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Calculating Odds

First of all, one thing you have to realize is that poker is a game of probability. What do you do if you get a flop hand that could become a great hand if the cards fall right? Any good
player will take the odds into account when deciding whether to fold or to keep on playing. The first thing you need to do is figure out exactly how much is in the pot, including any bets
currently on the table and try to factor in any bets you think the other players will make after you bet. Then divide that number by the value of the bet that you need to call. For instance if there is $12 in the pot and you need to make a $2 bet to call another player then the current pot odds are 2:6. After another player adds to the pot it will need to be recalculated, in that case divide the size of the current pot by your first bet plus the raise.

You need to calculate the pot odds to figure out whether to continue drawing towards a hand that you believe you will win. There are several charts provided online to show you the odds of finishing a hand or improving a hand on the turn and the river cards based on the number of outs you hand has. Outs are the number of cards left in the deck that will or could complete your hand. So if you have drawn a four card heart flush draw on the flop and you need one more heart to make you hand win, then you have nine outs or nine hearts left in the deck.

Read some of the charts available online and then compare the odds of making your hand to the pot odds, if the odds of making your hand are higher than the pot odds then the potential payoff from winning doesn't justify the odds against making your hand and therefore you should fold the hand. Some of the odds on completing hands are long shots and you should figure out when the odds are against you and when they are in your favor so that you know intelligently whether to fold or whether to continue on playing your hand.

Since, as said before, poker is a game of probability there is not certain way to know for sure if you are going to win the hand or not but by calculating the odds you have a better chance of knowing whether or not you might win the pot. Now that you have read this you should go away with a higher understanding of what it means to calculate the odds of a Texas Hold'em game and how to do it better. You can go play and start winning.