Pot odds are an important part of poker, and are considered a mid level concept; implied odds are the next step. With pot odds you calculate whether or not calling a bet is a smart move based on what you believe your opponent has and your outs to beat him, taking into consideration the amount of money in the pot and the amount you are being asked to call right then. Implied odds, however, take into consideration the amount of money you might win or lose on later streets.

In the Pot Odds article example the game was limit holdem, you were holding two pair and were certain your opponent had a made straight, and were calculating your odds on calling and hitting a full house. Based on the example the odds were telling you to fold, as the amount of money you could win did not justify the risk based on the slim chances of you actually hitting the card you needed.

But if you take implied odds into consideration, you might have called instead. Implied odds are more theoretical than pot odds and cover what you COULD win instead of just what you WILL win if you hit your hand. In the above example if you make your full house you are confident your opponent would pay off one or two bets with his straight. This still might not make it very profitable, but what if the game was no limit? You might then get all of your opponent’s money. Taking a look at his chip stack you see that he has five times the amount of money in the pot currently—if you could get the entirety of his stack by getting lucky enough to hit one of your four outs, then implied odds dictate you should certainly make the call.