Practical Poker Math

3. Odds in Texas Hold’em
♦ The likelihood that his hand will improve
♦ Some idea of what his opponents are holding.
Simple observations will give the astute player a reasonable
idea of the likely actions of opponents in certain situations.
The poker artiste will use this information plus his advanced
gamesmanship to execute strategies that will give him a
much higher expectation.
The best poker decisions are those based on the best strategy
and the best strategy is based on the best information.
Game theory teaches that strategic thought is mostly about
the anticipation of the actions and reactions of your opponents.
Basic odds and probabilities tell a player much about his own
hand and its likelihood of success. Those same odds apply
individually and collectively to all other players at the table.
It is around the margins of strong hands where a game is
optimized. The degree to which a player is able to successfully
model an opponent’s likely strength and — from past
observations — is able to predict the opponent’s likely
response is equal to the degree to which he will be able to get
optimal return from almost any hand he chooses to play.
The key to enhancing the return from any player’s game is
learning to weigh all available information to profitably play
an otherwise marginal hand.
Adapted for poker, various translations of the writings of
Sun Tzu have loosely stated that, if in every situation of battle
a player
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