Why are odds so important in Texas Hold'em? Well, knowing your odds in a card game will help you recognize a good or bad situation. If your odds of drawing a card that will give you the advantage are good then you will definitely stay in the game, but if you know there is little chance that you will receive a helpful card you can save chips and bow out. The difference between great card players and good card players is those great card players never miss-calculate an out. The best card players, on average, only play 30 percent of their hands. That's discipline! Let's take a look at the odds in Hold'em.
Here is a breakdown chart used by several players off and online to calculate their odds given certain card combinations: Remember, an "out" is basically any card or cards left in the deck that will help you complete a desired hand.
| Outs | One Card % | Two Card % | One Card Odds | Two Card Odds | Draw Type |
| 1 | 2% | 4% | 46 | 23 | Backdoor Straight or Flush (Requires two cards) |
| 2 | 4% | 8% | 22 | 12 | Pocket Pair to Set |
| 3 | 7% | 13% | 14 | 7 | One Overcard |
| 4 | 9% | 17% | 10 | 5 | Inside Straight / Two Pair to Full House |
| 5 | 11% | 20% | 8 | 4 | One Pair to Two Pair or Set |
| 6 | 13% | 24% | 6.7 | 3.2 | No Pair to Pair / Two Overcards |
| 7 | 15% | 28% | 5.6 | 2.6 | Set to Full House or Quads |
| 8 | 17% | 32% | 4.7 | 2.2 | Open Straight |
| 9 | 19% | 35% | 4.1 | 1.9 | Flush |
| 10 | 22% | 38% | 3.6 | 1.6 | Inside Straight & Two Overcards |
| 11 | 24% | 42% | 3.2 | 1.4 | Open Straight & One Overcard |
| 12 | 26% | 45% | 2.8 | 1.2 | Flush & Inside Straight / Flush & One Overcard |
| 13 | 28% | 48% | 2.5 | 1.1 | |
| 14 | 30% | 51% | 2.3 | 0.95 | |
| 15 | 33% | 54% | 2.1 | 0.85 | Flush & Open Straight / Flush & Two Overcards |
| 16 | 34% | 57% | 1.9 | 0.75 | |
| 17 | 37% | 60% | 1.7 | 0.66 |
| Examples of drawing hands after the flop | ||||
| Draw | Hand | Flop | Specific Outs | # Outs |
| Pocket Pair to Set | [4♠ 4♥] | [6♣ 7♦ T♠ ] | 4♦, 4♣ | 2 |
| One Overcard | [A♠ 4♥] | [6♥ 2♦ J♣] | A♦, A♥, A♣ | 3 |
| Inside Straight | [6♣ 7♦] | [5♠ 9♥ A♦] | 8♣, 8♦, 8♥, 8♠ | 4 |
| Two Pair to Full House | [A♦ J♥] | [5♠ A♠ J♦] | A♥, A♣, J♠ , J♣ | 4 |
| One Pair to Two Pair or Set | [J♣ Q♦] | [J♦ 3♣ 4♠ ] | J♥, J♠ , Q♠ , Q♥, Q♣ | 5 |
| No Pair to Pair | [3♦ 6♣] | [8♥ J♦ A♣] | 3♣, 3♠ , 3♥, 6♥, 6♠ , 6♦ | 6 |
| Two Overcards to Over Pair | [A♣ K♦] | [3♦ 2♥ 8♥] | A♥, A♠ , A♦, K♥, K♣, K♠ | 6 |
| Set to Full House or Quads | [5♥ 5♦] | [5♣ Q♥ 2♠ ] | 5♠ Q♠ , Q♦, Q♣, 2♥, 2♦, 2♣ | 7 |
| Open Straight | [9♥ T♣] | [3♣ 8♦ J♥] | Any 7, Any Q | 8 |
| Flush | [A♥ K♥] | [3♥ 5♠ 7♥] | Any heart (2♥ to Q♥) | 9 |
| Inside Straight & Two Overcards | [A♥ K♣] | [Q♠ J♣ 6♦] | Any Ten, A♠ , A♦ A♣, K♠ , K♥, K♦ | 10 |
| Flush & Inside Straight | [K♣ J♣] | [A♣ 2♣ T♥] | Any Q, Any heart | 12 |
| Flush and Open Straight | [J♥ T♥] | [9♣ Q♥ 3♥] | Any heart;, 8♦, 8♠ , 8♣, K♦, K♠ , K♣ | 15 |
As you can see there is quite a lot to consider when it comes to knowing your odds in Texas Hold'em. The key to success is practice, practice, practice! I know this all may seem confusing, but try and break it down one chunk at a time until you feel confident enough to use your knowledge in a tournament or simply a game with friends. Luck to ya.
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