Can you give an example of a situation where pot odds would justify calling a bet?

[Mike_25]

You have a 6-7 offsuit in your starting hand. The pot currently has $10 and you need to call a $5 bet to stay in. So the pot odds are 1 to 2, meaning you need around a 33% chance or better of improving to a winning hand. After seeing the community cards, there are still 5 cards face down that could help your hand - two more cards under 7 and three cards that are blanks. Since about 40% of the remaining cards would improve your hand, the pot odds of 1 to 2 justify calling the $5 bet. Your chance of improving to a winning hand is higher than the pot odds ratio, so statistically it makes sense to call in this situation. Of course, there is still risk involved and you could end up not improving your hand, but based purely on the pot odds, calling the bet is the statistically justified play.

 

[swift]

Let's say you're in a game of Texas Hold'em and you have a flush draw on the flop. There is $100 in the pot, and your opponent, who has been playing aggressively, bets $50. You believe you have a roughly 35% chance of hitting your flush card on the turn or river, which means you have roughly 2-to-1 odds against making your flush.