Though I have written about pot odds in the past, it has been a long time and it has always been a more technical discussion than we will be having today. Below is a method that I have not discussed before. I have never used this method for determining my pot odds, and it is a great way for beginning poker players to quickly and easily figure their chances to win.

The first step is to determine how many outs you have. For example, if you have an open-end straight draw, you have eight outs and if you have four to a flush you have nine outs. The next step is to simply multiply the number of outs by two. So our new number for the straight draw is 16 and 18 for the flush draw.

The final steps are to multiply this number by the number of cards yet to be played, one for the river or two for the turn and river, and convert the new number to a percentage. So if there are two cards to come, the percentage for the straight draw is 32% and 36% for the flush draw. These are roughly the chance you have to hit your outs.

To illustrate the accuracy of this simple method, let’s compare the actual percentages with those we came up with. The percentage for the straight draw is just over 31% and for the flush draw is about 34%. So the percentages are very close. They are definitely close enough to make the correct decision in most games.

Start using this simple system and you will find that the correct play will become automatic in no time. Until next week, good luck at the tables!