01-31-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

42rule And KTs

Question: some guy told me about a 4/2 rule for assesing odds on hands...can you explain it in enlish for me? and the other question is a basic one, say you have a KsTs....all call and you have one guy raise....(fake money i know they say is note the same as real money) so in real money how strong are these hands when you got like 5-8players?

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: The 4/2 rule is a quick way of calculating odds for draws. In texas holdem poker you are often faced with situations where you can guess you don't currently have the best hand, but if you peel off a card or maybe even two, you may draw the winner. An example of this might be if you have AK and the flop is Q - T - 4.

You might win if an Ace, King, or Jack hits. So why not just always call the other person's bet and see if you can catch your card to win? The reason is simply that you will lose money in the long run if you put your money into draws that don't make you enough back. For example, if I were going to give you $1 for everytime you rolled a 1-4 on a ten sided die and you gave me $1 every time you didn't, eventually I would break you.

In holdem usually there is money already in the pot and when you figure odds, you are trying to figure out your chance of hitting the winning card relative to your risk/reward. The 4/2 rule is just a shortcut so you don't have to try to do complex math in your head.

To use the 4/2 rule in holdem multiply your "outs" by 4 if you have two cards to come (both the turn card and river card). Multiply your outs by 2 if you only have one card to come.

For example, I have A4 and the flop is K - 3 - 2. I assume my opponent has a King and if I catch a 5 or an Ace, I will win. I have 7 outs (3 aces and 4 fives). If I want to draw till the river, my chance of hitting and winning is 7 x 4 = 28%. If I only want to draw for one card, it is 14%; I then use that information to decide whether I should call for my draw. If I get enough in return, I'll draw.

Now for the KTs question... Is this limit holdem or no limit holdem? If this is no limit holdem then I would need to see how large the raise was preflop. If everyone called like you said and the raise wasn't too much, I might call. If I call though, I need to be very clear in my mind what I'm looking for with that hand. I am not looking for top pair. If you call with KTs and catch top pair against a large field of opponents in no limit holdem, you are going to get in trouble.

I will be looking for a very strong flop to continue such as a straight or flush draw. With 5 or more players you will be getting a good price on your draw but also keep in mind that pot odds can sometimes be deceiving. It is true that the more people in on a hand, the weaker your cards can be to make money but this is offset somewhat by their collective chance of beating you.

In limit holdem, I would call with KTs again if 4 or more people were in already. With less people than 4 in, I will be paying too much money to call with KTs. KTs is a nice hand but not against normal people's raising hands. It can easily become second best hand where you flop top pair and lose to a bigger kicker or you could flop top pair with a Ten and then end up getting outdrawn. The flush and straight possibilities are only profitable with 4 or more people in.

None of these texas holdem tips are written in stone. You need to always gauge your play based on your opponents play. A perfect example of an exception to everything I have just written here is if you know the player is raising with any two cards, in which case KTs might be a big favorite.

Your rating:

Click on the clover of your choice

User Rating: (0 Votes)

  • Share on Facebook
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us