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Poker odds
Knowing your odds and outs are basic knowledge for a pokerplayer. Maths is not everything in poker, but it helps to know what your odds are when you are drawing to something or believe that your opponent are drawing against you. The math helps you to take the right decisions at the poker table so study the information below and keep them in mind when you sit down at your favorite pokerroom.
The chance of getting specific pocket cards
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This table only shows you the likelihood of you ending up holding a specific hand, when you start. A lesson of this is that its not that often someone is holding to aces. You cant be to afraid about facing two aces. Sometimes you holding kings (220-1) and someone is holding Aces (220-1). Those times you are doomed to loose money, but most of the times your kings are good! |
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The odds of improving your hand on the flop (pockets + three cards) when you hold certain pocket cards
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| You hold | Flop gives you | Odds | % |
| Pocket pair | Three of a kind | 10.1-1 | 9.00% |
| Pocket pair | Four of a kind | 407-1 | 0.24% |
| Pocket pair | Full house | 136-1 | 0.73% |
| Any two unpaired cards | Two pairs | 48.5-1 | 2.00% |
| Any two unpaired cards | A pair | 2.1-1 | 32.40% |
| AK suited | Royal Flush | 19599-1 | 0.01% |
| Two suited cards | Flush | 119-1 | 0.84% |
| Two suited cards | Four cards to a flush | 8.1-1 | 10.90% |
| Any two unsuited cards | Four cards to a flush | 88-1 | 1.12% |
| Two connected offsuit cards | Straight | 76-1 | 1.31% |
This table shows you about the likelihood that you hit something on your flop. It also shows that its very likely to hit a pair at the flop. The importance of this is to understand that only a pair is normally a week one, at least if its not the top pair with a good kicker.
Other lessons by studying this table is that your opponent will miss the flop more often than they hit it! They will sometimes hold the nuts, but mostly not.
Also if you are facing several opponents its very likely that someone hit the flop. That's why you don't really want to slowplay your AA or KK in the pocket. You only want one opponent, otherwise there is a great risk that you need to improve to have the best hand.
The odds of improving your hand on the turn when you hold certain hand
| You have | Turn gives you | Odds | % | Number of outs, drawing to the nuts |
| Four cards to a flush | Flush | 4.2-1 | 19.10% | 9 |
| Open ended four card straight | Straight | 4.9-1 | 17.00% | 8 |
| Gutshot straight draw | Straight | 10.8-1 | 8.50% | 4 |
| Three of a kind | Four of a kind | 46-1 | 2.10% | 1 |
| Two pair | Full house | 10.8-1 | 8.50% | 4 |
| A pair | Three of a kind | 22.5-1 | 4.30% | 2 |
| A pair, with one pocket card and one table card. | Two pair, with both pocket cards. | 14.3-1 | 6.50% | 3 |
| Nothing | A pair with a pocket card | 6.8-1 | 12.80% | 6 |
This table is really interesting! Here your pot-odds calculation kicks in. You need to know the basics of this, when you play poker otherwise you cant take the right decisions, read the article about how to gamble.
Further down you will read about the pot-odds you need to call when you have certain odds. And to provide the link to this we also have an description about how many outs you would have if you know that you would hold the best hand if you hit the one of the cards you are looking for (you wont have this luxury very often, I am afraid).
You should remember that the pot-odds in front of you right at this moment is not the total hand. Especially if there is more than one player in the pot the implied odds can swing your fold to a call!
The odds of improving your hand on the river when you hold certain hand:
| You have | River gives you | Odds | % | Number of outs, drawing to the nuts |
| Four cards to a flush | Flush | 4.1-1 | 19.60% | 9 |
| Open ended four card straight | Straight | 4.8-1 | 17.40% | 8 |
| Gutshot straight draw | Straight | 10.5-1 | 8.50% | 4 |
| Three of a kind | Four of a kind | 45-1 | 2.20% | 1 |
| Two pair | Full house | 10.5-1 | 8.70% | 4 |
| A pair | Three of a kind | 22-1 | 4.30% | 2 |
| Nothing | A pair with a pocket card | 6.7-1 | 13.00% | 6 |
The odds of improving your hand from the flop to the river:
| You have | River gives you | Odds | % |
| Four cards to a flush | Flush | 1.9-1 | 35.00% |
| Three cards to a flush | Flush | 23-1 | 4.20% |
| Open ended four card straight | Straight | 2.2-1 | 32.00% |
| Gutshot straight draw | Straight | 5.1-1 | 17.00% |
| Three of a kind | Four of a kind | 22.3-1 | 4.30% |
| Two pair | Full house | 5.1-1 | 17.00% |
| A pair | Four of a kind | 1080-1 | 0.09% |
| A pair (using one of your pocket cards) | A two pair | 7.6-1 | 13.20% |
| A pair | Three of a kind | 10.9-1 | 8.40% |
If you combine the possibility to improve, by turn and river together you get the idea about how likely you are to end up with the hand you want at the showdown.
Be careful so you do not apply this table when you calculate your pot odds. This table is valid for odds-calculation if you are forced to go all-in and therefore don't have to bet anything more on the later streets. The table can also give you some hints about implied odds, but you never know what your opponent is going to do so don't count to much on this one counting your odds!
Number of outs |
Break even pot odds |
In percent |
| 1 | 45-1 | 2.2% |
| 2 | 22-1 | 4.3% |
| 3 | 14.3-1 | 6.5% |
| 4 | 10.5-1 | 8.7% |
| 5 | 8.2-1 | 10.9% |
| 6 | 6.7-1 | 13.0% |
| 7 | 5.6-1 | 15.2% |
| 8 | 4.75-1 | 17.4% |
| 9 | 4.1-1 | 19.6% |
| 10 | 3.6-1 | 21.7% |
| 11 | 3.2-1 | 23.8% |
| 12 | 2.8-1 | 26.3% |
| 13 | 2.5-1 | 28.6% |
| 14 | 2.2-1 | 31.3% |
| 15 | 2.1-1 | 32.3% |
| 16 | 1.9-1 | 34.5% |
| 17 | 1.7-1 | 37.0% |
| 18 | 1.6-1 | 38.5% |
The last table we give you are the one that we call break-even pot odds. If you have read our "how to play poker" you already know this, but a recap is always good! If you are able to take the right decision you will profit in the long run. The number of outs you have gives you the amount of money you can call (or bet if you are ahead). But since you don't know what your opponent have you have to try to guess the real number of outs. Maybe you are already ahead, but in poker its hard to be sure.
If you are ahead this table works as a guideline to much you can bet as a minimum to force your opponent to make mistakes. As an example, if you put your opponent on a four card flush, you now know that he has 9 outs since you do not have any of that suit in your hand. You have an two pair and the flush is his only out. If you bet half the pot on the turn he will in the long run lose money if he calls, if you don't give him extra money at the river.