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Pot Odds - Which Ratio is Right?
I just realized I might have been calculating pot odds incorrectly. If there is $75 in the pot and a $25 bet is made, I have been calculating the odds as $25/$100=25% and then generally proceeding if I feel I have a 25% chance or better of winning. Similarly, if I was faced with a $40 bet into a $60 pot, $40/$100=40%. Lastly, a bet of $30 into a $70 pot equated to $30/$100=30%.
However, from watching television and reading a chapter from Phil Gordan’s latest book, I realize this might not be the right way to do it. For the three previous examples, if the odds are 25%, which is 1 divided by 4, that means in a trial of 4 hands, I’d win 1 and my opponent would win 3, so the ratio is actually 1:3 or 33%. Continuing that logic to the other two examples:
40/100=2/5, so out of five trials, I’d win 2 and my opponent would win 3 or 2:3=66.7%
30/100=3/10, so out of 10 trials, I’d win 3 and my opponent would win 7 or 3:7=42.86%
So, which method is the right way to do it? For these three examples, the differences are significant 25% vs. 33%, 40% vs. 67%, and 30% vs. 43% respectively.
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