You definitely do not count the call you are going to make when you calculate pot odds. If the pot (including the bet you are calling) is $500 dollars and you have to put in $200 to call, you are getting 2.5-1, not 3.5-1. You don't "win" what you have to put in. It's in your stack while you're making this decision so it's your money at this point. You are Betting $200 to win $500.

For example, if you bet $200.00 on the Patriots to win the superbowl, to win $200.00, the odds are 1-1. By including your bet, you'd be saying you get 2-1 odds on this type of bet.


Also, that quote about not being able to build pot odds doesn't make sense. Of course you can take each individual bet and evaluate it on its own when figuring pot odds. If you "raise alot on the flop" and that causes you to have pot odds to call on the turn, then you have pot odds to call. It doesn't matter how that money got in the pot. Maybe your raise on the flop was a bad move, but the money's in the pot now, and you can win it, so it is used in calculating your odds.

-Fishmagician