Poker Odds for Texas Holdem

The biggest mistake that new poker players make is not playing tight enough. I see this all the time, and it's soooo easy to pick out the fish at the table and take them for all they've got. They play every hand they're dealt, but a good poker player will fold somewhere around 80 or 90% of their hands!

Always think about your outs when you're playing poker. Outs are the cards left in the deck that you haven't seen but that will help your hand. (For example, if you're on a flush draw, all the unseen cards of the suit you need are your "Outs").

To figure out your chances of drawing one of those cards, though, you need to do some math. Take the number of outs left in the deck and divide them with the number of cards that haven't been seen (this includes the burned cards). So say you need on more spade to make your flush; there's two in your hand and two on the board after the Flop. There are 13 in the deck, minus four is 9. 52 minus 5 (the two cards in your hand and the three on the board) leaves 47. That comes out to about a 20% chance of drawing a spade on the Turn or the River.

This is a VERY basic introduction to Poker Odds, though, so you should definitely pick up a book or two & read more!

Click the links below to learn more about:

How Poker Betting works

How to Bluff in Poker

Poker Playing Styles

The "Button" and the "Blinds"

Or if you want something a little easier, try the How to Play Poker section.