Hi guys,

Quick question to fix a doubt.

There is 200 in the pot, we're heads up. My opponent bets 50 into the pot and I have a flush draw.

Questions :

1/ My pot odds are 5 to 1. Is this correct?
2/ My flush odds are 5 to 1 on the turn, correct?
3/ Apart from that, when is it correct to call, when the pot odds are higher than the draw odds or the opposite?

Thanks in advance,

1) Yes, your pot odds are 5:1.

2) The chances of making a flush on the next card are closer to 4:1; the chances of making an OESD on the next card are closer to 5:1.

3) NL is not just about immediate odds, it is also about IO (implied odds i.e. the amount of money you can expect to make from your opponents if your draw comes in). Most people overestimate their implied odds (hint: you're not going to stack anyone when the most obvious draw comes in), but there is usually some leeway to the point you can get away with chasing a draw without the necessary immediate odds. In this case, you're getting 5:1 to chase a 4:1 draw, so you're already getting more than the immediate odds so it's a pretty easy call i.e. the pot odds are bigger than the draw odds (ignoring things like the board perhaps being paired and RIO vs boats or bigger flushes or repping other cards to steal the pot).

Sometimes in the moment your brain can mess this stuff up (i.e. do I call when the pot odds are better than my draw odds or vice-versa?), especially when things are close. One way to help with this is give yourself a ridiculously obvious situation; pretend your opponent bet $1 into the $200 pot, giving you about ~200:1 pot odds. Obviously you should call, and these pot odds are > the odds of your draw coming in.

GcluelessNLnoobG

For myself i prefer looking at things with percentages.
You need to call 50 to win 300 (1/6 = 17%)
You will call if you % winning is higher than this (9 outs on one card = 19.6%). So its a bit EV+. But that is without Implied odds.

Easy example. Coin flip.
We both put 1$.

You need to put 1 to win 2 (50%)
So its gonna be profitable to play if
A) you win more than 2 when you win
B) your odds of winning are >50%

Thanks for this one, much more valuable.

Great example, thanks a lot for your help

You really should reread / heed my post in that other thread.

From the tone of your posts, you've never skiied before (there's nothing wrong with that) and yet for some reason you've decided your first few runs will be down a black diamond.

Gbutyoucandowhateveryouwant,Idon'tcareG