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Figuring
effective odds may sound complicated, but it is a simple
matter of addition. You add all the calls you will have
to make, assuming you play to the end, to determine the
total amount you will lose if you don't make your hand.
Then compare this figure to the total amount you should
win if you do make the hand. This total is the money in
the pot at the moment plus all future bets you can expect
to win, excluding your own future bets.
Thus, if there is $100 in the pot at the moment and three
more $20 betting rounds, you are getting $160-to-$60 effective
odds if both you and your opponent figure to call all bets.
If you know you won't call on the end unless you make your
hand, your effective odds become $160-to-$40. When you think
your opponent won't call on the end if your card hits, your
effective odds would be reduced to something like $140-to-$40.
If, on early betting rounds, these odds are greater than
your chances of making your hand, you are correct to see
the hand through to the end. If they are not, you should
fold.
During the early and middle rounds of betting, having to
call future bets usually reduces your apparent pot odds
considerably, and you have to calculate your real or effective
odds. However, there are times when the existence of future
bets is the very reason you play a hand. Your immediate
pot odds may not seem high enough to justify calling for
one more card. But if that card may give you a monster hand
that figures to get you a lot of action, you frequently
don't need the initial odds from the pot. You'll get them
later. These odds are what I mean by implied odds.
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