The fundamental concepts of the mathematics of poker include pot odds, equity, and expected value. More advanced concepts, like implied odds, hand combinations, and fold equity, become essential knowledge as you move up in poker stakes.

The strand of mathematics that concerns poker is probability, which is the likely outcome of a certain event. In layman's terms probability can best be explained by the toss of a coin - when a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes, heads or tails. Therefore the likelihood of the coin landing on one outcome is 1 in 2 or 50%.