Essential Poker Math – Calculations Every Player Should Know

Poker math is the study of mathematics that helps you succeed at the poker table, helps players be tougher to beat than their opponents, allows them to exploit opponents easier, and gives them the ability to swing the war tables in their favor.

Learn how to count outs and calculate pot odds and running odds. Such maths are absolutely required both to be rational and to have any hope of success. This is not easy, but a little effort should eventually make this process automatic.

Probability

Probability is the mathematical study of the relative likelihood of various outcomes in a Poker hand or game. Knowing the probabilities will always help you make better choices and help you win more often in Poker, although it can sometimes be difficult to figure out. It also lets you set Poker odds (the ratio between the number of favourable and unfavourable outcomes; commonly called winning/losing quota in the community).

Probability can show you how to bluff more profitably and understand the likelihood of an opponent to fold to a bluff, basically enabling you to calculate an opponent’s true fold equity at any given time, which is how poker math explains an expected-value calculation that enables you to maximise profits and, ultimately, understand whether a decision at the poker table is going to be profitable in the long run. This book is designed to teach you everything you need to know about probability, odds and poker math to take advantage of this conceptually powerful understanding at the poker table for maximum profit – to develop this key edge if you’re trying to become a winning poker player!

Odds

However, poker is a deeply mathematical game. Players win less through luck and more through skill: reading opponents helps them gain an edge. To get those edges, you must also do maths: we’re seeking pot odds (how to win a pot if you stay on the hand you are playing) or probabilities (the odds of hitting a draw card). None of that mathematics guarantees a win!

Expected value is the original poker math, and it’s really quite simple: if you have a piece of information about a decision, multiplied by how much money can be made (or lost) from that piece of information, the result is probably the single most important number you should be looking at when deciding whether to fold your hand. If you do that a thousand times, you could start making more money long-term.

Poker math is important and fundamental part of the game but many find it difficult. Something about poker numbers just hits people different whether they struggle with maths or not, and many players prefer just to play by instinct and luck. In the game of live Poker versus AI poker, the encrypted bots never lost money beating their human competitors over the span of five days. In this case Playing with Poker Math helps you fine tune your instincts in order to become a more effective player as a whole.

Betting intervals

These are the essential ‘poker maths’ alluded to in the title – the mathematical underpinnings of the game that are required if you want to win at poker. They encompass things such as odds, pot odds, and so-called expected value calculations (EV). Good players are constantly computing these in their heads to be sure that what they are doing is positive EV.

Each interval of betting begins with a check or bet from the first active player. After that player acts, all remaining active players must call the bet (referred to as calling) or be eliminated entirely from the pot – they must ‘fold out’, in poker parlance. Alternatively, each can also raise this bet by calling out (known as raising).

If you are a novice poker player, odds and pot odds may be intimidating. When you the fundamentals, however, using them in-game are much simpler. Additionally, when you contemplate position and benefit odds, you may instantly improve your game – an easy rule to keep in mind here is the 2/4 rule, which is a good representation of the odds.

Bluffing

Poker math is one of the essential pillars of no limit hold’em poker. Without it, it’s nearly impossible to implement a gameplan that continues to provide you with the best opportunity to profit at your tables. Yet many despise the very thought of it, claiming it is too hard a skill to learn. However, the best fundamental poker math can be of incalculable benefit to your bankroll.

EV calculations allow players to know how they have used their decision and whether it is going to be profitable in the long run. It gives an estimation about how much money can be expected to be won from each such decision, which helps one to maximise win percentage and also helps increase the chances of winning.

You should only bluff on ABCs that you think could be your opponent’s calling range. A bluff on an ABC here is just a simple call. If your opponent has been beaten badly and gone tilted they could fold to any bets and you’re the perfect person to attempt a bluff against. If they have just won a big pot and are trying to protect their stack they will be calling with every drawing hand and you’ve just become a perfect person to attempt to bluff as they call every bet.

About Author