Knowing how often you’ll make a hand is a crucial skill when you are about to play online poker and one you need to master if you want to invest your bankroll wisely.
If you held 8h-9h (h= hearts) on a 7h Th 4s flop (s= spade) and you were all-in against someone holding a pair of kings you’d have 56% chance of outdrawing them. Doing the specific math at the table is tough but you can get a rough estimation of your chances by using the rule of 4 and 2.
The concept requires you to count your “outs” or the number of cards left in the deck that will help you. In the above example there are 15 cards in the deck that will complete your hand – 6 straightening cards and 9 flushing cards.
Multiplying this by 4 (when you’re on the flop with 2 cards to come) you get an answer of 60%. This is a close approximation of your making your hand. You can then use this number to determine whether the price the pot is offering you is great enough that you can call a bet. You can go through this same process on the turn by simply multiplying your outs by 2.
By knowing that you’re actually a favourite over a pair of kings on a flop like this it means you can play your hand as aggressively as possible. Indeed, while it might appear a mistake to get all-in at this point, it would actually be a winning play in the long run. The reason for this is that you have so many outs to improve you will win more times than you lose.
Knowing when you can gamble and when you can’t is important and this all boils down to knowing your odds and outs. Get this right and you’ll be raking in cash with ease.
