Part 1 of our Quiz took a look at one of the fundamental concepts in Texas Holdem. The concept of "the nuts." Hopefully, you were able to answer all five questions correctly. If not, you need to practice the skill so that you can quickly determine the strength of your hand as the community cards are shown. In Part 2 of the Texas Holdem Quiz, we are going to review another of the basics needed to become a great poker player. Each and every time you put money into the pot, you need to be able to say to yourself, I made the correct decision. Now you know you will not win every hand you play, so how will you will be able to say that? You can say it because poker is a game of instincts and math. And, math is how you will know your decision was correct.

Here is a simple example:

Let's say you are playing 109. After the turn, there is $1,900 in the pot and the community cards are AK6J. You are up against 1 opponent who bets $100. At this point, the only card that will help your hand is a Q to give you a straight. With 4 Qs in the deck, you have 4 outs making you a 10.5 to 1 underdog to hit your hand.

The important piece of information is to understand why you are a 10.5 to 1 underdog. It's all about math. After the turn, there are 46 unseen cards remaining. (This includes the cards held by other players since they are unknown to you.) The ratio of 42 non-Qs to 4 Qs can be reduced to 10.5 to 1. Since the pot size ($2,000) to the value of your $100 bet is 20 to 1, it would be worth calling the bet to try and catch the queen. However, if the bet would have been $500 that would have made the ratio $2,400 to $500 (4.8 to 1) so you could toss your hand away knowing you made the correct decision.

We continue our Texas Holdem Quiz with 5 questions that further explore the value of your hand when facing a bet. Keep in mind that we are only looking at basic pot odds and not other Texas Holdem strategies such as implied odds, or times when you should raise or reraise. After completing the quiz, scroll to the bottom to find the answers.

QUESTIONS

1. You are holding pocket 2s and the community cards are Ah9sJd. There is $500 in the pot and you are facing 2 opponents. The first player made a bet of $100 and was called by the second. Should you call the $100 bet?



2. The community cards are Js2d4h7h and you are holding AhQh. The pot size is $1,000 and you are facing one opponent who bets $750. Should you call the bet?



3. The community cards are JQ6 of different suits with a $600 pot. You are holding 109 and face a $100 bet against one opponent. Should you call?



4. You are holding 3c4d and the community cards are 2dKd7dJc. The pot has $1,500 and you are facing 3 opponents. The first player bets $500 and is called by the next two. Should you call?



5. The community cards are Ad5d10d3d and you hold 4d2d. There is $5,000 in the pot and you are facing 4 opponents. The first player bets $20,000 and the next three players fold. Should you call?

Click Here for Part 3 of the Quiz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS

1. No. With 3 overcards on the board and 2 other players in the hand, you have to assume you do not have the best hand. With 47 unseen cards remaining, the 2 remaining deuces are your only outs making you a 22.5 to 1 (45 non-deuces to 2 deuces) underdog of hitting your hand. For a $100 bet, the pot is only offering you 7 to 1 on your money.



2. Yes. In this situation, your outs could be any heart, or an A or Q. This would give you 15 possible outs making you a 2 to 1 underdog (31 non-outs to 15 outs). With $1,750 in the pot, you would be getting 2.3 to 1 on your money.



3. Yes. An open-end straight draw gives you 8 outs making you a 4.9 to 1 underdog (39 non-outs to 8 outs). You are getting 7 to 1 on your money ($700 to $100).



4. No. In this situation, you basically have zero outs since a diamond on the river would put 4 diamonds on the board and any of the other players would have a better hand if they held a diamond higher than 4. Although you would be getting 6 to 1 on your money, and are only a 4 to 1 underdog to make your flush, it would be best to save your money for a better hand.



5. Yes!! This is a question to see if you learned anything from Part 1 of the Quiz. Although there are 4 diamonds on the board and your diamonds are low in rank, you have a straight flush. By the end of this hand, you should try to have as much, if not all, of your money in the pot.