1. No Limit Hold'em Poker Odds Hold Em Poker Odds Made Easy

It used to be that skilled poker players — who mostly played fixed-limit games — needed to learn how to adapt their games to no-limit once the NL hold'em 'boom' hit. Today, however, since most players at the tables now cut their teeth on no-limit, they've got to learn the old form of the game if they're going to become winning limit players.

Toward that end, with the availability of limit hold'em, H.O.S.E. and H.O.R.S.E. games online, and with casinos spreading limit games especially during major tournaments like the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, it's useful to understand some key conceptual differences between the two formats.

Texas Hold’em Bluffing Tips. What makes any poker game exciting, and Texas Hold’em is certainly no exception, is that players can bluff at any point. Sometimes half the fun of a game is seeing whether you can successfully bluff an opponent out of some money.

In this article I'd like to focus on the most significant difference between no-limit and fixed-limit games — implied odds. Then in a follow-up we'll talk further about some of the other most important adjustments players need to make when moving from no-limit to limit.

1. Texas Hold’em can be played as a Limit or No-Limit game, depending on the specific game rules. This relates to the presence or otherwise of a cap on betting. No-Limit is vastly more popular thanks to its propensity to create massive pots and huge swings in action.
2. In Limit Hold’em, you’ll be seeing more showdowns than you would in No Limit poker. This means that you should carefully consider your ranges preflop by judging your hand’s showdown value when deciding whether or not to fold, cold-call, open-raise, or three-bet.

Pot Odds, Drawing Odds and Implied Odds

In no-limit poker implied odds are hugely important, while in fixed-limit games the significance of implied odds is, well, limited.

For those of you not familiar with the term, a quick primer on 'pot odds,' 'drawing odds' and 'implied odds' is necessary.

'Pot odds' refers to the amount of money you may win when you call a bet compared to the cost of calling that bet. If there's $800 in the pot and your opponent bets $200, to call means paying $200 with a chance at winning $1,000 total — in other words, you're getting 5-to-1 pot odds with your call.

'Drawing odds' refers to the probability that you won't make your hand. If you're drawing to a flush on the river, your drawing odds are the total number of unseen cards that don't help your hand compared to the number of cards that will give you the flush. Specifically, out of the total of 46 unseen cards, the odds are 37-to-9 or a little worse than 4-to-1 against you making your flush.

Finally, 'implied odds' are the pot odds as calculated above but also adding the money you might win on future betting rounds, too. Say you had that flush draw and faced having to call a bet on the turn. You'd calculate your pot odds, but add in the amount you might also win on the river if you hit your flush and bet and your opponent called. In a no-limit game, you could potentially win the size of your opponent's stack on the river (assuming you have him covered). Meanwhile in a limit game, you're only considering the size of another 'big bet' (the higher tier of betting) when thinking about implied odds — e.g., $20 in a $10/$20 limit game.

Without considering implied odds, if you are getting better pot odds than the drawing odds, then you should call. But if you're getting worse drawing odds than pot odds, then you aren't getting a good enough price for your call and you should fold.

If, for example, there was only $200 in the pot and your opponent bet $200 on the turn, then you'd only be getting $400 for your $200 call — that's 2-to-1 pot odds. Since your odds of hitting the flush on the river of worse than 4-to-1, that would be a bad call and you should fold.

But implied odds includes an additional piece of information to consider — the amount you might win on the river as well. Implied odds compares the cost of your bet on the turn with the total amount you might win in the hand, including the river.

So in the example above, with a pot of $200 on the turn, and a bet of $200 from your opponent, you'd have to know how much money you each had left in your stacks to know the implied odds. If you each had another $1,000 behind, and you thought your opponent would call off his entire stack if you bet it on the river after hitting your flush, then your implied odds would not be just 2-to-1, but rather 7-to-1 — the $400 pot on the turn plus the additional $1,000 you expected to win on the river if you hit your flush and your opponent called your stack-sized bet.

No Limit Hold'em Poker Odds Hold Em Poker Odds Made Easy

It should be added that implied odds are often going to be an estimate and not an exact calculation as with simple pot odds. If you know your opponent will call off his entire stack on the river when you make your flush and go all in, then you can be precise about the implied odds. But sometimes you'll only be able to estimate how much an opponent might pay off in such a spot (e.g., sizing your bet effectively to earn the call, not betting too much and having an opponent fold), which means you can't always be quite as exact with implied odds.

Implied Odds: Limit vs. No-Limit

Since players can potentially commit their entire stacks at any point in a no-limit poker hand, implied odds are especially important. There are implied odds in limit poker, too, of course — but they have less significance thanks to the limits on betting.

Continuing with the example of your drawing to a flush with one card to come, if the game were $100/$200 limit hold'em, you would factor in the chances that you could win one extra $200 bet on the river. So if the pot were $400 at the start of the turn and your opponent bet $200 (making the pot $600), you'd have immediate pot odds of 3-to-1 for your $200 call. That alone is not enough to justify continuing with your flush draw (which is a little worse than 4-to-1 of hitting).

But if you considered your implied odds, and figured your opponent would call your bet 100 percent of the time if you hit your flush on the river, you could add another $200 to what you stand to win as you decide whether to call that turn bet, giving you pot odds of 4-to-1 — closer to your drawing odds, but still not really making the call worthwhile.

Implied odds aren't just applicable on the turn and river. They are to be considered right from your initial decision to play your two hole cards. In no-limit games especially, implied odds have to be kept in mind as you are potentially 'playing for stacks' in every hand. That's not generally the case in fixed-limit games, which leads to many other strategic differences, including...

• playing more selectively preflop
• knowing when and how to press your advantages (extracting extra bets)
• being selective with postflop play
• making more river calls
• check-raising more frequently

I'll explore all five of these adjustments in more detail in the next article.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of articles and two books, Winning 7-Card Stud (Kensington 2003) and Winning No-Limit Hold'em (Lighthouse 2012). He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.

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  cash game strategytournament strategyfixed-limit hold’emlimit hold’emno-limit hold’emimplied oddspot oddsdrawing handspreflop strategypostflop strategy

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Introduction

Rules

1. A single 52-card deck is used. All cards count as its poker value. Aces may be high or low.
2. One player is designated as the dealer, usually with a laminated marker. This person does not have to physically deal the game. However it is important that a symbolic dealer position rotate around the table.
3. The player to the dealer's left must make a 'small blind' bet. The player to the left of the small blind must make a 'big blind' bet. The amounts of both blinds should be specified in advance. The purpose of the blinds is to get the ball rolling with some money in the pot.
4. Two cards shall be dealt down to each player, starting with the person to the dealer's left.
5. The player to the left of the big blind must either call or raise the big blind bet. The play in turn will go around the table according to normal poker rules, which I assume the reader already knows. Table rules will specify any limits on the size or number of allowed raises.
6. The small blind may also raise the big blind. If nobody raises the big blind the player making the big blind has the option to raise his own bet. The term for this is the 'big blind option.'
7. Three community cards will be dealt face up in the center of the table. This is called the 'flop.'
8. Another round of betting will ensue, starting with the player to the dealer's left.
9. A fourth community card will be dealt face up in the center of the table. This card is called the 'turn.'
10. Another round of betting will ensue, starting with the player to the dealer's left. Generally the minimum bet is double the first two rounds of betting.
11. A fifth and final community card will be dealt face up in the center of the table. This card is called the 'river.'
12. Another round of betting will ensue, starting with the player to the dealer's left. The minimum bet is generally the same as the previous round.

13. Each player still in the game at the end will determine the highest poker value among his own two cards and the five community cards. It is NOT a requirement that the player use both of his own cards. The player with the hand of highest poker value shall win. Following are the hand rankings.

    1. Straight flush: Five consecutive and suited cards. For example 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
    2. Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank, plus any fifth card. For example Q, Q, Q, Q ,4.
    3. Full house: Three of a kind and a pair. For example 6, 6, 6, J , J.
    4. Flush: Any five cards of the same suit, except for a higher ranking straight flush. For example A, Q, 8, 4 , 3.
    5. Straight: Five consecutive cards, except for a higher ranking straight flush. For example 8, 9, 10, J, Q.
    6. Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, plus any other two cards. For example 5, 5, 5, Q ,2 .
    7. Two pair: Two pairs, plus any fifth card. For example 8, 8, 2, 2 ,Q .
    8. Pair: A pair and any other three cards. For example 7, 7, 2, 5 ,A .
    9. ? High: Any five cards that do not form any higher poker hand. A king high hand for example might be K, Q, 7, 5 ,4 .
14. If two or more players have poker values of the same rank then the individual cards will be used to break the tie. If necessary all five cards will be considered.
15. I get asked a lot whether the two unused cards in a player's hand are used to break a tie. The answer is a firm NO. The two unused cards do not matter.
16. If a new player arrives at the table he should either wait for the big blind position or put up an amount equal to the big blind, amounting to a call of the big blind.
17. If a bet is made after another player runs out of money, then a separate pot is created. The player that ran out of money is not eligible to win the second pot. If more than one player runs out of money then multiple separate pots can be created.
18. In formal games players may not bet with cash or buy chips with cash in the middle of a hand.
19. There are numerous rules of etiquette, which I won't get into.
20. There house may set the betting rules. There are three main types. A 'structured' game features raises of specified amounts. For example a '3/6 game' would mean that raises after the deal and flop are $3, and after the turn and river are $6. There is usually a limit to the number of raises a player may make, typically three. A 'pot limit' game has structured minimum raises but the maximum raise may be anything up to the amount in the pot at the time the raise is made. A 'no limit' game also has structured minimum raises but there is no maximum raise.

Examples

Example 1

Board: A, 2, 4, 5, 6
Player 1: J, 6
Player 2: 7, Q

Player 1 wins. Both have an ace high flush, so the second highest card is considered. Player 1's jack beats player 2's 7. The only way to have a flush tie is if the flush is entirely on the board and no hole cards are higher than the lowest card on the board in the same suit.

Example 2

Board: J, A, 7, 5, 6
Player 1: 2, J
Player 2: 10, J

Player 2 wins. Both have a pair of jacks so the singletons are considered. High highet singleton in both hands is an ace so the second highest singleton is considered. Player 1's second highest singleton is a 7, compared to player 2's 10. A 10 beats a 7 so player 2 wins.

Example 3

Board: A, A, K, Q, J
Player 1: Q, J
Player 2: Q, 2

Tie. Both have a two pair of aces and queens, with a king singleton. Some people incorrectly believe that in such cases the unused cards are considered, in this case player 1's pair of jacks beating player 2's jack/2. Only the top five cards matter. The jacks and deuce are irrelevant.

One of the most important aspects of Texas Hold'em is the value of each two-card hand before the flop. The decision of how to play your first two cards is something you face every hand, and the value of your first two cards is highly correlated to your probability of winning.

The following table shows my power rating for each initial 2-card hand in a 10-player game. The numbers are on a 0 to 40 scale. Basically, you should only play hands that are dark green, blue, or purple. Of course you should be more be more liberal in late position and picky in early position. If forced I would say you should need 10 points in late position and 19 points in early position to call the big blind. If your table is loose, as if often the case online, you can play a bit looser yourself.

Use the top table if you have a pair, the middle table if your cards are suited, and the bottom table if your cards are unsuited. Except for a pair,look up your high card along the left and your low card along the top.

Following are the links to my tables of the value of each intial hand according to the number of players. The 10-player section explains the methodology for creating the table table.

Pot Odds

The following table shows the probability of making various hands after the flop and the correct 'pot odds.' The pot odds are the breakeven ratio of money in the pot to the amount you have to bet for the player to be indifferent about calling, assuming the player would definitely win if he makes the hand (a big if) and there are no additional bets (another big if). This table is a good starting point the player should make mental adjustments for the probability of winning without making the hand, losing with making the hand, and expected future bets. The odds of a two pair improving to a full house are the same as those for four to an inside straight.

Pot Odds — After Flop

The next table shows the pot odds after the turn.

Pot Odds — After Turn

Hand Strength Calculator

I'm proud to present my new and improved Poker Odds Calculator. Enter any situation in Texas Hold 'Em, and it will tell you the probability of each possible outcome.

Poker Tournament Calculator

My Poker Tournament Calculator will determine each player's probability, for up to nine players, of finishing in each place, and his expected share of any prize pool, assuming equal skill among all players. It produces the same results as what is known as the Independent Chip Model.

Internal Links

• Pinapple — Strategy and analysis of which card to discard before the flop.
• Bad Beat Jackpots: What is the Probability of Hitting one?
• Texas Hold 'Em Dominated Hand Probabilities: What is the probability one of your opponents has similar, and better, hole cards than yours?