Poker is a game of skill, and people with a good memory and a quick mind can learn to apply those traits to improve their online poker game. If you are able to calculate the odds of a hand, then you can decide whether it is worth paying to stay in the hand, or whether you should fold.
A good poker player can take into account the pot odds, implied odds, and the reverse implied odds when deciding their next action. Common mistakes made by novice poker players include miscalculating pot odds, miscalculating the odds of a draw, and confusing ratios and probability. Confusing ratio and probability can be a particularly painful mistake, and this is one area where mathematics can really help poker players.
Many people think that a 2:1 ratio and 1 in 2 odds are the same things at a glance, they certainly look similar, but on closer examination, there’s a crucial difference. When there’s a 1 in 2 chance, that means that for every two occurrences of an event, the desired outcome will happen once.
With a 2:1 ratio, for every three occurrences of the event, the desired outcome will happen once the other two times, and you’ll get an undesired outcome. A 2:1 ratio is more like a 1 in 3 chance. That subtle difference is enough that it could make you seriously re-evaluate your bets.
Mathematics can be used in other situations in poker, too. Imagine that your opponent makes a bet and you’re on a draw. Do you fold, or do you take the bet? If you’re able to calculate the odds of getting your desired draw, you’ll be able to decide whether your chances of winning are good enough to risk adding more money to the pot.
You can also use mathematics to calculate expected values. If you’re considering taking a risk, and you know that your opponent bluffs a certain percentage of the time, you can work out whether you should call (and risk losing some money if the opponent isn’t bluffing), or fold (and lose out if he is bluffing). Expected values help you to figure out how to play over the course of the night.
