Stength Analysis is used to help ascertain the true power of hand. While you will get a straight about 1/3 of the time, you will only get a straight with no possible flush 1 time out of 6.

Consider a game of Texas Hold'em, where a player is holding the Queen and Jack of Clubs, and the flop comes Ten of hearts, Nine of spades, and Three of hearts (see left image). At first glance, the player has an outside straight draw (8 outs - 4 Kings and 4 Eights) with 2 cards to come. 8 outs with 2 cards is a draw ratio of 2.2 to 1, or 31.5%, which is the percentage that is shown next to Straight under the All column.

The problem with the above analysis is that it assumes that a straight hand is a winning hand. Whether it is or not depends on what other players are holding and what cards actually come on the turn and the river. Unless your opponents are going to tell you their hands, you can't do much about what they are holding. However, RealPokerOdds™ can be used to check all the possible turn and river cards, and draw conclusions based on those cards. In this way RealPokerOdds™ seperates all possible outcomes from those outcomes that are truly desirable. In the example above, RealPokerOdds™ shows that only 16.1% of the outcomes that result in a straight are strong, as opposed to the 31.5% computed above. Let's see how that number is derived.

In this example, RealPokerOdds™ is configured to assume that anytime there are 3 cards of one suit on the board, an opponent has a possible flush. Granted, this may be pessimistic, but since strength analysis is a gauging tool, it can be as optimistic or pessimistic as the you desire. And the best part is, you decide how optimistic or pessimistic to be, by configuring the A.I.. With this in mind, let's examine all flush possibilities.

A closer examination of the flop reveals two hearts. Of the 8 outs that make a straight, two of them are hearts. Suppose the turn card was the King of hearts. The player has made their straight, but anyone with 2 hearts now has a flush. Since we are worried about flush draws, the King of hearts and Eight of hearts can't be considered outs, and the number of outs has been reduced to 6.

The King of hearts gives anyone with 2 hearts a flush.

Now, let's take the analysis a bit further. There is also a spade on the board. One more spade on the board is of no concern. But suppose the turn is the Eight of spades, and the river is another spade. Again, the player has made their straight, but anyone with 2 spades has now made a flush. Therefore, the Eight and King of spades can be considered outs, but ONLY when the other card is not a spade.

The Eight of Spades is only a problem with another spade.

No Problem		Three Spades

The other 4 cards are diamonds and clubs, which pose no threat by themselves. But, supposed the turn is the King of diamonds, and the river is a heart. Once again, there are three hearts on the board. Therefore, the diamond and clubs outs can only be considered good if the other card is not a heart.

The scenarios above represent some pretty complex math. Luckily, no math is needed, since RealPokerOdds™ does the math for you. And in this case, what the math and RealPokerOdds™ are saying is "While there is a 31.5% chance of getting a Straight, there is a 16.1% chance of getting a Straight and guaranteeing no one else has a Flush."

The benefits of this are two-fold. The first benefit is a more realistic portayal of the value of a particular hand. This especially comes into play when considering Pot Odds. A bet that may initially seem like a good investment may in actuality not be as good as it seems.

The second benefit is that, after using RealPokerOdds™ for a period of time, you will have a greater understanding of what possibilites can actually happen. If you have ever said "I never even considered that.", or "I didn't see that coming.", then RealPokerOdds™ is the tool for you. If you ever wonder how RealPokerOdds™ arrives at its numbers, there is a detailed report explaining every possible hand. The report for the scenario above is shown below. For all of the information contained in the report, click here.

The Details report explains why a certain draw may not necessarily help you. Curious where the Strong percentage comes from? This is the place to look.

Even lucky players should know the odds. Get RealPokerOdds™ today!