In poker, pot odds are the ratio of the current size of the pot to the cost of a contemplated call. In other words, if the pot contains $100, and a player must call $10 to stay in the hand, then the player has 100-to-10, or 10-to-1 (commonly expressed as 10:1), pot odds. Pot odds are often compared to the probability of winning a hand with a future card in order to estimate the call's expected value. Indeed, a common usage of the term is to say that one "has pot odds", meaning that the present pot odds, compared to one's estimated chance of winning, make it profitable to call.

Converting pot odds to percentage values
Pot odds are a ratio, but having their percentage value will often make them easier to work with. The ratio has two numbers: the Size of the Pot, and the Cost of the Call. To get the percentage value, we add the Size of the Pot and the Cost of the Call numbers together and record their Sum. We then divide the Cost of the Call by the Sum. For example, the pot is $30, and the cost of the call is $10. The pot odds in this situation are 30:10, or 3:1 when simplified. To get the percentage, we add $30 plus $10 get a sum of $40. Now we divide $10 by $40, giving us 0.25, or 25 percent.

Using pot odds to determine expected value
When a player holds a drawing hand, or a hand that is behind now but is likely to win if a certain card is drawn, pot odds are used to determine the expected value of that hand when the player is faced with a bet.

The expected value of a call is determined by comparing the pot odds to the odds of drawing a card that wins the pot. When the odds of drawing a card that wins the pot are numerically higher than the pot odds, the call has a positive expectation; on average, you win a portion of the pot that is greater than the cost of the call. Conversely, if the odds of drawing a winning card are numerically lower than the pot odds, the call has a negative expectation, and you can expect to win less money on average than it costs to call the bet.

Implied pot odds
Implied pot odds, or simply implied odds, are calculated the same way as pot odds, but take into consideration estimated future betting. Implied odds are calculated in situations where the player expects to fold in the following round if the draw is missed, thereby losing no additional bets, but expects to gain additional bets when the draw is made. Since the player expects to always gain additional bets in later rounds when the draw is made, and never lose any additional bets when the draw is missed, the extra bets that the player expects to gain, excluding his own, can fairly be added to the current size of the pot. This adjusted pot value is known as the implied pot.

Manipulating pot odds
Often a player will bet to manipulate the pot odds offered to other players. A common example of manipulating pot odds is make a bet to protect a made hand that discourages opponents from chasing a drawing hand.

Bluffing frequency
According to David Sklansky, game theory shows that a player should bluff a percentage of the time equal to his opponent's pot odds to call the bluff. For example, in the final betting round, if the pot is $30 and a player is contemplating a $30 bet (which will give his opponent 2-to-1 pot odds for the call), the player should bluff half as often as he would bet for value (one out of three times).

However, this conclusion does not take into account some of the context of specific situations. A player's bluffing frequency often accounts for many different factors, particularly the tightness or looseness of their opponents. Bluffing against a tight player is more likely to induce a fold than bluffing against a loose player, who is more likely to call the bluff. Sklansky's strategy is an equilibrium strategy in the sense that it is optimal against someone playing an optimal strategy against it.

Online Tools
Calculating odds can be a daunting task for new poker players, and if you play online there’s no reason not to use one of the many tools out there to help you calculate pot odds on the fly. Tournament Indicator is a tool that allows you to instantly calculate pot odds, win odds, yours/opponent’s hands on the river, expected value, group, outs and position. Needless to say for the beginning and experienced player alike a tool like Tournament Indicator can be invaluable when playing in the fast-paced online games.

Calculatem Pro is another tool that you can use while playing online to do much of the heavy lifting. The tool itself works much like Tournament Indicator and also offers instant odds and gives you tons of information to help you make the best moves.

To read further on calculating pot odds and other required poker techniques we recommend you read David Sklansky’s “The Theory of Poker” and “No Limit Hold’em Theory and Practice.” For other tips about winning in online poker make sure to check out all of our Online Poker 101 stories.

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1. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 2, Learn the Lingo
2. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 3, Counting Outs
3. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 1, Gathering Intel

Yesterday we touched on the basics of counting your outs, and today we are going to build on that by using your number of outs to quickly calculate the rule of 4 and 2. To start out let’s work with a basic two card hand along with a fresh flop.

Hold Cards:

The Flop:

As you can see, any heart and you can make a flush which is nine outs:

Also, any four also makes you a straight (make sure not to count the four of hearts a second time), which is three outs:

Add up all of your outs for a total of twelve outs, remember to not count under-pairs as outs. You may pair your six or five of hearts but seeing as there is a seven and a queen on the board you need to assume that someone has paired either of those, so don’t consider those cards as outs. After you have tallied your outs it is time to use the rule of 4 and 2 to quickly calculate your chances of having a winning hand.

The Rule of 4
After the flop, multiply your number of outs by 4 to determine your chances of making your hand on the river. For example, multiply the 12 outs above by 4; 4 × 12 = 48% So you have a 48% chance of making your hand by the river.

The Turn

After the turn the number of outs has increased, the eight gives you three more outs with the remaining nines in a straight draw so there are now 15 outs.

The Rule of 2
The rule of 2 works just like the rule of 4. After the turn, you multiply your number of outs by 2 to determine your chance of making your hand by the river. For example, multiply the 15 outs above by 2; 2 × 15 = 30% So you have a 30% chance of making your hand on the river.

Simplified
With the rule of 4 and 2 you multiply your number of outs by 4 after the flop or by 2 after the turn to calculate your chances of making your hand on the river.

Using the rule of 4 and 2 you can quickly and easily calculate your odds of catching your winning hand by the river. Now in the above example 30% on the turn isn’t a great chance but 15 outs is still substantial and depending on the bet and the table you may want to ride out that hand until the river. In our next post we’ll delve even deeper into what you should do in this situation by telling you how to calculate pot odds, so check back tomorrow for that.

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1. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 3, Counting Outs
2. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 5, Calculating Pot Odds
3. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 2, Learn the Lingo

To do well in poker you don’t need to be a math whiz that can calculate the entire deck on the fly,  you just need to know some basic rules to be successful. The first step in poker math is calculating and always knowing your outs.

Counting Outs
Suppose your hand is the 6 of Hearts and the Jack of Hearts:

The flop comes down and it’s the King of Hearts, 3 of Spades and 4 of Hearts:

It is evident that after the flop, without improving your hand dramatically you have very little chance of winning. However, if you calculate the outs you’ll see that it isn’t horrible. As you may have already noticed, if any remaining Heart comes on the turn or river you’ll make a flush. When counting outs be sure not to count the cards currently known, so a total of 9 Hearts remain:

If you notice, you may also pair either your 6 of Hearts and the Jack of Hearts so you may calculate those additional 6 cards if you desire, however since there is an over-card (King of Hearts) showing on the board it isn’t recommended that you count the lesser cards as outs, because you should assume another player already has a pair of Kings. Now if you paired one of your cards on the turn THEN you could count the other six cards as outs because you have a chance at a set (3 of a kind) that would beat the pair of Kings.

Knowing your outs is key at all times and knowing what to consider an out is even more crucial. Make sure to always keep tally of your outs, and don’t forget to include the straight-draw outs either! In our post later today, we’ll show you how you can easily calculate your outs into quick odds that will help you either continue with your hand or rightly fold.

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1. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 4, The Rule of 4 and 2
2. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 2, Learn the Lingo
3. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 5, Calculating Pot Odds

As we mentioned in Step 1 of our Online Poker 101, learning all of the poker lingo will be key in your success, so below is a list that you should familiarize yourself with. If this isn't enough for you check out the poker category of words at Wiktionary. 

Action
(1) Opportunity to act. If a player appears not to realize it's his turn, the dealer will say "Your action, sir."
(2) Bets and raises. "If a third heart hits the board and there's a lot of action, you have to assume that somebody has made the flush."

Ante
A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most hold'em games do not have an ante; they use "blinds" to get initial money into the pot.

All-In
To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes games, a player may not go into his pocket for more money during a hand. If he runs out, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. However, he can still win the pot for which he had the chips.

Backdoor
Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand. For instance, suppose you have As-7s. The flop comes Ad-6c-4s. You bet and are called. The turn is the Ts, which everybody checks, and then the river is the Js. You've made a "backdoor" nut flush. See also "runner."

Bad Beat
To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest of luck that he managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot.

Big Blind
The larger of the two blinds typically used in a hold'em game. The big blind is a full first round bet. See also "blind" and "small blind."

Big Slick
A nickname for Ace/King (suited or not).

Blank
A board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the hand. If the flop is As-Jd-Ts, then a turn card of 2h would be considered a blank. On the other hand, the 2s would not be.

Blind
A forced bet (or partial bet) put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Typically, blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the button. See also "live blind."

Board
All the community cards in a hold'em game — the flop, turn, and river cards together.

Bot
Short for "robot". In a poker context, a program that plays poker online with no (or minimal) human intervention.

Bottom Pair
A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair.

Brick & Mortar
A "real" casino or cardroom with a building, tables, dealers, etc. This is in contrast to an online poker site.

Bubble
(1) The point at which only one player must bust out before all others win some money.
(2) The person who was unfortunate enough to finish in that position.

Burn
To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.

Button
A white acrylic disk that indicates the (nominal) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button.

Buy
(1) As in "buy the pot." To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called.
(2) As in "buy the button." To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to act last on subsequent betting rounds.

Buy-In
An amount of money you pay to enter a tournament. Often expressed as two numbers, such as $100+9, meaning that it costs $109 to enter the tournament; $100 goes into the prize fund and $9 goes to the house.

Call
To put into the pot an amount of money equal to the most recent bet or raise. The term "see" (as in "I'll see that bet") is considered colloquial.

Calling Station
A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.

Cap
To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. This is typically the third or fourth raise.

Case
The last card of a certain rank in the deck.

Center Pot
The first pot created during a poker hand, as opposed to one or more "side" pots created if one or more players goes all-in. Also "main pot."

Chat
Typed conversation that you can have with other players at an online poker site.

Check
(1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. Equivalent to betting zero dollars.
(2) Another word for chip, as in poker chip.

Check-Raise
To check and then raise when a player behind you bets. Occasionally you will hear people say this is not fair or ethical poker. Almost all casinos permit check-raising, and it is an important poker tactic. It is particularly useful in low-limit hold'em where you need extra strength to narrow the field if you have the best hand.

Chop
An agreement between the two players with blinds to simply take their blinds back rather than playing out the hand if nobody calls or raises in front of them.

Clean Out
A card that would almost certainly make your hand best. If you are drawing at a straight, but there is a flush draw possible, then the cards that make your straight but also the flush are not clean outs.

Cold Call
To call more than one bet in a single action. For instance, suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now any player acting after that must call two bets "cold." This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise.

Come Hand
A drawing hand (from the craps term).

Complete Hand
A hand that is defined by all five cards — a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or straight flush.

Connector
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank.

Counterfeit
To make your hand less valuable because of board cards that duplicate it.

Crack
To beat a hand — typically a big hand. You hear this most often applied to pocket aces: "Third time tonight I've had pocket aces cracked."

Cripple
As in "to cripple the deck." Meaning that you have most or all of the cards that somebody would want to have with the current board. If you have pocket kings, and the other two kings flop, you have crippled the deck.

Crying Call
A call that you make expecting to lose, but feel that you must make anyway because of the pot odds.

Cut-Off
The position (or player) who acts one before the button.

Dead Money
(1) Money contributed to a pot by a player no longer in the pot.
(2) A player in a tournament who has no realistic chance of winning.

Dog
Shortened form of "underdog."

Dominated Hand
A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play. For instance, K3 is "dominated" by KQ. With the exception of strange flops (e.g., 3-3-X, K-3-X), it will always lose to KQ.

Draw
To play a hand that is not yet good, but could become so if the right cards come.

Draw Dead
Trying to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If you're drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a full house, you are "drawing dead."

Equity
Your "rightful" share of a pot. If the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can "expect" to win.

Expectation
(1) The amount you expect to gain on average if you make a certain play. For instance, suppose you put $10 into a $50 pot to draw at a hand that you will make 25% of the time, and it will win every time you make it. Three out of four times, you do not make your draw, and lose $10 each time for a total of $30. The fourth time, you will make your draw, winning $50. Your total gain over those four average hands is $50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. Thus calling the $10 has a positive expectation of $5. (2) The amount you expect to make at the poker table in a specific time period. Suppose in 100 hours of play, you win $527. Then your expectation is $5.27/hr. Of course, you won't make that exact amount each hour (and some hours you will lose), but it's one measure of your anticipated earnings.

Extra Blind
A blind put in by a player just entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his position at the table. See also "blind" and "post."

Family Pot
A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop.

Fast Play
To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible.

Fish
A poor player — one who gives his money away. It's a well-known rule among good players to not upset the bad players, because they'll stop having fun and perhaps leave. Thus the phrase, "Don't tap on the aquarium."

Flop
The first three community cards, put out face up, all together.

Fold Equity
The extra value you get from a hand when you force an opponent to fold. That is, if you don't have to see a showdown, your hand has more value than if you do.

Foul
A hand that may not be played for one reason or another. A player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of the pot.

Free Card
A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand (or because of your reputation with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn, you can bet. If you don't get it on the turn, you can check as well, seeing the river card for "free."

Free Roll
One player has a shot at winning an entire pot when he is currently tied with another player. For instance, suppose you have Ac-Qc and your opponent has Ad-Qh. The flop is Qs-5c-Tc. You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling, because you can win the whole pot and your opponent can't. If no club comes, you split the pot with him; if it does come, you win the whole thing.

Gap Hand
A starting hand with cards more than one rank apart. For instance, T9 is a one-gap hand. 86 is a two-gap hand.

Gutshot Straight
A straight filled "inside." If you have 9s-8s, the flop comes 7c-5h-2d, and the turn is the 6c, you've made your gutshot straight.

Heads-Up
A pot that is being contested by only two players.

Hit
As in "the flop hit me," meaning the flop contains cards that help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit you.

House
The establishment running the game.

Implied Odds
Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the turn even though the pot isn't offering you quite 4:1 odds (your chance of making the flush) because you're sure you can win a bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush.

Jackpot
A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten. In hold'em, the "loser" must typically get aces full or better beaten. In some of the large southern California card clubs, jackpots have gotten over $50,000. Of course, the jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake.

Jam
To move all-in in a no-limit (or pot-limit) game.

Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in hold'em.

Leak
A weakness in your game that causes you to win less money than you would otherwise.

Limp
To call. Generally the term refers to pre-flop action.

Live Blind
A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The "live" means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them.

Live
Cards that are not duplicated in an opponent's stronger hand.

Maniac
A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous.

Made Hand
A hand to which you're drawing, or one good enough that it doesn't need to improve.

Micro-Limit
Games so small that they couldn't be profitably dealt in a real cardroom. They exist only at online poker sites. You might arbitrarily call games $.25-.50 and smaller "micro-limit."

Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards in front of the dealer.

No-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of him) whenever it is his turn to act. It is a very different game from limit poker.

Nuts
The best possible hand given the board. If the board is Ks-Jd-Ts-4s-2h, then As-Xs is the nuts. You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn't the overall nuts.

Offsuit
A hold'em starting hand with two cards of different suits.

One-Gap
A hold'em starting hand with two cards two apart in rank. Examples: J9s, 64.

Out
A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural.

Outrun
To beat. Example: "Susie outran my set when her flush card hit on the river."

Over call
To call a bet after one or more others players have already called.

Over card
A card higher than any card on the board.

Over pair
A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an over pair.

Pat
A hand that you make on the flop. For instance, if you have two spades in your hand and the flop has three spades, then you've flopped a pat spade flush.

Pay Off
To call a bet when the bettor is representing a hand that you can't beat, but the pot is sufficiently large to justify a call anyway.

Play the Board
To show down a hand in hold'em when your cards don't make a hand any better than is shown on the board. For instance, if you have 22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you must "play the board": the best possible hand you can make doesn't use any of your cards. Note that if you play the board, the best you can do is split the pot with all remaining players.

Pocket
Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, "He had pocket sixes" (a pair of sixes), or "I had ace-king in the pocket."

Pocket Pair
A hold'em starting hand with two cards of the same rank, making a pair.

Post
To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds.

Pot-Committed
A state where you are essentially forced to call the rest of your stack because of the size of the pot and your remaining chips.

Pot-Limit
A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot whenever it is his turn to act. Like no-limit, this is a very different game from limit poker.

Pot Odds
The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing.

Price
The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call.

Protect
(1) To keep your hand or a chip on your cards. This prevents them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally mucked by the dealer.
(2) To invest more money in a pot so blind money that you've already put in isn't "wasted."

Put On
To mentally assign a hand to a player for the purposes of playing out your hand.

Quads
Four of a kind.

Ragged
A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much.

Rainbow
A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.

Rake
An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer. This is the online gambling site's income.

Rank
The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit).

Re-buy
An option to buy back into a tournament after you've lost all your chips. Tournaments may offer one or more rebuys or (often) none at all.

Represent
To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker.

Ring Game
A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament. Also referred to as a "live" game since actual money is in play instead of tournament chips.

River
The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fifth street." Metaphors involving the river are some of poker's most treasured cliches, e.g., "He drowned in the river."

Rock
A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable: if he raises you on the river, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts.

Runner
Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand that was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river.

Satellite
A tournament that does not award cash to its winners, but a seat (or seats) in a subsequent "target" tournament.

Scare Card
A card that may well turn the best hand into trash.

Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop.

Sell
As in "sell a hand." In a spread-limit game, this means betting less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping players will call whereas they would not have called a maximum bet.

Semi-Bluff
A bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may be a positive expectation play.

Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.

Short Stack
A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table.

Showdown
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand — i.e., after the fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown.

Side Pot
A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips.

Slow Play
To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.

Small Blind
The smaller of two blind bets typically used in a hold'em game. Normally, the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first round bet. See also "big blind" and "blind."

Smooth Call
To call. Smooth call often implies slow playing a strong hand.

Soft-Play
To go easy on another player at the table (e.g., not betting or raising against him).

Splash the Pot
To toss chips directly into the pot rather than put them in a stack in front of you. Don't do it.

Split Pot
A pot that is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.

Split Two Pair
A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks appears on the board as well.

Spread-Limit
A betting structure in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round.

Stop-and-Go
A play where you call (rather than re-raising) a raise, but then come out betting on the next card.

Straddle
An optional extra blind bet, typically made by the player one to the left of the big blind, equal to twice the big blind.

String Bet
A bet (more typically a raise) in which a player doesn't get all the chips required for the raise into the pot in one motion. Unless he verbally declared the raise, he can be forced to withdraw it and just call. This prevents the unethical play of putting out enough chips to call, seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising.

Structured
Used to apply to a certain betting structure in poker games. The typical definition of a structured hold'em game is a fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river.

Suited
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit.

Table Stakes
A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into his pocket for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount of money in front of him into the current pot.

Tell
A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand, his next action, etc. May originally be from "telegraph" or the obvious use that he "tells" you what he's going to do before he does it.

Thin
As in "drawing thin." To be drawing to a very few outs, perhaps only one or two.

Tilt
To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.

Time
(1) A request by a player to suspend play while he decides what he's going to do. Simply, "Time, please!" If a player doesn't request time and there is a substantial amount of action behind him, the dealer may rule that the player has folded.
(2) An amount of money collected either on the button or every half hour by the cardroom. This is another way for the house to make its money (see "rake").

To Go
The amount a player must call if he wishes to continue playing.

Toke
A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) given to the dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes represent the great majority of a dealer's income.

Top Pair
A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair. See "second pair."

Top Set
The highest possible trips. Example: you have Tc-Ts, and the flop comes Td-8c-9h. You have flopped top set.

Top Two
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board.

Top and Bottom
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the highest and lowest cards on the board.

Trips
Three of a kind.

Turn
The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fourth street."

Under the Gun
The position of the player who acts first on a betting round.

Underdog
A person or hand not mathematically favored to win a pot.

Value
As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff).

Variance
A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play.

Wheel
A straight from ace through five.

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1. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 3, Counting Outs
2. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 4, The Rule of 4 and 2
3. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 5, Calculating Pot Odds

If you’re new to the online gambling game then the first thing you need to do before you get your poker on is Gather Intel. The world of online poker is a crazy place and before you go depositing your hard earned duckets at a gambling site you should know if the site and it’s players are right for you. So, we’re going to throw down a short list here of all the ducks you should get in to a row before you begin your quest to becoming a legit online poker player.

1. Learn to Play Poker
   I know this one is a no-brainer but you need to know how to play poker before you hit the virtual felt tables. If you don’t know how to play Texas Hold’Em just turn on ESPN 2 at night and watch the real pros do it… but seriously it isn’t that difficult to learn how to play or excel at.
    
2. Learn the Lingo
   Poker is full of all kinds of crazy acronyms and abbreviations, make sure you learn those first thing as they will help accelerate your learning curve. Poker as a whole is a simple game of probability and people learning, and all of these acronyms will help you achieve both faster. Step 2 of our Poker 101 will be an in depth review of all the important acronyms, so be sure to check back for that tomorrow.
    
3. Choose Your Game
   Most poker sites offer multiple variations of popular card games, including but not limited to Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hold ‘Em, Black Jack, 7 Card Stud, Razz and the “all in one” H.O.R.S.E. Each one of these games is extremely different from the other, so if you are starting out I would play them all for a bit to get the feel of the one you want to stick with. Out of this list Texas Hold ‘Em is easily the most popular online game type and it is the one we both recommend and play daily.
    
4. Choose Your Table Types
   Once you pick your poison it’s time to figure out what kind of table betting you want to play at. Most poker sites offer various types of game play tables including Limit, No-Limit and Pot-Limit, so play them all and get a feel for each one. No-Limit is the game of the big boys, which means you can go all-in at any time so if you play no-limit just know your limits or you’ll see yourself finishing in last place. Another aspect of choosing the right table is choosing the table type. There are Single Table, Multi-Table, Sit & Go and Heads Up… find out the one you like playing in and stick with it.
    
5. Find the Right Site(s)
   Not all online poker sites are created equal so you need to find out which one of the sites is right for you. Remember to take into consideration how comfortable you are with the look and feel of the interface, the lobby, the cashier, etc. If you are going to be a serious poker player you’ll be staring at these screens for hours and hours so you want something that doesn’t make you want to gouge your eyes out. You need to also try and get a feel for the types of players each site has, if there are a lot of sharks at a certain site and you are just getting started, then another site may be a better option until you get your feet wet.

   One thing we also strongly advise you to do is do your research about the companies behind the site you are going to deal with. Search around on the web and see if anyone is complaining about slow pays or shady dealings at a site. None of these sites are based in America so you need to be able to trust them with your money so do your homework so you don’t get screwed. We also make sure to do a thorough search of news sites to see if there have been any breaking stories regarding these places. For an example, two years ago Absolute Poker had an employee cheat random Joes out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, so be wary.

   Pajamas Poker has experience and can “vouch” for the following US Friendly poker sites: Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Ultimate Bet. We play on these sites every single day and have had no problems with any of them, we’ll be giving full reviews of each site in the coming weeks so check back for those.

6. Practice, Practice, Practice
   To be a good poker player it is no different than any other skilled profession, you must practice. The more you play the faster you’ll be able to react in tough situations. You’ll also become a very good “reader” of people and within 10-20 hands at a virtual table you’ll be able to peg 95% of the players to a certain play style which will help you exploit their weaknesses. If you know a player’s tendencies it doesn’t matter if they have the better hand or not.
    
7. Set Your Bankroll Limit and Stick To It
   Bankroll is a term to describe the financial backing you are willing to sacrifice while playing poker. If you can only afford to have $50 at any given time in your bankroll makes sure to stick to it. If you lose that $50 don’t go adding more money until you can afford it. If you lose half of your bankroll your first priority should be to try and make that half back without losing the other half, so don’t go joining a $22+2 dollar game out of desperation. Think of your bankroll as your lifeline, as long as you have money in that bankroll you are a fighter, when you don’t you’re a dead man, protect it at all costs and most of all don’t be overly aggressive.

   Most players start small and build up their bankroll, so if you find $1 games boring, don’t deposit more money into your bank, earn more money by succeeding in the lower tournaments and then play the higher dollar games only after you’ve won the lower ones, that way if you lose you still have your initial investment there as a safety net. We will be going into much more detail regarding bankrolls in the near future, but when you are just starting out just remember to not overextend yourself and play the lower money games to work yourself up to the bigger games.

8. Make a List of Goals
   Sure making a list sounds strange but it is perfectly normal. Before you start out on your poker journey make a list of your goals and what you’d like to learn and achieve. Also make sure to take notes as you go through the “Gathering Intel” steps so you can know where you are lacking and excelling on your journey.
    
9. Set Your Limits
   Nothing is fun once it starts feeling like a job, so make yourself set hard limits when it comes to gaming online. Set both financial and time limits so you don’t ignore the truly important things in your life… basically, don’t let the virtual world absorb your real world.
    
10. Gather Tools 
    When you are playing poker online it affords you the ability to use software tools to help you make decisions while playing poker. The most popular tools used today is real-time odds calculators that help you as you play. We use and swear by Tournament Indicator, as you may have been able to tell from this post. Calculatem Pro is another real-time odds calculator that we have used and also enjoy, it really gives you an edge on the competition.

    Some of the other tools out there are Calculatem, Holdem Genius, Sit And Go Shark and Poker Crusher. We know that finding the write tools is key and we will be giving full reviews of all of these tools soon, but we can vouch for both Tournament Indicator and Calculatem Pro being amazing tools that have more than paid for themselves. Look for their reviews next week. 

Well there you have it. The Pajamas Poker top ten list of gathering intel before you begin your run at being a poker god. Poker is a game, and you need to remember that. There are endless possibilities with online poker and you can have a tons of fun while making a ton of a money but you need to always remember it is a game and that you can step away at any time. If you have an addictive personality or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol while playing you could seriously hurt yourself or your family by overextending yourself at the tables. If you have a problem maybe you should find out before you go down the wrong road. 

Now that you know the basics all you have to do is get out there and start to play, again we recommend playing at Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Ultimate Bet over all others. Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our Poker 101 class.

Related Posts

1. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 5, Calculating Pot Odds
2. ONLINE POKER 101: Step 2, Learn the Lingo