The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky

Ok, recently read this book one night when i was tired and bored. I dont know if it was just me that i was tired, but i think i missed some of the important math statements at the beginning about the types of odds. He keep refering to
-implied/reverse implied odds
-effective odds
-pot odds
etc. and it kind of went over my head. I am here to ask if any of you have read it, if so, would you mind reviewing these types of odds, how to calculate them, how they are useful, etc. with me. I tried re-reading them in the book, but my head hurts now.

If any of you have read this book, let me know. I need some help, hopefully this can improve my game.

I am guessing none of you have read this book?

Yes I have read the book.

Sklansky is tough to absorb. His books have such great information, but they read like high school text books. Not easy reading.

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players is my first Skalnsky book and I had to force myself through that. All the while reading it and saying, "I'm tired of reading this. but I have to get through it, it's such good information."

As for your Theory Of Poker questions. Are you wanting to explain pot odds, implied odds and EV?

Quick explaination.
Pot odds (I got this analogy from Sklansky)
Imagine I flip a coin, if you call it correctly you win $100. If you call it incorrectly you lose $50.
You should (through the law of averages) be able to guess 50% of the time. Which means 50% you will win $100 and 50 % you will lose $50.
If you did this 100 times you should win 50 times (which gives you $5,000) and lose 50 times (which gives you -$2,500) so total, you are +$2,500. This gave has good odds.
Same game, this time with a dice. You have a 1 in 6 shot of guessing right, and you will get pair 9 to 1 if you are right. If you play this game over the long run, when you win, you will get paid enough to make up for all the times you lose, plus some, just like the coin game.
Same game with cards. You have a 33% chance to make your flush. The bet is 20% of the pot. You are putting in $20 to win $100. In other words, if you lose, you lose $20, if you win, you win $100. Over the long run (all the games you play in your life) you will end up ahead. You have +EV (expected value), good pot odds.
Same game, with cards again. You are on a flush draw again. The pot odds don't justify your calling, but you are sure that if you can hit your flush, the betting on the next round will make up for the negative pot odds right now. This is called implied odds.

Skalnsky will show you how to figure up what you have and how to use it.

ok, i will keep that in mind as i re-read several parts of the book. I want to have the most information in my head as possible going into the 40 person tournament on saturday(need to do well

anyways, if i still dont understand the different types of odds, i will post here again, is that ok?

Originally Posted by dutchfan

I want to have the most information in my head as possible going into the 40 person tournament on saturday(need to do well

Tournaments are a slightly different story. There are certain things you would do in a ring game that you shouldn't do in a tournament.

-example-
You are in a tournament with a pocket pair and missed the flop. You know the other guy has pulled off 2 pair and you have pot odds to chase after your trips. It may not be a good option to chase.

In a ring game, you look at it as one big session. If you are down today, you will be up tomorrow. Pot odds are great to follow. In a tournament, you are playing tourney by tourney. Chasing a 20 to 1 shot will not only lose you the hand 19 times, but unless you expect to be in that same situation 20 times in the same tournament, your loss will affect your tournament results.

Some hands are great to chase, but stay away from those long shots, even if you get good pot odds.

All examples from Hold'em.

Effective pot odds - Odds your hand is good considering the current size of the pot and current betting round without considering future rounds of betting to come. For example AK pre-flop. It will often make a strong pair beating other hands that will likely miss or make a weaker pair. It wants to get its money in now.

Implied odds - Odds your hand is good considering future rounds of betting to come. For example 22 pre-flop. It will sometimes make a very strong hand, but often miss the flop. It wants to see a flop cheaply and then get its money in when it hits. It has poor Effective pot odds (loses more than it's fair share), but very good implied pot odds.

Reverse implied odds - A situation where you probably have the best hand, but it's unlikely to hold up. Consider having 88 in a 4-way pot when the flop is 2 4 7 two suited when the pot is small. You probably have the best hand right now, however your hand will almost never improve and you will too often end up folding to or paying a better hand that outdraws you. Hence, you should fold the propable "best" hand if shown any aggression.

or here is an example of Reverse implied odds from Stud...

You have split Jacks, it's 4 to 4rth street and you have the highest card up. Two other players catch a Jack and the third catches the only Ace in sight. You should fold if the pot is small.

thanks, clears up a bunch!@