Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCOTT5385
Thanks to the response to my post phydaux!! I think that I am just confused about the math of poker and I don't know which questions to ask and how to ask them!! I guess I would just like to know how many forms of math is there in NL holdem and which ones should I be using as a noobie to learn things like what percentage I am in the game, what my pot odds/ implied odds are, if I am a dog or not. I just am very confused on how to start using math ( which I think is probably a very important part of NL holdem) to improve my game!! Also, I do not quite understand the 2 and 4 rule yet .... I think if I learned this than I would be able to start on the rest of the math!! Any suggestions or help would be very appreciated!!
Once you get serious about poker, memorizing pot odds and outs should be near the top of your "to do" list. When you have a flush draw, you should know instantly that you have 9 outs, which means that in NLHE you have pot odds of 1.86:1 with two cards to come, or 4.11:1 with one card to come.
This isn't a lot of information to memorize, no more than memorizing your multiplication tables. And it's as fundamental to poker as learning the multiplication tables is to mathematics.
By the way, to give an idea of how math works in poker, go to pokersyte.com. There are a bunch of odd charts there, including one for pot odds and outs.
You can figure out a lot of things by knowing the odds. Once you get past pot odds and outs, here are some of the things you can know, or at least estimate closely, by "learning the odds", or to put it another way, understanding the math behind poker:
How likely is it that I am the only one at my table holding an ace?
How likely is it that someone else has an ace with a better kicker?
How likely is it that if the board is paired, a full house has my flush beat?
There are many things that make a good poker player. You can't just understand the math behind a play. You also have to understand the person making the play. But the math is important. I would say that basic poker math is one of the most important things you can know.
Players vary widely in how deep they get into the math, and in how well they can apply it. To give you an example of how in-depth you can get, and what you can learn from the math, consider an example from Harrington on Hold 'em, Volume 2.
In HOH2, Dan Harrington spends 11 pages (starting on page 162) explaining how to do the math to figure out a problem like the following:
Four folds to you, and there are four players behind you yet to act. Given certain blind levels, stack sizes, and the different playing styles of the four players yet to act, is T8o a mathematically good enough hand with which to shove?
Last edited by Poker Clif; 03-31-2009 at 11:56 PM.
Reason: added "2" HOH