Beating Hold 'Em: How To Calculate Odds

Texas Hold 'Em is a game of  bluffing, slow-playing, checking, raising, calling, luck, and most importantly odds. Texas Hold 'Em is simple statistics that can be figured out in very elaborate ways, but also very simple ways. The way in which I calculate the odds is by looking at what outs I have (OUTS - the number of cards in the deck that give you a winning hand). I generally wait until the flop to start figuring out the odds in my head. The method in which I use follows the formula

(# of outs x 4) = chance of getting what you need.

EX. 
I am dealt:          10(h) (7d)
The flop is :      8(s) 9(s) (Qd)
I have 4 outs that a J with appear giving me the straight so the calculations are:


(4 outs x 4) = 16% 


This is the chance of getting a J which means that there is a 84% chance that I will be beat by a pair, and the odds are approximately 5.25:1 therefore the bet can be no bigger than less than 20% the pot. Not very good odds.