Poker pot III
In poker games, sometimes situations occur when a player is faced with a condition where with the best hand, all he can win is the minimum, but if he does not have the best hand, he not only loses but also loses maximum. This is reverse implied pot odds and the situation is best illustrated by aggressive poker players who by their action of betting and raising stand to win the ongoing pot which is minimum amount but if they lose, the loss becomes maximum as it includes the total amount of the existing pot size and their call and raise wagers. Moreover, reverse implied pot odds situation may also arise when a player has a hand with practically no chance of bettering it as he considers his hand the best possible at that stage of the game and even then his opponent goes on betting. If now the opponent’s hand is weak and he is only playing bluff, the player calling his bet would make him fold. But if the opponent has a strong hand, he can go on betting in response to the player’s betting action which means the extra wagers have to paid by the player in order to stay in the hand.
If in a limit game of Texas hold ‘em, a player has no chance of bettering his already made hand and his opponent calls $10 wager for a $40 pot in the turn round. With the opponent bluffing, the player expects no more bets from him if he responds, but in case the opponent has a decent hand, he may call a further bet of $10 in the last round. If the first player wins, he only wins the pot value of $40, but if he loses he loses both the $10 bets made in turn and river rounds. Since the player is staking $20 to win a guaranteed $40, his reverse implied pot odds is 2:1 or 33.33%. The first player will have a positive expectation only if his opponent’s hand has over 33.33% chance of being weak.
