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Draw Odds in Texas Hold'em

By Alex McCay - Mar 10, 2008

While poker is a game of skill, it is also, like all gambling games, a game of odds. To play Texas hold'em successfully, you need to have a good understanding of the odds, how to manipulate them and how to know when they are in your favor. As most poker site reviews will tell you, the poker rooms are packed with players who don't care about odds, and that is definitely something you should tale advantage of.

Draw Odds in Texas Hold'em

The most common drawing situations in Texas hold'em are when you hold four to a flush or straight after the flop. Understanding the poker odds will help you decide what to do in these situations.

Flush Odds in Texas Hold'em

The odds of making a flush on the next card if you have four to a flush on the flop are about 4-to-1. The odds of making it by the river are about 2-to-1. However, if you call a bet on the flop and miss on the turn, your opponent may move all-in, shutting you out of the pot. If this is a possibility, you must use the 4-to-1 figure, even if there are two cards still to come.

Straight Odds in Texas Hold'em

The odds of hitting an open-ended straight draw with one card to come are about 5-to-1. Again, two cards to come cuts this about in half, but you need to be sure you will get to see the second card. The odds of hitting a gutshot are about 11-to-1, since there are four cards that make your hand and 42 that don't.

These seem like long odds and they are. However, many people playing limit hold'em fail to recognize opportunities when it is correct to call with their gutshot. If you are playing $3/$6 limit and there is already $33 in the pot (easily possible, a player raises pre-flop and four players call, then someone bets on the flop) it is easily correct to call with a gutshot. Other players will probably berate you if you hit it, but they simply do not understand the odds.

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