Poker Rules Calling Out Of Turn

Posted on4/9/2022by admin

Pot Odds > The Rule of 4 and 2 : Pot Odds Examples

After the second round of betting closes, the dealer will deal the fourth card of the flop, known as the turn card. The player to dealer left has the option to check or place a bet. The player that opens the bet closes the bet, after all other players have chosen to fold, raise, or call. One of the 2 poker rules you need to live by is that if you call on one street, you should usually continue on the next street. If we take ‘usually’ to mean ‘about 70% of the time’, that inherently means we should be folding around 30% of the time when facing bets.

The rule of 4 and 2 (or the 2/4 rule, whatever you want to call it) was coined by Phil Gordon in his Little Green Book, which is an awesome little strategy book for NL Hold’em by the way.

In this article I will explain what the rule of 2 and 4 is all about and show you how to use it during play.

What is the rule of 4 and 2?

The rule of 4 and 2 is a quick shortcut for helping you to work out the percentage odds of completing a draw in Hold’em. To get your percentage odds:

Multiply your outs by 2 when you are on the flop waiting for the turn.
Multiply your outs by 2 when you are on the turn waiting for the river.
Multiply your outs by 4 when you are on the flop waiting for the river (opponent is all-in).

When you have multiplied your outs by either 4 or 2, you will get a percentage that you can compare with your pot odds to work out whether or not it’s worth calling with a drawing hand.

The rule of 4 and 2 just works for percentages odds, not for ratio odds I'm afraid.

Examples of the 2/4 rule.

Flush draw: 9 outs * 2 = 18%
Straight draw: 8 outs * 2 = 16%
Two overcards: 6 outs * 2 = 12%
Two pair and you need to make a full house: 4 outs * 2 = 8%
Flush draw, opponent is all in on flop: 9 outs * 4 = 36%
Straight draw, opponent is all in on flop: 8 outs * 4 = 32%

Easy stuff really. As long as you know your 2 and 4 times tables you're all set.

Important — You rarely multiply by 4.

Even though it’s call the 'rule of 4 and 2', it should really be called the 'rule of 2 (and 4 on rare occasions)', but that’s obviously less catchy. Too many players make the mistake of using the 4 rule on the flop every time, and they lose a lot of money because of it.

The only time you should ever multiply your outs by 4 is when you are on the flop and your opponent has moved all-in. Therefore, you do not expect to face another bet on the turn that will force you to pay more to try and complete your draw.

Basically, always look to multiply your outs by 2 when you are on the flop or the turn to get your correct percentage odds. In the unlikely event that your opponent moves all-in on the flop, then you can dust off the rule of 4 and enjoy its company for a brief moment.

Hand examples of the rule of 4 and 2.

Hand example 1.

You have a flush draw on the flop in a $0.50/$1 NL Hold’em game. Your opponent bets $10 in to the $10 pot. The pot is now $20 and you have to call $10 to continue to try and hit your flush. Should you call or fold?

Hand: A 2
Board: J 3 7

Final Pot: $20
To Call: $10

With a flush draw we have 9 outs, and seeing as we are on the flop waiting for the turn, we will use the 'rule of 2'.

Odds of completing our flush: 9 outs * 2 = 18%
Pot odds: 33% ($30 pot total including our call. $10 is 33% of $30.)

Note: Don’t forget to add your potential call to the pot size when working out percentage odds. It’s a little different to the way we work out ratio odds I know, but try and get used to it. Look over the pot odds article to remind yourself.

The odds of completing our flush are worse than the odds we are getting from the pot, therefore we should fold. To put it another way, we do not want to call more than 18% of the pot size to continue, so we fold.

Hand example 2.

You have two overcards on the flop in a $0.50/$1 NL Hold’em game. Your opponent moves all-in for $10 in to the $30 pot. The pot is now $40 and you have to call $10 to continue. Should you call or fold?

Hand: A Q
Board: J 3 7

Final Pot: $30
To Call: $10

It’s one of those rare occasions where our opponent is all in on the flop, so time to whip out that 'rule of 4' for once. Let’s also assume that if we pair one of our overcards that we will definitely have a better hand than our opponent.

Odds of winning: 6 outs * 4 = 24%
Pot odds: 20% ($50 pot total including our call. $10 is 20% of $50.)

As it turns out, our odds of winning this hand are better than the odds we are getting from the pot; therefore it is profitable for us to call in an attempt to make an overpair in this example. To put it another way, we can call up to 24% of the pot size to continue, so we call.

Rule of 4 and 2 accuracy comparison tables.

Just so you can get an idea of how accurate the rule of 4 and 2 is, here are two tables that compare the percentage odds you get using the rule of 4 and 2 and the actual percentage odds for the most common types of draws in Texas Hold'em.

Rule of 4 accuracy table.

Outs	4 and 2	Actual	Difference
4 (gutshot)	16%	16.5%	-0.5%
8 (straight)	32%	31.5%	+0.5%
9 (flush)	36%	35%	+1%
15 (straight + flush)	60%	54.1%	+5.9%

The percentage odds are impressively close when using the rule of 4 (i.e. when your opponent is all-in on the flop and there are two cards to come).

The only draw that's noticeably off is the straight + flush draw when you have 15 outs (5.9% difference), but that doesn't really matter because when you've got a greater than 50% chance of winning the pot it makes it +EV to call absolutely any size bet anyway.

Rule of 2 accuracy table.

The rule of 2 can be used on both the flop and the turn. So to keep things simple, in the following table I'll just compare the percentage odds for when we are on the turn waiting for the river.

Outs	4 and 2	Actual	Difference
4 (gutshot)	8%	8.7%	-0.7%
8 (straight)	16%	17.4%	-1.4%
9 (flush)	18%	19.6%	-1.6%
15 (straight + flush)	30%	32.6%	-2.6%

Not bad, although not quite as accurate as the rule of 4.

Still, if the rule of 2 stops you from fumbling around with working out the exact odds and in turn accidentally making a bad decision then it has done its job. Furthermore, 1% or 2% under the actual odds is hardly going to lead you to making a terrible play, so I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Note: The percentage odds when using the rule of 2 on the flop are slightly more accurate than when you're using the rule on the turn (as shown in the table above).

Poker Rules Calling Out Of Turnout

Evaluation of the rule of 4 and 2.

The 2/4 rule is as good as rule are you are going to get for quickly working out percentage odds with drawing hands.

As long as you know how to work out pot odds as a percentage and you prefer working with percentages over ratios, this is the most useful rule you could hope to find.

As far as accuracy goes, the actual percentages are very close to the percentages the rule of 4 and 2 gives out. There are obviously differences of around 1% either side for most draws, but the difference is not big enough to worry about in my opinion. The simplicity and speed that the rule offers more than makes up for the slight decrease in accuracy with odds.

In my main article on pot odds I preferred to use the 'rule of 2' plus 1, which is ever so slightly more accurate. At the end of the day though, the rule of 4 and 2 is the quickest shortcut method that you’re ever going to find for working out percentage odds without taking a much longer route for a similar result.

Phil Gordon also coined the Gordon Pair Principle.

Go back to the awesome Texas Hold'em Strategy.

Comments

OBJECTIVE: To become a winner you should make up the highest possible poker hand of five cards, using the two initially dealt cards and the five community cards.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-10 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 52- deck cards

RANK OF CARDS: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2

THE DEAL: Every player is dealt two cards face down which is commonly called ‘hole cards’.

TYPE OF GAME: Casino

AUDIENCE: Adults

Introduction to Texas Hold ‘Em

No Limit Texas Hold’em. Sometimes called the cadillac of Poker, Texas Hold ‘em is a fairly easy game to learn but can take years to master.

How to Play

To begin every player gets two pocket cards. A deck of cards is placed in the middle of the table and these are known as community deck and these are the cards that the flop will be dealt from.

Once all players have been dealt their initial two cards players will be asked to place their first bid. Once all players have placed their first bid a second round of bidding occurs.

Once all players have placed their final bids, the dealer will deal the flop. The dealer will flip over the first 3 cards, known as the “flop”, from the community deck. The goal is to make the best 5 card had you can with the three cards from the community deck and the two in your hand.

Once the first three cards have been flipped over, player will have the option to bid again or fold. After all players have had a chance to bid or fold, the dealer will flip over a fourth card known as a “turn” card.

The players still remaining will have the option to once again fold or bid. Now the dealer will flip the 5th and final card over, known as the “river”card.

Once all five cards have been flipped by the dealer, players will have one last chance to raise the bid or fold. Once all bids and count bids have been made it’s time for the players to reveal their hands and determine a winner.

First Round Betting: The Pre-Flop

When playing Texas hold ‘em a round flat chip or “disk” is used to represent the position of the dealer. This disk is placed in front of the dealer to indicate their status. The person sitting to dealer left is known as the small blind and the person sitting to the left of the small blind is known as the big blind.

When betting, both blinds are required to post a bet before receiving any cards. The big blind is required to post the equivalent or higher of the bet placed by the small blind. Once both blinds have posted their bids two cards are dealt to each player and remaining players can choose to fold, call, or raise. After the end of the game the dealer button is moved to the left so that every player takes on the blind position at some point to maintain the fairness of the game.

Fold – The action of surrendering your cards to the dealer and sitting out the hand. If one folds their cards in the first round of betting, they lose no money.

Call – The action of matching the table bet, which is the most recent bet that has been placed on the table.

Raise – The action of doubling the amount of the most recent bet.

The small and the big blind have the option to fold, call, or raise before the first round of betting ends. If either of them choose to fold, they will lose the blind bet that they initially placed.

Second Round Betting: The Flop

After the first round of betting ends the dealer will proceed to deal the flop. Once the flop has been dealt, players will access the strength of their hands. Again, the player to the left of the dealer is the first to act.

Since there is no compulsory bet on the table, the first player has the option to to take the three previous options discussed, call, fold, raise, as well as the option to check. To check, a player taps his hand twice on the table, this allows the player to pass the option to make the first bet on to the player to his left. All players have the option to check until a bet has been placed on the table. Once a bet has been placed, players must choose to either fold, call, or raise.

Third & Fourth Round Betting: The Turn & The River

The dealer will then add the bets to the existing pot and deal a fifth card known as “The River”. Once this card has been dealt, the remaining players have the option to check,fold, call, or raise. Lets say all players decide to check. If that is the case it is time for all remaining players to reveal there cards and determine the winner. The player with the highest ranking hand is the winner. They receive the full pot and a new game begins.

Ties

In the chance of a tie between hands the following tie-breakers are used:

Pairs– if two players are tied for highest pairs a “kicker” or the next highest-ranking card is used to determine the winner. You continue until one player has a higher-ranking card or both are determined to have the same exact hand, in which case the pot is split.

Two pairs– in this tie, the higher ranked pair wins, if top pairs are equal in rank you move to the next pair, then move to kickers if necessary.

Three of a kind – higher ranking card takes the pot.

Straights – the straight with the highest-ranking card wins; if both straights are the same the pot is split.

Flush – The flush with the highest-ranking card wins, if the same you move to the next card till a winner is found or hands are the same. If hands are the same split the pot.

Full house – the hand with the higher ranking three cards wins.

Four of a kind – the higher ranking set of four wins.

Straight flush – ties are broken the same as a regular straight.

Royal Flush – split the pot.

Hand Ranking

2. Pair – Two of the same the same card (9,9,6,4,7)

3. Two pair – Two pairs of the same card (K,K,9,9,J)

4. Three of a kind – Three cards of the same ( 7,7,7,10,2)

6. Flush – Five cards of the same suit

7. Full House – Three card of a kind and a pair (A,A,A,5,5)

9. Straight Flush – Five cards in order all of the same suit (4,5,6,7,8 – same suit)

Poker Rules Calling Out Of Turnips

10. Royal Flush – Five cards in order of the same suit 10- A (10,J,Q,K,A)