Controlling pot odds to prevent opponents going for draws, a mistake in harrington on hold em? - Beginning Poker Questions

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Controlling pot odds to prevent opponents going for draws, a mistake in harrington on hold em?

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05-04-2011 , 04:18 AM

MorrowCosom

centurion

Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 150

I am reading Harrington on on Hold'em, volume I. In the playing against drawing hands, I am confused on an entry in the controlling pot odds section.

It says that if I bet half the pot, I give my opponent 3:1 odds, which I presume to be 25%

Upon calculation, I found a contradiction.

The pot: 100
My bet: 50
Total: 150
Cost for them to bet: 50
Percentage: 33.33%
Pot Odds: 2:1

Am I correct, or where is my error?

Thanks

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05-04-2011 , 04:32 AM

Frostyice

old hand

Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,998

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorrowCosom

You're betting 50 to WIN 150 so the pot will be 200 and 25% will be your 50

so pot odds 3:1

+ I think noone @ microstakes is going to care if you bet half pot or pot if they have a flush draw they're going to see the river

You shouldn't think of making it "unprofitable" for them but "profitable" for you if they miss and they're going to ~33% of the time :P just find that fold button if the draws hit

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05-04-2011 , 04:46 AM

MorrowCosom

centurion

Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 150

Why are pot odds more important than percentages for determining a call?
Example: An opponent is on a flush draw with just the river card to come, His odds of hitting are about 20%, If I bet enough to make him pay more than 20% of the pot why would this not be adequate in itself to be an incorrect call?

In other words why not just bet 1/3 of the pot?:
The pot is a 100 then I bet 33, the total pot then becomes 133 and it costs him 33 or about 25% to call, this would exceed his 20% of hitting his card. If he called why wouldn't this amount be enough to make it an incorrect call?

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05-04-2011 , 04:53 AM

Frostyice

old hand

Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,998

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorrowCosom

if you bet 33 into a 100 pot he has to bet 33 to win 133 and that's around 4:1 so ~20% making this a very good call.

You just have to take the % of the whole pot (your bet + whats in the pot) to determine calling, whilst thinking about implied odds may be good too.

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05-04-2011 , 11:25 AM

VBAces

veteran

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,506

Pot odds are not more important than percentages - they are exactly the same thing, expressed differently. You simply have to be comparing apples to apples. If you calculate the pot odds and compare them to the odds against making your hand, you will have the correct comparison. If you convert the pot odds to percentages you can compare this to the percent of time you will make your hand.

Unfortunately, it is easier to calculate the pot to bet as odds, and the chance to make your hand as odds. It is probably better to deal in odds - so convert the chance to make the flush as approximately 80% no vs 20% yes, and make it 4-1 odds.

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