Coin-Flip or Race
The players get all their chips in before the flop and when they turn their cards face up, someone says: “It’s a coin-flip.” What they mean is that the two hands are just about 50/50 to win the hand after the flop, turn and river cards come out. This is also often referred to as a “race”.
The most common example of a race situation is two overcards to a small pair. One player holds AKo against another players 55. The fives are 55% to win, the AK is 45%. Make that AK suited and we are now 52%-48%.
You will hear tournaments players saying that in a big tournament with lots of entrants, you must “win the races”. Or on the first day or a multi-day tournament that might say: “Avoid the coin-flips early.”
The point is that many times decisions and hands are played with very close odds for either player to win or lose. Knowing those exact odds may not be as important as knowing when you want or need to take a coin-flip and when it is better to pass and not get involved in a race for all your chips.
-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #157
