If you are a good hold'em player you will see more bad beats than a mediocre player. The reason for this is that you are only playing premium starting hands. This means that when you are beat, someone has to make a hand that they shouldn't have drawn to.
What is a bad beat? A bad beat is a loss to a hand that the odds say shouldn't have been drawn to. An example of this would be a player drawing to a hand that only has two outs and the pot odds don't justify the draw (see post about odds). If a player makes a hand that the odds say he should have been drawing to then this is not a bad beat.
The first question to ask is. Was this really a bad beat? If not just take it in stride and move to the next hand. But try to learn from the experience by watching the odds that the pot is offering a player to call a bet.
If it is truly a bad beat. Then you have to look out for tilt. Don't get angry because of it or berate the other player. Just remember that this bad draw, or something like it, will happen again and the player will probably make the same mistake again. If you let your emotions take over, your game will suffer and so will your bankroll.
What is tilt? When you go on tilt you play without rational thought. Your emotions take over and you start to play to get even or to teach another player a lesson. You could be angry, desperate, afraid, or have many other feelings. When you find yourself getting like this you have to do something.
One of the hardest things to do is recognise when you are on tilt. If you find yourself playing hands that you know you shouldn't have played, you are on tilt. If that happens take a break. Walk around the room or get a cup of coffee at the snack bar. If that doesn't work leave the game, there will be another one later on.
If you're in a tournament you can't leave the game but you can sure take a break. It will cost you a blind or two but you won't lose your whole stack.
In short don't let bad beats get the best of u and fight going or staying on tilt.
Good Luck
Feel free to comment on this post.
Showing posts with label odds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label odds. Show all posts
Monday, March 05, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
How to know Your Poker Odds
Hand odds
Poker odds can be defined, in the simplest terms, as the odds of making your hand in the remaining cards to come. Though this is important, it is not the only thing to consider when trying to work out the odds on a particular hand.
The easiest way to calculate the odds on a particular hand is to count the number of outs that you have to make your hand. Outs are the number of cards left in the deck that will make or improve the cards that you already have. To work out the odds just subtract the number of outs from the unseen cards to come and the answer will tell you what the odds are for that particular situation.
A good example of this would be, in a game of Hold’em, where you hold two cards to a flush and the flop brings two more, so that you have four cards to the flush. There are nine more cards that can complete your hand and there are forty-seven unseen cards left. If you subtract nine from forty-seven this gives you thirty-eight. So your odds are thirty-eight to nine, or roughly four to one, against making your hand.
You will be most concerned with the odds when you are drawing to a straight or a flush. The easiest way to remember this is that a straight is a 5 to1 underdog when only 1card is needed to make it, if it is an open ended straight. A flush is a 4 to 1 underdog when only 1 card is needed to complete it.
Pot Odds
You must also compare the odds of making your hand with the odds the pot is offering (pot odds) for the bet that has to be made. If the odds of making your hand are xx/1, is the pot offering those or better odds? If it is then this is a good bet, if not then it is a bad bet.
Another consideration to think about is the chances that you will be beaten even if you make the hand you are drawing for. If this is a possibility then the pot odds have to be greater than the odds of just making your hand to make up for those times you are beaten.
Implied Odds
An important consideration, that you need to look at, is the implied odds that the table is giving you. Implied odds are the additional bets that you will collect on later betting rounds if you make your hand. This is mostly a judgment call based on what you know about your competition and how they have been playing the hand so far.
With practice and experience you will be able to estimate what the odds of winning the most from each of your hands are.
Good Luck
Poker odds can be defined, in the simplest terms, as the odds of making your hand in the remaining cards to come. Though this is important, it is not the only thing to consider when trying to work out the odds on a particular hand.
The easiest way to calculate the odds on a particular hand is to count the number of outs that you have to make your hand. Outs are the number of cards left in the deck that will make or improve the cards that you already have. To work out the odds just subtract the number of outs from the unseen cards to come and the answer will tell you what the odds are for that particular situation.
A good example of this would be, in a game of Hold’em, where you hold two cards to a flush and the flop brings two more, so that you have four cards to the flush. There are nine more cards that can complete your hand and there are forty-seven unseen cards left. If you subtract nine from forty-seven this gives you thirty-eight. So your odds are thirty-eight to nine, or roughly four to one, against making your hand.
You will be most concerned with the odds when you are drawing to a straight or a flush. The easiest way to remember this is that a straight is a 5 to1 underdog when only 1card is needed to make it, if it is an open ended straight. A flush is a 4 to 1 underdog when only 1 card is needed to complete it.
Pot Odds
You must also compare the odds of making your hand with the odds the pot is offering (pot odds) for the bet that has to be made. If the odds of making your hand are xx/1, is the pot offering those or better odds? If it is then this is a good bet, if not then it is a bad bet.
Another consideration to think about is the chances that you will be beaten even if you make the hand you are drawing for. If this is a possibility then the pot odds have to be greater than the odds of just making your hand to make up for those times you are beaten.
Implied Odds
An important consideration, that you need to look at, is the implied odds that the table is giving you. Implied odds are the additional bets that you will collect on later betting rounds if you make your hand. This is mostly a judgment call based on what you know about your competition and how they have been playing the hand so far.
With practice and experience you will be able to estimate what the odds of winning the most from each of your hands are.
Good Luck
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