09 Jul 2025 Intermediate This material is for medium-skilled players equity pot odds value bet Equity is one of the most important ideas in poker math. It explains why you should bet or check in many spots. Let’s break down what equity means, step by step, with clear examples. What Is Poker Equity? Equity in poker means your chance of winning a hand. It is shown as a percentage, reflecting how often you can expect your hand to win if the game continued to showdown. In simple words, equity is your share of the pot. It is the percentage of the pot that “belongs” to you based on your chance to win the hand at that moment. For example, if your equity is 70%, you should win about 70 out of every 100 hands against a particular opponent or range. Understanding equity is essential because it helps you make better decisions during a game. With clear knowledge of your equity, you can decide whether to bet, call, raise, or fold based on mathematics rather than just guessing or relying on feelings. Hand vs Hand Equity Let's look first at a simple example — one hand against another. Suppose you have . Your opponent has . Before the community cards come, your equity is about 81%, and your opponent's equity is about 19%. This means that if you play this situation many times, you will win about 81 out of every 100 hands. Here’s another example: you have , and your opponent has . This situation is often called a "coin flip," meaning equity is almost even. Actually, QQ has about 55% equity, and AK has about 45%. It’s very close, but QQ is a small favorite. Hand vs Hand Example Imagine you are all-in preflop with . You know your opponent has . The pot is $30. If you run this spot in an equity calculator, you will see you have about 65% chance to win. That means you own 65% of $30, or $19.50. But remember — equity changes as new cards come. As the board runs out, your share goes up or down. For example, the flop comes . Now your hand is much weaker. If you check the new equity, you will see you only have about 22% chance to win. If the turn brings , you hit a straight. Now your hand is strong again. Your equity jumps to around 91%. The opponent only has about 9% to win. That means the pot mostly belongs to you. You can calculate hand vs. hand equity using our free equity calculator. Hand vs Range Equity In poker, you usually don't know your opponent's exact cards. Instead, you estimate a group of possible hands they could have. This group of hands is called their "range." (Learn more about range thinking). To understand your equity against a range, consider what hands your opponent could have based on previous action and position. Calculating equity against a range (not a single hand) is more realistic and useful. Hand vs Range Example Example: You have . You believe your opponent’s range includes: Pocket pairs: TT, JJ, QQ Strong aces: AK, AQ Some weaker suited hands: KQs, QJs Now, you can calculate your equity against this whole range, not just one hand. Using a range equity calculator (like Equilab, Flopzilla), you find your AJ has about 40% equity against this range. How to Use Equity at the Table Understanding equity changes how you play poker. Here are important ways equity guides your poker decisions. Value Betting You won’t know the exact equity every time. But the key idea is simple: If you have the best hand, you should put more money in the pot. You want to grow the pot when you have most of the equity. This is called value betting. Go back to the hand with vs . The board is . You have a straight. Your equity is 91%. This means for every $1 you bet, you expect to win $0.91 on average. So you want to put as much money in the pot as you can. Sure, sometimes you will get unlucky. Maybe the river is a or , giving your opponent a full house. But you still want to bet when your equity is strong. Over the long run, you will win more than you lose. Making Profitable Calls If your equity is higher than the pot odds, your call will make money over the long run. For example, imagine there is $100 in the pot, and your opponent bets $50. You need to pay $50 to win a pot of $150 total (100 + 50). Your pot odds are 50 to 150, which is 25%. If your hand has more than 25% equity, calling is profitable in the long run. Effective Bluffing and Semi-Bluffing When you bluff, you often don't have the best hand yet. But your equity might still be good enough to improve later. This is called a semi-bluff. If your bluff gets called, you still have equity to win if certain cards come. Good semi-bluffs include flush draws and straight draws because their equity is often around 30-40% or even higher. Final Thoughts Equity is one of the most important concepts in poker. It guides your decisions about value-betting, bluffing, bluff-catching and folding. The best way to master equity is by regularly calculating it away from the table. Use software tools and practice estimating equity in different situations. When equity becomes easy for you to estimate, your poker game will reach a new level.
