Calculating odds in a pot

[IFixlexus]

I know there are a lot of professional's that take advantage of rakeback, and assuming since they are pro's they probably have a pretty good idea of the percentages of their hand against the potential hand they put their opponent on.
Now there are a lot of us who aren't pros (myself included) that are so-so at calculating the odds a pot gives you to draw at your hand.
How many of you actually calculate odds while in a hand? Be honest!!!

[irishpkr]

Is this a level? hows it even possible to play without use of odds...

[IFixlexus]

Did you honestly study the calculating of pot odds before ever playing poker in your life?
The game of poker can most definetely be played without calculating odds. I've played against 143231347918347 people in my life that obviously don't. Or do and choose to ignore them.

[frob23]

I don't always calculate odds but that is because I know the odds already and don't need to calculate them. I will roughly figure my pot odds. I think, if you're playing a lot, you should just know most of the common draws. If you don't know them by memory, you need a very good math sense. That is, you need to be able to just 'know' how the numbers relate without having to calculate them out. For example, 13 outs with 45 unknown cards and two draws... you have to roughly know that this is probably a better than even chance to hit. The way you "sense" this is to just know that two shots at 13... is like 26 cards... and that's more than half of 45. Is that calculation 100% accurate? Nope but it's close enough in the heat of battle. Knowing how the cards relate and effect odds will help you a lot.

The way you do that is with experimenting with playing with the numbers. And you get a sense for how they relate. Of course... just memorizing the common draws will help you a lot. You don't want to think a whole lot about it.

I remember, back in the day, my grandmother asking me the odds of making a hand with a 1 card draw to an open-ended straight draw... and she expected us to know. Most of them were from tables that she had or were in books. And she only expected us to know the common ones. But it was something she believed was important for playing poker (draw poker mostly but it related to the other games too).

I believe that thinking man's poker requires a knowledge and understanding of the odds... both of making your hand, of winning with that hand, and the odds you're being offered... pot and implied. If you don't have this base knowledge, you're playing blind. You can do it but I don't think you'll be successful in the long run. There are times when you know the odds and might deviate from what the correct mathematical play would be... but that is acceptable if you know what you're doing and have some concept of why you're doing it and why it is technically a mistake.

[BUILDMO]

you would be a fool not to play the odds
remember this, because I say it often......
you don't win every time
just win often

[liladypokerpro]

I use the pot odds frequently, except in situations where the odds have no relevance in accordance with the particular player or players I am up against. Such as a raving maniac that will push all in every hand....in these cases pot odds are relatively useless.

[IFixlexus]

I definetely agree that it starts to come naturally at some point for most people. I'm not always calculating them either and I normally just know when to get away from a hand mathematically.
I definetely don't always follow the rules mathematically, because if I did I'd probably be playing poker for a living. It's just a hobby for me. My biggest problem is that I enjoy action too much and a bankroll can get really volatile when you play heads up all the time.

[Vito_Nuccio]

I have a math oriented brain so the odds flow through my head with not much effort.
I use pot odds as one part of the whole puzzle, I incorporate reads, position, chip stacks, stakes and plain old gut instincts into the equasion. Once all the variables have been processed, I make a decision. Pot odds have an impact, but not used solely for my decisions.

Thanks,

[IFixlexus]

Yeah, I concur. When I'm playing Limit Holdem (which is very seldom these days) I use math and odds excessively.
When I play NL I'm normally just playing by feel with the pot odds being used in my decision making, but not dictating 100% what I do.