Texas Holdem Odds - Implied Odds

Pot odds and poker odds are important concepts, but there is more to you need to know about Texas Holdem odds, if you want to able to make correct decisions in tricky situations. In many cases, you must consider implied odds as well.

Implied Texas Holdem Odds

Implied Texas Holdem odds represent the money you will win on later streets if you hit your hand. For example, you hold J Q on a board of T K 4 2 of mixed suits. There is $100 in the pot and your opponent bets $100.

Your odds of hitting an open ended straight on the river are about 5-to-1. In terms of pure poker odds, you are being offered 2-to-1 on a 5-to-1 call. This would normally be an easy fold.

However, you have played this opponent a while and know that with high pocket pairs, he tends to try to build the pot with small bets until the river when he makes a big move. You are confident that he does in fact have a high pair, perhaps even kings or aces. He also has another $600 behind.

If he holds kings, or if he holds aces and an ace comes on the river, this player will almost certainly go all in or bet and call an all-in raise on the river. If he does, and your ace or nine comes, you will win $800. With pot odds, you really receive 8-to-1, making this a correct call.

Notes on Implied Poker Odds

It's very important that you be honest with yourself about your implied poker odds. If the opponent in the above situation never bets more than $100 at once and is savvy enough to fold if he encounters resistance, you cannot give yourself full credit for the implied odds.

If you are drawing to a flush, figuring implied odds is much trickier since a flush possibility is much more obvious than a straight possibility. Unlike pot odds, implied Texas Holdem odds are a somewhat abstract calculation, dependent on your read of the opponent and situation.

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