Poker Odds Question...

F

Flagship uberalles

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Hi

I was wondering if any of the regular poker players could help me out here:

I was on the big blind in a single table tournament, quite short stacked (Kc-10c). Everyone folds round to the button (shortest stack) who raises all-in to about 3/4 of my remaining chips. Small Blind folds, I call all-in. He turns over his A-J offsuit, flop comes 2xclubs and a K, pair of kings takes the pot.

He then precedes to go apeshit, claiming I was mad to call him, and that I only had a 1 in 10 chance of beating his hand.

1) Was I mad to call him? Defending the big blind, starting to get short stacked, and with not a bad hand?

2) What were the actual odds pre-flop?

If anyone could point me in the direction of a site where you can easily calculate the pre-flop odds of two hands, I'd be grateful. It would save a lot of arguments at my little tournaments!

Incidentally, to annoy him even more, I went on to win! :)
 
I wouldn't mind betting that you were playing on Betfair! :lol:

OK, first, the odds - basically you were 6/4 against. (He had a 58.9% chance of winning - if he had been suited too it wouldn't have made that much difference, he'd have had a 61% chance of winning).

You did the right thing - he is the short stacked player at your table and he is waiting for any sort of a hand with which to go all in - he'd probably have done the same with QJ off-suit. If you lose, you still have a chip and a chair and if you win, as you did, you are now in with a chance of going all the way.

I wouldn't worry about the idiots who go apeshit - if he was really playing with people who made silly calls he should welcome it. Perhaps he's a fan of Phil Helmuth? The difference is that Helmuth acts up as part of his strategy (most of the time! :lol: ) This particular person seems to think that he knows all about how to play, or wants others to think that's the case, while in fact he knows very little. In the circumstances that you describe you had a legitimate call.

It's worth learning some basic odds if you are going to play regularly, but for your own benefit, not to tell guys like him. Never educate a mug.
 
Well, the next time you see him ask him to lay you 5/1 that hand that he reckons to be a 19/1 chance and just play the hand until he has no money left, which shouldn't take too long.
 
You should have just laughed at him. Speaking of the betfair loonies. I was playing a five pound table last night, 1. to let off some steam after watching the Burnley debacle, and 2. Because it was the next table opening. Anyway, one person has just gone out in the prior hand, and I end up in a 3 way hand with KQ suited. The flop comes AAK. All 3 of us checked at this point. Over comes a J so after the other two check I put in 120, both called. The flop brings another K so I have KKKAA. They both checked, I went 250, the first one folded, the second went all in. Now, at this point I decided to call on the grounds that ok, he may well have the A, but he may also think I'm trying it on, and if so, is more than likely to raise big to try and frighten me off. Of course he had the A. It was after this that someone not involved with the hand remarked that there were some idiotic calls tonight :blink: I just had to laugh at him. As if you are going to fold that hand when effectively there are only two cards in the pack can beat you. I then started on a twenty quid table and won :P
 
Do a search on google "hold 'em odds calculator" and it brings up loads of free ones. Not downloaded any yet so cant recommend one but im sure you'll get something.
 
Thoses ones only allow you to work out your own odds pre and post flop. What i want is one which will allow u to calculate the odds in a showdown situation, pre-flop.
 
I mean one that will show the pre-flop odds on a showdown, then will display the changing odds as the flop appears. As in you are ahead to the river with a pair of K's (e.g. 90% fav) then your opponent nails a flush draw etc.

I'd also like to show a couple of my friends the actual odds of their hands, as they are losing quite a lot of money by overestimating the value of hands (one guy thinks q-j offsuit is brilliant and goes all-in quite a lot on it).
 
"One guy thinks q-j offsuit is brilliant and goes all-in quite a lot on it"
Click to expand...
Could you introduce me to him? :D

By the way, with the river to come, a player who holds two kings against a player with a four-flush, assuming nio straights are possible, is not 1/9 (90%), he is just short of 1/4 (79.5%).

Try the odds calculator on here - I think it may be what you're looking for:

Poker Odds
 
Flag, you can download Pokerstove, it's a poker odds calculator and it's free.

Not as glitzy as the one Brian linked you to, but you can use this one without being online.

POKERSTOVE
 
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