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There
are a few times when you do not have to consider future
bets when assessing your pot odds. The first case occurs
when either you or your opponent is all-in or almost all-in.
Obviously, when your opponent has no more money to bet or
you have no more money to call, the last card will be free.
So all you need to do is observe your immediate pot odds
and compare them to your chances of winding up with the
best hand. In the example just given, if either you or your
opponent were all-in when the opponent bet $10 on the flop
and you called, it would be worth drawing to your back-door
flush since it would now be a case of getting 26-to-1 on
a 24-to-1 shot. However, you must remember that the chances
of making the hand you are drawing to are not the same as
your chances of winding up with the best hand. You might
make your hand and still lose to a better hand.
In the example just given, if either you or your opponent
were all-in when the opponent bet $10 on the flop and you
called, it would be worth drawing to your back-door flush
since it would now be a case of getting 26-to-1 on a 24-to-1
shot. However, you must remember that the chances of winding
up with the best hand. You might make your hand and still
lose to a better hand.
There is a second case, similar to the first, when you might
call in close situations even if your effective odds would
indicate a fold. This comes up when you have good reason
to think your opponent might check on the next round. If
he does check, you are getting a free card just as though
you or he were all-in. Once again all you need to consider
are your immediate pot odds, since you expect to see two
cards for the price of one. Such situations might come up
when you suspect your opponent has a weak hand or when you
think your opponent might fear to bet on the next round
because he interprets your call to mean you're stronger
than you really are, even when you don't catch the card
you need.
Finally, it may sometimes be correct to call to see one
card only when your effective odds indicate a fold. If that
card does not make your hand, you should not call any further
bets. These circumstances usually occur in games where there
is a large increase in the bet from one round to the next.
You might, for example, be playing in a $10-$50 hold ' em
game and catch a four-flush on the flop. Your opponent bets
$10 into a $40 pot, and you expect he'll bet $50 on the
next round.
To call both bets would mean you were getting effective
odds of 100-to-60, too low for you to contemplate going
all the way with a flush draw. However, you are getting
5-to-1 on your opponent's first bet, which is greater than
the odds against hitting on the next card (not to mention
your potential profits on the last two betting rounds should
you hit the flush). When deciding whether to call for one
card only, all you need to consider are your immediate pot
odds versus your chances of hitting on the next card only.
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