The process of using pot odds is simply weighing your odds of making whatever draw, to the odds the pot is offering you.
The odds of making your hand are determined by the number of cards left in the deck that will complete your hand, and the total number of cards left in the deck. For example, in Texas Hold'em, if you have 4 cards to a flush after the flop, you know there are nine (13-4) cards left in the deck to make your flush. You also know there are 47 unknown cards left in deck. Therefore you'll make that hand 9/47=19% of the time. The odds are 4.1:1 against you.
Pot Odds
The pot odds are simply the total pot, compared to the bet you have to call. In the above example, the pot should be at least 4.1 times the bet you have to call, otherwise, you are making a negative value bet. If the pot were 20$, and the bet to call was 5$, it would be worth calling.
Implied Odds
Some people(myself, for one) believe that you can call with less than the required pot odds because of implied odds.
Implied odds attempt to take into consideration the fact that if you make your hand, you will win more money on future
betting rounds. In the above example, I would call a 5$ bet, for a 15$ pot, if I didn't expect all my opponents to fold
if I made my hand.
Pot Odds are useful in both Hold'em and Stud games. Calculating Pot Odds in Seven Card Stud is more difficult because it
involves remember which cards have been folded that could have made your hand. There are more possible outcomes in Seven Card
Stud.
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