Math, Math, Math...

I was tooling around on Barry Greenstein’s website- before I go any further I have to say that I think Barry is one of the greatest poker players…pretty much ever. I have the utmost respect for his play, but also how he handles his tournament winnings. I am sure everyone in the world knows that “The Bear” gives all his tournament winnings to charity, a very noble act (especially today).

So anyway, I found the link that said calculating outs. I clicked on it. I have always kind of enjoyed calculating outs and win percentages. I know, that is a little on the nerdy side, but what can I say. I was always good at math….that is….I thought I was good at math- until I read this article. MAN this is some deep stuff. It took me a time or two of reading it to finally grasp the concept, but I think I finally got it.

Now I have always done the little short cuts to calculate hands. You know. Take the number of outs, subtract 2, multiply it times 4 on the flop. If you miss on the turn you take that number (# of outs) and multiply it times 2. This method gives a rough estimate on where you stand in the hand. I think I am going to have to keep using my “rough estimate” method, because I can’t multiply numbers like 39 X 38 or 29 X 28 in my head. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I could figure out 39 X 38 in my head, but I am pretty sure someone would call the clock on me once the first 10 minutes had past. I wish my brain worked at super speeds like Barry’s.

I am telling you this way of figuring outs is sick! It takes into account runner runner combinations and everything. No matter if you get into the math side or not…you have to read this article. Here is the link:

http://www.barrygreenstein.com/Calculating%20the%20odds.doc

Take a minute, read it, and let’s hear what you think!