet you currently face. When you expect further action on a hand the implied pot odds are higher than the pot odds.