Profitability

We all enjoy playing a game someone named poker, this is a given, yet most people who play the game never really make any money at it, while others make a lot of money playing. What is the difference in most of these people I came to ask myself. The answer I came up with is in a word, "Profitability". Simply defined it means able to be profitable, that makes sense, but why are some people NOT profitable or able to be.

I believe that the answer lies in how we get our money in the middle. We all read and hear about pot odds, and most here probably have a clue as to what this is all about. I wonder tho how many of the community actually use pot odds to determine their play in any given situation. I think the answer is simple to that question, the players that expierence profitability do use them, and the players that don't find themselves profitable, don't.

Math is used to figure pot odds, and a lot of poker players don't like to do math problems, or were bad at math in school, so they don't want to incorporate it into their game they play for fun. That is fine if they want to remain unprofitable at the game, and have the finances to support their habit. I like the fact that most people don't care if they are profitable or not, that makes it eaiser for me to be very profitable.

We hear TV announcers all the time saying that "he has the pot odds to call", but we hardly every hear anyone say anything about the odds of probability of making a hand. This is half of the equation, and many people have no clue what it is, or how it applies. The odds of probability of making your hand coupled with the pot odds gives you a guide to pofitability that cannot fail you, longterm ! To put it simply, the if the odds of probability of making your hand are say 4 to 1, for you to call the amount bet it has to be 1/4 th of the amount of money in the pot. If you keep the odds of probability AND the pot odds even or in your favor, LONGTERM you will be profitable.

To figure the odds of probability you have to determine how many cards left in the deck can complete your hand. Divide this number into all the remaining cards and this will give you and indication of the odds of making your hand. Next look at the total amount in the pot, and divide the amount you have to call into this total pot. This is where you see the pot odds. If the odds of probability AND the pot odds are even, then call, if they are less than even then fold, and if they are strongly in your favor, then raise as much as you think your oponent will call.

I will give one example to clarifiy this process. You have AK of spades in the hole, the flop comes out 5s, 2s, Qh giving you the nut flush draw, there are 9 more spades in the deck of 47 cards YOU haven't seen. When we divide 9 into 47 it comes out roughly 5 1/2 to 1 and this is the odds of probability you will make your flush. For you to call a $100 bet in this case, you would like to see the same 5 1/2 to 1 appear in the pot odds. That is to say there would be $550 in the pot to keep the odds of probability, and pot odds even.

If you apply this method of determining when to call and when to fold, as long as you keep the odds even or in your favor over the long term, you cannot fail to be profitable ! You wont win every pot and you won't hit every draw, but you will be profitable longterm because you are not putting your chips at risk when you are the underdog, and suppose to lose. You are keeping the odds of winning even or in your favor, and that is the only way to assure that you are a profitable player !.....I hope this gives some Railbirds some insight into becoming more Profitable, there is more to it than this with implied odds, and the ability to read a board and know if you hit your hand if it will win, but this is the basics, and will steer anyone who applies them to a game of profitability.

........play on ........Tc..........