About pot odds...

[pcc]

Hi, I am seeking to understand fully the concept of pot odds.

Let's say I am on a flush draw on the flop, I will make my hand 1 time out of 3 by the river, so if I'm heads-up and my opponent makes a pot-size bet, it is okay to call, right?
Because I'll make 3x my call one time out of three, which is about break-even situation. Right? Do I get this concept right?

Thanks in advance

Pcc

[HalfSugar]

Yes and no. It's probably better to consider the odds of hitting on the next card only to ensure you don't make some loose decisions. In the same scenario, since you are about 1 in 3 (~33%) to hit by the river, you are about 1 in 6 (~16%) to hit on the turn only.

This does not necessarily mean that you should only call the flop bet if it lays you 1 in 6 odds but it is better to call nearer 1 in 6 than 1 in 3 in most cases.

Depending on how well you know your opponent, you might call nearer 1 in 3 knowing that your opponent is likely to check the turn (in which case you get a free river if the turn is not one of your outs) or perhaps if your chip stack is significantly larger than his so that you can afford to make the slightly 'bad' call because if you hit by the river, there is a good chance you will get all of his chips. Of course you could also have a penchant for gambling and allow some leeway on your calls although this is probably a good way to lose all your money in the long run.

As a footnote, the only time it would be perfectly correct to call a pot sized bet on the flop in this scenario would of course be if his bet had put him all-in because you'd get the next two cards for that 'correct' price.