I figured I would make a little post here and see what some of you thought since there are obviously people here better at poker math then I am.

When figuring out your odds for a cetain hand are there just certain stats that a person should just memorize?
A flop to a four flush is 35% or 2-1 against so if you are not getting 2-1 on your money then folding is always correct-right? and calling is alway correct-right?

I have played enough poker to know what the percentages are for cetain situations such as the 4 flush flop but other times I am not so sure.

I use the old multiply your outs x4 on the flop and x2 on the turn to get my percentages
Am I missing something here or is there a better way to do this? If so what?
When playing a hand does everybody always think in terms of percentages?

People that play other games well such as 7/stud and 7/s Hi/Lo and Omahs high and O8 as well as Limit Hold'Em and NL Hold'em obvioulsy know the math behind each game otherwise they would not play them well.

Is there like some kind of poker math chart that some players just memorize or are there little formulas for each of these games to apply to figure out your percetages?

I hate to sound naive but I am interested.

I'm not looking for any easy answer to any of these questions but the thought processes that people go through when playing these games interests' me.

I am curious to know and think like a winning player does when involved in a hand in a given game.

Obviously every situation is different in poker but the math involved is one of the only things that can be good solid information so any light shed onto this would be great.

Thanks

-D.S.

Like yourself I use the x4 and x2 (plus 2) to compute outs and winning percentages. I also have some committed to memory like the 4 to flush (35%) of the open-ended straight (31.5%)

I find that the math is pretty simple and very rarely am I in a close to call or not situation. I play $100NL (6-max). I find the players are either making pot-sized or better bets to stop draws or they'll bet stupidly like 1/3 of the pot with top pair but draws available.

One key point you might overlook is implied odds. If you have 4 to the flush, its not just your chances of hitting on the flop and the call amount on the flop, but also the amount you will have to call on the turn as well. The 35% chance is for 1 of the 2 cards. You also should weigh in what you think those playing behind you will do. I like to have a calling station playing after me because I can usually count on him to call a bet made by another player when I'm on a draw. Hence, I just got improved pot odds for hitting my hand and its "cheaper" to call.

Tim

I use the 4x and 2x method for on the fly calcualtions, like most players do. I also know the odds of certain things from doing them so much. With a set you are a 22% chance to make a boat on the river, a flush draw is 36% than 18%. Doing these % in other games like O8 can be much harder since you are talking about a split pot game. Stud is also tough because there is a variable number of cards that you have seen and are dead.