I've heard it said that No-Limit Hold'em is a game of implied odds and that Limit is a game of pot odds. From a strictly mathematical standpoint this statement seems valid since in No- Limit if your draw materializes and becomes the winner you have the opportunity to take your opponent's entire stack Where as in Limit play if you consistently buck the odds the pot is offering you by chasing draws that are not warranted, you will go broke.
Implied odds and pot odds........we've talked about them before. What about bet odds? You don't see that term or concept articulated very often in the vast array of poker literature which has burst onto the scene. I believe bet odds are the "Forgotten Odds".
Aggressive players who bet on the come seem to intuitively understand the value of bet odds while their more conservative brethren are missing out on adding money to the pot if the bet odds are in their favor.
Bet odds have nothing to do with pot odds or implied odds. Bet odds simply refer to how much money will go into the pot on any given round of betting versus the likelihood of you making your draw. It becomes an additional tool to guide your action on a given street. As an example, if you are dealt an Ace/King suited and two of your suit appear on the flop, you just bought an express ticket through to the river The odds of you making the nut flush in the next two cards is 1.86 to 1 against If you have three opponents who will call a bet then you will be getting 3 to 1 bet odds regardless of what the pot is laying. This situation offers a positive expectation so you want to get as much money in the pot as possible. Let's look at the flip side of this situation. Now, let's suppose you have a gut shot straight draw with one card to come.
You have two opponents and your odds to hit your inside straight are 10.5 to 1 against. While the pot may be offering enough to make a call you certainly would be more than willing to see the river card for free. Since the odds to make your draw are almost 11 to 1 against and the bet odds would only be 2 to 1 you should not be initiating any betting.
Some players who use math in their games (and it is a critical element to winning poker) seem to only embrace the concept of pot odds. Others seem to overuse the concept of implied odds to help justify to themselves their constant chasing and string of loose calls. All of the different odds concepts should have their place in your decision making analysis. Our goal for this time together is to begin thinking in terms of bet odds on a given street if we're not already doing so. While implied odds refer to the future, pot odds could be viewed as the past but bet odds are the here and now! Remain in the present and don't forget to account for bet odds as an additional tool to help guide you as to whether or not you should bet your hand. See you next "TIME".
No stranger to the green felt, Tom "Time" Leonard has played poker for more than 30 years and has been a serious student of the game and writer on the subject since 1994. He has regularly played the cardrooms of Atlantic City, Las Vegas and California. His experience as a sales and marketing professional have helped him hone his skills at "selling" a hand and "buying" a pot.
