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DO YOU DO THE MATHS
After a post by Teddy Bloat on our TPT thread about something called NASH (have a look here to me it's "A" level + stuff) but it got me thinking about the mathematics involved in poker. I know there are quite a few players on here who seem to know a hell of a lot about poker theory and odds but how much do odds come into play in an actual hand online? Can you look at a flop and say I have x% of hitting a flush, x% of hitting a straight or I have x% value to call on the river? Personally I know 1 or 2 odds preflop and thats about it. I look at the price I'm asked to pay to see another card and decide from there depending on pot size and my stack. I know that is using maths but it's sort of in an educated guess way.
Is there anyone on Sky who can quote the odds while playing in any situation?
Is there anyone on Sky who can quote the odds while playing in any situation?
Comments
remember ed giddins? he used to declare probabilities using a percentage figure with two decimal places. i think he had a good idea of chance but liked to sound even more knowledgeable by being (unnecessarily) precise. having an idea is perfectly fine.
I always have a rough idea of percentages when I'm in a hand and have studied a bit of the maths of the game. That said, a rough idea is generally good enough in my opinion.
Pot odds are the only thing you need to work out at the table but, thankfully, a general idea is fine. It also helps that most villains are lazy and just click the half-pot, 3/4 pot or full-pot buttons.
I'm reminded of maths lessons at school whenever I hear people worried about this sort of thing. There were always some kids whose immediate answer to any maths question was "I don't know". They didn't take the time to think about it, because they had convinced themselves they couldn't do it.
People who are bad at maths are bad at maths because they dread it, not because they can't do it. It's the same as learning to do anything, you've just got to give yourself a chance...
That turned into a rant.
The gist is that the numbers are important, but they're not very hard once you get used to them. You probably already think about them without realising.
I don't think it's overly important to know too much.
Basic stuff like opened ended straight draw post flop 32% 1/3 post turn 16% 1/6.5 (ish)
Or if I am 4 to the flush I have 9 outs.
A general rule of thumb is times your number of outs by 4 post flop, or 2 post turn. to give you a percentage of hitting.
Then if you need to couple these things with pot odds/implied odds just work the basic theory out and write it down and have it with you when you play.
Hope this helps.
but when it came to a finish they knew exactly what to do!
151 = t20 t17 d20
146 = t20 t18 d16 etc
Though its great you at last found him talking Bull
I see where he's coming from. The more you play, the more mathematics becomes instinct
Interesting what you say about darts dosh I used to play myself as a teenager and knew all the outs at one time but the permutations in poker are endless and a great deal more complicated.
By the way I wasn't particularly looking for advice for myself here but some interesting posts non the less. Maybe I should make a concerted effort to learn the very basic pot odds.