Poker — math first. Psychology can wait.
A beginner’s mathematical reference for Texas Hold’em and video poker. PUTKI HQ skips the tells, the personalities, the cinematic stuff. What stays: pot odds, equity, position, range-based thinking, and the brutal truth that video poker pay tables vary by 4-5 percentage points of RTP between casinos for the same game name.
Pot odds in one sentence
Call when (amount to call) / (pot + amount to call) ≤ (your equity to win). A flush draw on the turn has 9 outs / 46 cards = 19.6% equity. If the pot is €100 and the bet is €20, you need 20/(120) = 16.7% — call. If the bet is €40, you need 40/180 = 22.2% — fold.
Position dictates range, not feeling
6-max cash game open ranges (PUTKI HQ tightened reference, sourced from Upswing Poker + GTOWizard preflop charts):
| Position | Open range % | Bottom of range |
|---|---|---|
| UTG | 14% | 99, AJo, KQs |
| MP | 17% | 88, ATo, KJs |
| CO | 25% | 66, A8o, KTs, QJs |
| BTN | 40% | 22, A2o, K7o, T8s |
| SB | 32% | 44, A5o, KTo |
Pay tables are everything
Jacks or Better with a 9/6 pay table (9× full house, 6× flush) returns 99.54% with perfect strategy. The same game with an 8/5 pay table returns 97.30%. Same name, same screen, 2.2 percentage points of RTP gone because of one number.
| Variant | Pay table | RTP (optimal) |
|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | 9/6 | 99.54% |
| Jacks or Better | 8/5 | 97.30% |
| Bonus Poker | 8/5 | 99.17% |
| Double Bonus | 10/7 | 100.17% |
| Deuces Wild | Full pay | 100.76% |