[jrs0507]

To kick off this post, ill start with pot odds. Many of you know what this is, and it is possibly the most useful tactic in poker.

The pot odds are the ratio of pot to bet.
So, if the pot is 500, and your opponent bets 250, that makes the pot 750.
You need to call a total of 250 to see another card, making your pot odds 3:1. Pot odds are used to determine whether or not it is worth it to pay for another card, in hopes of hitting.
Good pot odds are those like 4:1, 5:1 and maybe 3:1 depending on your opponents style (and anything better of course)
The higher the pot and the lower the bet, the better the pot odds.

As some of you may know, effective odds are a key to successful poker.
For those of you who dont, here's the scoop.

Effective odds, much like pot odds, is the ratio of the amount of money you will win if you make your hand to the bet to call.
So, here's an example:
The pot is 500. You are heads up. You have a flush draw on the flop, giving you roughly a 36% chance of hitting.
Your opponents bets out 100, making the pot 600.
Now, this means if you were to make your flush on the turn or river, you will win a minimum of 700.
So your effective odds are 7:1, simples as that. These odds are good,because you are getting 6:1 on your money to win a 700 pot.

Another thing along the lines of odds is Implied Odds.
Implied odds are also very similar to pot odds, but you are implying the chances that the following players will call.

So, you are four handed.
The pot is 100, and your opponent bets 50, making the pot 150. Your pot odds are 3:1, but implied odds are different. There are two more players left to act after you.
Suppose one of those two players is loose and one is tight.
You can assume the loose player will call and the tigh player will fold, adding another 50 to the pot of 150. So your implied odds are 4:1, with an expected pot at 200, and a bet of 50.

I hope this cleared up any confusion on odds.