When I first started playing poker, everything was about the odds. I played limit ring a lot and needed to know if certain calls were justified. My first poker book listed all those "drawing"odds in a neat little chart that I copied and taped to the side of my computer monitor. It stayed there until I memorized those numbers and hard coded them into my brain. When I started playing a lot more NL ring, those numbers helped me to make good decisions quickly. Below is a copy of that chart with some explanations.
#of Outs | Odds w/2 cards | Odds w/1 cards | Examples |
21 | 70.1% | 45.7% | Open end str8 flush draw with 2 overs |
20 | 67.5% | 43.5% | |
19 | 65.0% | 41.3% | |
18 | 62.4% | 39.1% | |
17 | 59.8% | 37.0% | |
16 | 57% | 34.8% | |
15 | 54.1% | 32.6% | Open end str8 flush draw |
14 | 51.2% | 30.4% | |
13 | 48.1% | 28.3% | |
12 | 45.0% | 26.1% | Flush draw with one over |
11 | 41.7% | 23.9% | |
10 | 38.4% | 21.7% | Flopped set, missed turn, need FH |
9 | 35.0% | 19.6% | Flush draw |
8 | 31.5% | 17.4% | Open end Str8 draw or double gut |
7 | 27.8% | 15.2% | Flopped a set, need a FH to win |
6 | 24.1% | 13.0% | |
5 | 20.4% | 10.9% | Have a pr, need to pr your kicker |
4 | 16.5% | 8.7% | Inside (gutshot) straight draw |
3 | 12.5% | 6.5% | |
2 | 8.4% | 4.3% | You have pp and need a set |
1 | 4.3% | 2.2% |
You also need some other numbers ‘hard-wired' about preflop odds for different types of starting hands. The odds of flopping a full house or other stronger hand are so low (.09% or less) as to be considered insignificant.
However the following stats are VERY significant.