Pot Odds Calculator

Understanding Pot Odds

Pot odds are a fundamental concept in poker that helps players make informed decisions about whether to call a bet. They represent the ratio between the current size of the pot and the cost of a contemplated call. By comparing pot odds to the odds of completing a winning hand (often referred to as drawing odds), you can determine if a call is mathematically profitable in the long run.

Pot Odds Calculator

How to calculate Pot Odds

1. Determine the Current Pot Size: Note the total amount of chips in the pot before any bets are placed.
2. Identify the Cost of the Call: Determine how many chips you need to call to stay in the hand.
3. Calculate the Ratio: Divide the size of the pot by the cost of the call. The formula is:

   Pot Odds = Pot Size / Cost of Call

   For example, if the pot is $1 and it costs $0.20 to call, the pot odds are 100:20, which simplifies to 5:1. If your chances of winning (based on your drawing odds) are better than 5:1, then calling is a good decision.

   Understanding and calculating pot odds will help you make more strategic and profitable decisions in your poker game.

Real Life Example

Let's say you're playing a $0.50/$1.00 6-max online cash game and you are holding 8♦ 7♦ in the big blind. The cut off raises to $3 and it folds around to you. Based on our Exploitative 6-max Cash Opening Range we easily call this raise.

There are now $6.50 in the pot (remember, that the small blind has to post $0.50).
The flop comes A♦ Q♦ 2♣ and your opponent again raises you to $3. Let's go through the steps to calculate the pot odds.

Step 1: Determine the current pot size

With the preflop stage closing, there are $6.50 in the pot. Your opponent bets $3, so the pot size is now $9.50.

Step 2: Identify the cost of the call

Your opponent bets $3, so you need to call $3 to stay in the hand. The cost to call therefore is $3.

Step 3: Calculate the ratio

With a pot size of $9.50 and a cost to call of $3, the pot odds are 9.50:3, which simplifies to 3:1 or ~31%. So we need at least 31% equity to make a profitable call.

Master your Preflop Ranges

Every hand starts with the preflop. Mastering this stage of the game is absolutely essential in order to become a successful poker player. Our Preflop Trainer is the perfect tool to practice and improve your preflop game. Don't just memorize ranges, understand the ideas behind them!

Pot Odds Cheat Sheet

Most of the time players think in "% of pot" when determining a bet size. We can use that to our advantage by memorizing the pot odds of the most common bet sizes.