Poker Odds & Poker Charts
There are two basic schools of discipline you'll encounter when developing into a complete
Texas Holdem poker player. The first is the school of odds, outs, and mathematics. Some poker players
are very calculating and mathematical, and are mathematical geniuses (David Sklansky, Chris Ferguson).
Other players are less confined to the mathematics of the game, and work more off of instinct, reads,
and guts (Jennifer Harman, Gus Hansen). Needless to say, these top professionals have mastered both sides
of the game and can switch their game up in an instant.
Poker players must incorporate both schools into their poker game to become a complete and successful player.
This section of our website will present the simple poker odds and poker charts to quickly help you develop
the "by the book" Texas Holdem strategy. Charts are easy to follow. However, as mentioned in other areas of this
website, charts, odds, etc. can only get you so far. Situational thinking and analysis is so important
when playing the game of poker, and this comes from experience.
It's very important to understand the math and odds behind poker.
However, a strictly by the book poker player will get crushed
by the poker player who has the complete game - one who understands the poker odds but also works off his opponent's fear, reads,
tells, and his own instinct and experience.
I think it's very important to understand the odds and probabilities in Texas Holdem. It's isn't the one and only deciding factor
when making a decision, but it is one of several supporting arguments. And, fortunately, the poker odds
are really the easiest thing to master in Texas Holdem.
Check out some of the Expected Value charts located on the right NAV. These charts were produced from millions of real
money hands played at
PokerRoom.com. It shows what Texas
Holdem starting cards have been profitable in what position. This is very interesting, especially as the table size
decreases. A full 10 player game is much different than a 6 player short-handed game. And some of the information here
could be very useful to a tournament player on a final table. As the player number decreases, different hands become
profitable in different positions.
No chart is a substitute for real-life experience, so get some experience! Play some poker, dude!
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