The implied odds are much more complicated to figure out than pot odds. In pot odds your thinking about what hand you have at the moment and what your odds are, and in implied odds your are thinking about how the hand is going to play out in the future on all fronts. The concept of implied odds is often more relevant in Limit poker where you can usually determine how likely you are to get your opponents to call an extra bet or two on the river.
Implied odds are a way to calculate the amount of money that you can possibly win if you make your hand.
Total amount you could win / What you are putting into the pot = Implied odds
An example:
Lets say you have 9-T of clubs and theres 2 clubs on the board, there is 1000 chips in the pot and your opponent bets 500 on the turn, and you are almost sure that your opponent has top pair and isnt on a flush draw, so catching a 9 or a T just wont cut it. So you have 9 outs to your flush draw, wich means you need pot odds of about 4-1 to make a call, but you are only getting 3-1.
If you think he will pay you off if you hit your hand, implied odds will come into play. Lets say your opponent will pay off at least the pot, 1500 chips in this case, when you make your hand, your calling 500 to make 3000 chips. The implied odds here is 6-1, wich is more than enough to justify trying to suck out on him.
What to think of:
When you calculating your implied odds you have to be aware if there are other players who still have to act after you. If the player to your left raises after you bet then the implied odds you calculated will not be correct as you now have to call another bet to see the next card.
Your implied odds in any hand are also influenced by your opponent in the hand, you need to know your opponents style to help determine what your pay off for the hand may be.
Then we have negative implied odds, wich means that you need to be worried about when hitting your hand and paying off an opponent who hits a better hand against you. If you make your Jack high flush and your opponent raises behind you, you may have to pay him off even if you think hes holding a better flush, the way to handle this situation and to limit your potential losses is to think of the total pot as being worth a little less than it actually is before you consider making your call.
To learn the implied odds takes time and practice, but in the long run, mastering this part of the game is worth the effort, to think one step before the action of your hand.
