Using Python to Improve Your Poker Skills
Code for positive expected value decisions Aidan Wilson · Follow Published in Analytics Vidhya 💹 · 5 min read · Apr 3, 2024 -- Share
Introduction to Pot Odds and Equity
Pot Odds
Pot odds, simply put, are 💹 the relationships between the total pot size and the bet that you must call to see the next card. Pot 💹 odds explain the amount of money you will win for every dollar you put into it yourself.
To calculate pot odds, 💹 simply divide the amount of money you must call by the total pot size if you were to call. For 💹 example, if the pot size isR$100 and you must put inR$50 to call, you would do:R$50/($100 +R$50). Which would give 💹 you pot odds of 1/3, or about 33%.
Hand Equity
Your hand’s equity is the chance of improving your hand, or winning 💹 with your hand, sometimes called “winning odds”.
Before calculating your hand’s equity, you must first count your “out”, or the cards 💹 that will improve your hand to a winning hand. For example, if you have 9♦︎ 10♦︎ and the flop comes, 💹 7♥︎ 8♦︎ K♦︎, you would have an open-ended straight draw as well as a flush draw. This would give you 💹 a total of 15 outs, because any diamond, 6 or J would improve your hand.
Comparing Hand Equity and Pot Odds
Hand 💹 equity and pot odds alone are not the most powerful weapons, but when used together, they can make a poker 💹 player profitable in the long-term by making positive expected value decisions.
If your hand’s equity, or chance of improving to a 💹 winning hand, is greater than the pot odds, it is a profitable decision to call the bet in the long-term.
Python 💹 Implementation
The first step to making positive expected value plays in poker is to first calculate our pot odds. To do 💹 this, we will divide the amount we must call by the total pot size if we were to call. This 💹 will give us our share of the total pot.
We can use Python to do this by creating a function that 💹 takes the pot size and the amount we must pay to…
