Basic Math for Playing Holdem

Continued from: Position in Holdem Poker Don't be intimidated; we're not going deep today. The ability to calculate odds on the spot, count and discount outs, figure race odds, analyze estimated value (EV), and convert ratios and fractions into percentages are all important concepts to add to your overall win rate in Holdem poker.

HOWEVER, that's just adding pennies to dollars in the big picture. In order to make good decisions on the felt, only a remedial understanding of poker math is necessary. Actually, it isn't necessary to understand any of it at all. I'm going to supply you with a basic list of "rules of thumb" that can be set to memory in a few glances.

Most of the money you will win or lose in the course of a poker session will be gained or lost before the flop, and pre-flop play doesn't require a lot of math savvy. So, let's just KISS (and we can kiss later, for now we'll just Keep It Simple Stupid. K? K.) So I'll just lay out some basic rules of thumbs for math situations that come up after the flop, and then we'll get back to pre-flop strategy.

I think the biggest math problems in poker come up when deciding whether or not to call on a draw. What I mean by that is, of course, deciding when you should chase down big hands like flushes and straights and when you should not. I think I can really do a pretty good job of explaining when to chase without talking too much mathematics. First of all, what kind of hands should we chase? Moreover, chasers are losers, especially in tournament play. Good players usually want to let their opponents draw against them. There are times when you should call a bet to try to make a big hand, especially when you're drawing to the "nuts" (the best possible hand at that point). So let's just say that when we draw we will want to have very powerful draws.

So, what is a powerful draw? We want to be drawing at the nuts or close to it most of the time, or have a lil' something to go with our straight or flush draw. One example is when you hold J-10s and the flop comes Ks 2s 10h; you've flopped a draw to a solid flush, a "runner-runner" straight possibility, and you have middle pair. That's a draw you should be willing to play hard. Not only will any spade be likely to give you the best hand, but any ten will also likely give you a lock and you may even already be in front with second pair. If a Nine or a Queen arrive you'll also pick up some outs in the form of an inside straight draw. You should also be willing to play a draw to the nuts pretty hard. The "nuts" just means the best possible hand based on the texture of the flop. For instance, you hold A-Ks and the flop is 9s Qs 2d. If another spade hits the board you will have made the best possible hand for the board, the ace high flush (the nuts). You will know for certain you have the best hand, and that will give you a huge amount of leverage.

The other main category of drawing hands is the straight draw. You should almost never chase inside straight draws (a draw that requires one perfect card to make your straight). You should really only draw for straights when you are open-ended. For instance, you hold Q-Js and the flop comes 9d 10s 4h. Now, in that case any 8 or King will give you the nut straight.

♣ Continued at: Tips for Draws in Poker

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