Luckily for us, poker players have access to a number of poker odds calculators that help us calculate and understand how equity works. The answer, of course, is that you'll receive aces, on average, once every 221 hands.Understanding poker odds and equity is crucial to a winning poker strategy in 2019. What are the odds against being dealt a pair of aces before the flop?Īll you have to do is divide 1,326 (the amount of 2-card combinations) by 6 (the potential amount of ace pairs) to figure this out. For example, since there are 1326 possible 2-card combinations, but only six ways to make aces, try your hand at this problem. You can do some other useful calculations with what you've learned thus far. If your opponent will raise only with A-K, a pair of aces, or a pair of kings, chances are greater that he raised with A-K, since there are 16 ways to make A-K but only 12 ways to make a pair of aces or a pair of kings!
#TEXAS HOLD EM POKER ODDS CALCULATOR HOW TO#
Just take the aces from any deck of cards and you'll be able to figure this out even if you don't know how to calculate the answer arithmetically. Here are all the possible ways to make a pair of aces: A♠A♦, A♠A♣, A♠A♥, A♦A♣, A♦A♥, and A♥A♣. There are only six ways to make aces - or any pair for that matter - but 16 ways to make A-K. How many different ways can you make a pair of aces or a pair of kings? How many ways can you make A-K?
To solve Exercise 2, there are two additional problems you have to work out before you continue… Queens, after all, are stronger than A-K right now, since A-K has to improve on or after the flop in order to beat you. The only hands better than a pair of queens at this point are a pair of aces or a pair of kings. If you're holding a pair of queens, what are the chances you're already trailing?Īlthough the arithmetic isn't difficult, there are a number of components to this problem. Suppose that the guy sitting next to you will raise only with aces, kings, or A-K. When you're considering the odds against certain combinations of holdings, it's usually necessary to deal with all of the 1326 different 2-card combinations. When you're considering 169 different starting hands, you have yet to see the flop, and it's meaningless at this early juncture to distinguish between hands like A♥Q♥ and A♣A♦ If you feel lost at this point, stop for a moment and let us explain. All you need do, therefore, is multiply thirteen by thirteen to calculate the correct answer.Īlthough there are 169 different starting hands, it's also true that there are 1326 different two-card combinations. You can receive any one of 13 distinct ranks, from ace up through king, as your first or second card. There are 169 unique, two-card starting hands. How do you calculate the number of different two-card starting combinations that could be dealt? Whether calling, folding, raising, or reraising, is your best option will also be influenced by the play of those opponents who act before you.
Hold'em, after all, is a game of position, and you'll probably play less than 11% of your hands in early position, and far more than 11% when you're last to act. That's simple, isn't it? But remember, that's not all there is to it, either. In a nine-handed game with randomly distributed cards, approximately 11% of the starting hands should favor you. This is not a question that's asked frequently, but when you consider how many hands you should play before the flop, it's an important one for mastering your poker game. Given the chance, even bright students are prone to avoiding mathematics, which is a shame because poker math is far from being difficult.
Most beginners, however, simply ignore this aspect of the game. Some players are blessed with an intuitive sense about mathematical relationships - although they can't calculate them, or even do a rough approximation in the heat of battle. "How many outs do I have?", "Is the money I'll win if I call with my straight draw greater than the odds against making my hand?" These questions of poker strategy, all have mathematical components at their heart. Remember the last time you called with a pair of eights and were raised? Didn't you wonder whether your opponent had a bigger pair, or was simply raising with big connectors? When you're playing Texas Hold'em, you're always dealing odds. Odds Calculations for Hold'em Players Part 1