Poker Math You NEED to Know

Poker is a very mathematical game and it can seem overwhelming at first, but study this video and put the lessons into practice and you will quickly learn how to use these strategies effectively to increase your win rate.
I discuss several key points of poker math and game theory including pot odds, minimum defense frequency, pot sized raises and more!
Poker Math You NEED To Know:
Poker Math Subject #1 - Pot Sized Raise
Poker Math Subject #2 - Pot Odds
Poker Math Subject #3 - Balanced River Value To Bluff Proportion
Poker Math Subject #4 - Required Bluff Success Frequency
Poker Math Subject #5 - Minimum Defense Frequency
In order to take your poker game to the next level it is vitally important you learn all the nuances of the game.
Do you know what ranges of poker hands you should be playing from each position? When should you 3-bet, call or fold? When is the right time to make a hero call or a huge bluff? Do you know how to play preflop, flop, turn & river effectively and how should your poker strategy change depending on the street? What difference does it make if you are playing multi-way vs heads-up?
#pokermath #pokerstrategy #jonathanlittle

Пікірлер: 78

  • @mikezilberbrand1663
    @mikezilberbrand166320 күн бұрын

    One correction. If your opponent bets 100 into 400, then you call 100 in the total of 600pot, getting 1/5 odds. Need to win 1/6th or 16.7%. Other than that, a very good lecture!

  • @Ggoodlad1
    @Ggoodlad126 күн бұрын

    Minimum defense strategy is my recent focus - THANK you for addressing this! You are the best!

  • @mgrizz1123
    @mgrizz112322 күн бұрын

    I’m going to need to watch this video 100 Times. Thanks again, sir!

  • @PokerCoaching

    @PokerCoaching

    21 күн бұрын

    So glad you found it helpful!

  • @gkb1973
    @gkb197326 күн бұрын

    I need help with the concept of percentage of bluffs in my range vs my bet size. I think part of my issue is in game I tend to think about my exact hand vs the range I should have based on my position and preflop action. Can you give me an example of a range that arrives on the river making a 2x pot jam needing 43% bluffs?

  • @gonzalotonini322
    @gonzalotonini32226 күн бұрын

    Thanks for your work

  • @davionharris8005
    @davionharris800520 күн бұрын

    Much needed, thanks a lot JL. Will be reaching out soon.

  • @PokerCoaching

    @PokerCoaching

    18 күн бұрын

    You're welcome!

  • @cjgooding4512
    @cjgooding451227 күн бұрын

    I like how online you can change it to BBs like who cares how much chips you have or whatever it's all about how many big blinds you have it's nice that you can do a quick setting online to convert it so you don't even have to see the actual chip or money amount. I haven't tried live poker yet except back in the day with some buddies so I don't know if this will be a big adjustment or not but when I play online I only view big blinds aka minimum bet how many minimum bets do you have in your stack.

  • @leonlengauer197
    @leonlengauer19726 күн бұрын

    Hey :) first I wanna say I love ur videos :) thx so much! Is the equilab still available for free? Because my download does not work. Whould be really nice if u could help me 😅😊

  • @areon912
    @areon91226 күн бұрын

    Is there a reason why in one example it was 100 into a 400 pot so the equation was 100/(100+400) and in the other example it was 1500 into a 8000 pot but the equation was 1500/(1500+9500) ? One example added the bet we’re facing into the initial pot and one didn’t

  • @newstandardaccount

    @newstandardaccount

    26 күн бұрын

    Yes, Jonathan made a mistake on the 400 pot. If your opponent bets 100 into a $400 pot, it is now a $500 pot, so the odds are 5:1, not 4:1

  • @fullsamadhi

    @fullsamadhi

    25 күн бұрын

    Thank you both! This was bugging me.

  • @semirgj

    @semirgj

    25 күн бұрын

    This almost broke my poor public school brain.

  • @AT-qm8gv

    @AT-qm8gv

    23 күн бұрын

    @@newstandardaccountI think he made a mistake on both. The second one should be 1500/(1500+8000) which does = 6.33:1 but the percentage is 15.79%.

  • @simplexity92

    @simplexity92

    23 күн бұрын

    ⁠@@AT-qm8gvfor percentage it’s risk/(risk+reward), so 1500 to risk and get 9500 reward (8000 in pot + bet of 1500). So 1500/(1500+9500)=0.136 so 13.6%. But your pot odds still are 9500:1500 (simply reward:risk), that means 6.33:1. don’t mix that up with percentage. Bonus… Also you can do 1/(1+6,33)=0.136 so 13.6%

  • @liyexiang666
    @liyexiang66624 күн бұрын

    can u maybe do one with muiti street consideration? cuz all this only apply on river

  • @TheNoobsterForever
    @TheNoobsterForever27 күн бұрын

    7:44 is wrong i think, it should be “call 100 to win 500” since we need to add the opponent’s $100 bet too

  • @piggy4651

    @piggy4651

    27 күн бұрын

    i agree

  • @icey2203

    @icey2203

    27 күн бұрын

    Yea I was confused on that as well. All hes doing is adding extra math.

  • @Ajfkoeic
    @Ajfkoeic27 күн бұрын

    W video Jonathan!

  • @CostaRicaJack
    @CostaRicaJack27 күн бұрын

    Thank you for this video. Clears things up a great deal.

  • @fernandolucero8847
    @fernandolucero884712 күн бұрын

    I need help in calculating equity of my hand pre-flop

  • @DB-dg3gt
    @DB-dg3gt26 күн бұрын

    It’s kind of funny: Many years ago before I saw any of your instructional videos, you really were a complete mystery to me. And as I watched you play with your sunglasses on, you really looked scary formidable. I am sure what added to that, was seeing that you were a very skilled player. I had this thought while just watching you, how different you are from your poker persona. You are actually a really nice guy and a loving husband and father. I don’t think you have talked about one’s poker persona? Do you think this important ??? Thank you for all your help. Clearly God has blessed you with a beautiful family. Oh, I was so happy for you when you won that tournament. Well played.

  • @kaisaarnio7208
    @kaisaarnio720826 күн бұрын

    Played my first live bounty tournament today, made one bounty on 2bullets 😅

  • @brianlee1417
    @brianlee141727 күн бұрын

    Is 4-8 limit holdem beatable in the long run with a $5 rake?

  • @BirdmanPRRT

    @BirdmanPRRT

    26 күн бұрын

    Of course not

  • @betweenthepylons5506
    @betweenthepylons550626 күн бұрын

    *me listening and taking notes to remember for later* My Wife from the other room: "what if a blind man is facing three blind mice in the big blind?"

  • @qsdailydose8970
    @qsdailydose897026 күн бұрын

    If you should make it bigger with antes in play why do a lot of tournament players min raise ? Stack size ?

  • @milessitcawich5947

    @milessitcawich5947

    26 күн бұрын

    Yes

  • @sharonmckay2886
    @sharonmckay288626 күн бұрын

    10:53 2nd Paragraph. "Balanced river value to bluff proportion" What happens when my 'opponent' is 'opponents'? Plural? One is crazy loose and the other is nitty?

  • @atfti

    @atfti

    26 күн бұрын

    When you're multiway, you really wanna have the nuts. Two crazy Villains and you're prolly ahead. Two nitty Villain's and you're definitely behind. One of each means use your position

  • @Xaros103765

    @Xaros103765

    26 күн бұрын

    Give them worst odds to call

  • @johnristheanswer
    @johnristheanswer27 күн бұрын

    I always struggle with a player saying they're getting say 4 to 1 odds to call or whatever , when half the money in the pot is what they have already put in themselves on previous streets. Isn't that evens ?

  • @Moosedrool8

    @Moosedrool8

    27 күн бұрын

    Yeah but the money you put in the pot is a sunk cost since it’s already in there.

  • @mikaeus468

    @mikaeus468

    27 күн бұрын

    Basically, if you have 4 to 1 odds on the turn, and are getting those odds, it's a good call. However, if you misplayed the flop, you might still be losing in this situation over the long run. You just lose even more when you fold.

  • @stefanthiselton5490
    @stefanthiselton549026 күн бұрын

    u gave wrong detail in pot odds, bet 100 into 400 is 5:1 odds, u said call hundred to win 400 when it is 500. also i love your work, poker coaching has improved my tourney game and cash game remarkably. thank you for ur content J.Little

  • @Michael-sz7lp
    @Michael-sz7lp24 күн бұрын

    Things I learned from this video: I'm not bluffing enough

  • @backpacker3421
    @backpacker342127 күн бұрын

    Honestly, there are relatively few math problems to learn and they repeat over and over again as you play. IT PAYS to just memorize them. Nothing is a bigger tell than you sitting there staring at the table and counting silently to yourself or staring at the ceiling while you run the math. If you want to, memorize the math playing online, so you can take a second and work it out without it being an obvious tell. That way, when you are live, you'll just know what the math is and what bets you should fold to, what you should call, or how much to bet to set the price you want to exploit. It's a lot harder to read when you appear to be picking the bet amount out of thin air then when you are clearly carefully considering it.

  • @cjgooding4512

    @cjgooding4512

    27 күн бұрын

    If only everything was converted into big blinds like I can do online with a quick setting change

  • @backpacker3421

    @backpacker3421

    27 күн бұрын

    @@cjgooding4512 with a little practice, that head math becomes automatic, especially since big blinds are usually super easy head math numbers like 2, 3, 5, 10 etc. Especially if you stick your favored play level, that head math becomes super easy.... but you don't even really need it. It doesn't change the math at all for this purpose. The results will always be the same wether in dollars or blinds.

  • @KEVKEV-yi2mp
    @KEVKEV-yi2mp11 күн бұрын

    the 4:1 example is wrong, you state that opponent betting 100 into 100 pot is 2:1 (200:100 odds), so if opponent bets 100 into 400 pot you have to call 100 into what is now a 500 pot (500:100 odds). 5:1

  • @krellis1000
    @krellis100023 күн бұрын

    Why multiply by 3 for a pot sized raise? Surely the pot is just the raise + other money in the pot. 4.5 bb facing a 3bb raise, and 9.5bb vs a 2bb raise and 6bb 3bet

  • @martindim7182
    @martindim718225 күн бұрын

    9:24 "you need to realize at least 20 percent equity", is this another way of saying " you need to have at least 20 percent equity"? The way he says it, it feels like "you must make the effort to realize at least 20 percent" as if I have any control over the cards I have

  • @sankalpverma618

    @sankalpverma618

    25 күн бұрын

    You don't "realize" equity enough from out of position, and over realize it in position. That's the difference from the actual mathematical equity .

  • @darcem9752
    @darcem975226 күн бұрын

    I don’t understand why a pot sized bet is 3x previous bet + remaining amount. Why the 3x? Shouldn’t it be 2x? If someone opened to 2bb, the pot is 3.5. Wouldn’t you make it 5.5 by calling the 2 and raise the 3.5? I feel like I must be missing some fundamental principle. Any clarification would be helpful 😊

  • @atfti

    @atfti

    26 күн бұрын

    I bet 1. You raise by pot, which is what you *would* call PLUS the size of the pot at that moment. My 1 + your potential 1 makes 2, and the raise is strictly pot size, so your 1 + plus 2 more makes 3. 1*3=3

  • @MrMrPopols
    @MrMrPopols9 күн бұрын

    Bro, so I do need to count my chips to know how much i have, I need to count other 9 players chips to know their stacks, I need to count my pot odds their pot odds more over I some how need to count that mush of chips that diller pulled in to the middle and all that in 30 seconds after the action is on me ? Like there is no way of doing it LIFE ....

  • @MrMrPopols

    @MrMrPopols

    9 күн бұрын

    oh yeah I forgot, how in the world you know how many of witch hands you had or raised or bluffed with ? If gto says you should re-raise and call 50%-50% of the times like 20 hands how will YOU REMEMBER all the hands you had and how you played them ? normally mtt gives me each good had only once if at all

  • @jonathanjones1573
    @jonathanjones157323 күн бұрын

    As a meth guy, I mean Math guy, I found this breakdown pretty cool. I had been questioning my defense strategy against C bets so this helps!

  • @francescoiadicicco1266
    @francescoiadicicco126626 күн бұрын

    Ok my brain melted on the required bluff success frequency. How do I figure that my opponent folds X% of the times?

  • @milessitcawich5947

    @milessitcawich5947

    26 күн бұрын

    Observing their play

  • @atfti

    @atfti

    26 күн бұрын

    Yeah, it takes some attentive effort to predict your opponents' actions, which would switch the moment they realize they're giving away information somehow

  • @user-uc2ch4mk9i
    @user-uc2ch4mk9i26 күн бұрын

    OMG--people follow this--run Forrest run

  • @dharryg
    @dharryg27 күн бұрын

    Great, concise information. However, none of it consoles having my Aces cracked in a cash game today by calling an all-in pre-flop by a pair of Kings and then less than an hour later, calling another pre-flop all- in by the same guy and having my Kings cracked by a set of nines. Poker is not all numbers and logic. LOL! Sometimes, it is illogically painful.

  • @chujwie4028

    @chujwie4028

    27 күн бұрын

    get used to it or stay mad your choice

  • @mattmatti6183

    @mattmatti6183

    26 күн бұрын

    Stick to watching Cocomelon

  • @DHpoker27

    @DHpoker27

    26 күн бұрын

    U do know when u get all in pre flop. Over pair vs under pair. - AA. Has 83% equity KK 17% equity. So yeah u only win 4 of 5 times. So it is just math. N if u play long term over large sample. The more u realize it's just all math n %

  • @DHpoker27

    @DHpoker27

    26 күн бұрын

    N sure maybe for a recreational who buys a case of Bud Light on a Friday night n plays for fun. It might be painful But for someone who plays because they love the game. N does it professionally then it's all just math. N no difference in flopping quads n loosing to runner runner straight flush. Or. Getting a coffee at ur local coffee shop. ( it's all routine and happens. A certain % of the time. ) So yeah depends what perspective ur coming from

  • @nelsonmercadojr2749

    @nelsonmercadojr2749

    26 күн бұрын

    70% luck 30% skill

  • @adambrown8867
    @adambrown886726 күн бұрын

    If you're lucky is a big part of poker. I'm playing solid, based, fundamentally sound poker yet I'm a loser getting felted 9 out of 10 sessions. This happens to me all the time. Either I'm losing to calling stations playing off suit spread out junk to make the best hand on the river to my big pairs, or flopped set or 2 pair, or they flop a set to my over pair, or I miss flopping a set to their over pair. Over & over & over. So I essentially just quit playing. Im not lucky. Further example of this is I never win anything playing slot machines. I've seen poker players I would say are better than me, knowing charts, lose everything & go to the slot machines & come back with $1500 to $2500 to play poker again in 15 minutes.

  • @sankalpverma618

    @sankalpverma618

    25 күн бұрын

    I think the technical term for this "luck" is - variance. Over the long term it would even out.

  • @sweeep8609

    @sweeep8609

    25 күн бұрын

    If you are getting felted out 9/10 sessions over the long run, you are not unlucky, you are just worse palyer than your playgroup

  • @adambrown8867

    @adambrown8867

    25 күн бұрын

    @sweeep8609 Luck is a huge factor in poker, like 50%, that nobody likes to talk about for some reason. If it wasn't the best players would never lose. Simple.

  • @sweeep8609

    @sweeep8609

    25 күн бұрын

    @@adambrown8867 I never said that, of course there is luck. I said if you keep losing over and over most of the time then there is also a skill issue

  • @riz87

    @riz87

    25 күн бұрын

    If you play bad opponents - GTO doesn’t help you. You just have to analyze how your opponents play and then adjust accordingly

  • @allanpeters4297
    @allanpeters429725 күн бұрын

    I have been.playing poker for a few years now. Maybe am a bit think but I never have a clue what this guy is talking about. Am sure others keep up quiet well I also consider myself ok at math. I have 3 of his books too which are also a mystery to me.

  • @allanpeters4297

    @allanpeters4297

    25 күн бұрын

    Definitely won't be buying more books or doing any of the courses

  • @davidboyd374
    @davidboyd37412 күн бұрын

    This guy can talk under water....about... NOTHING 😂😂

  • @nicusordragne743
    @nicusordragne74326 күн бұрын

    My friend, what you say there is nonsese! În online, all company's have bots! To keep the biggest pot on them! How do you explain to me in 10 years of playing I do not win 1 tournament? Stop to make this cuz is non sense with the game! With all you're strategy, when them decide to get you out, you're out!!!! Period

  • @martindim7182

    @martindim7182

    25 күн бұрын

    What's interesting here is you haven't won a single tournament after 10 years of play and yet, you are still playing?? What exactly is the long term goal here? Someone famous once said "it's ludicrous to do the same thing over and over again and then expect different results"

  • @nicusordragne743

    @nicusordragne743

    25 күн бұрын

    @@martindim7182 I done with online poker since the pas from RNG to the New sistem. I did modyfy my strategy în all ways posible and imposibile, belive me! În key moments aways is a bad beat no matter how you play în position or out of poziționare! And I play a lot, like 15, 20 tournaments a day! It is how it is! Bots!! Many bots like the pot to stay to them! I'm silly about them. When a computer decide my money, is not alright!

  • @biobio903

    @biobio903

    23 күн бұрын

    Perhaps you aren’t as good as think you are.

  • @jamestoop4767
    @jamestoop476724 күн бұрын

    nerd