What is equity in poker?
Updated November 2026
Equity is your share of the pot, based on how often you'd win if the hand were played out many times. With 60% equity in a $100 pot, the hand is worth $60 to you on average.
It's a long-run number. In any single hand you'll win the whole pot or none of it.
| Equity | Your share of the pot |
|---|---|
| Worth | Equity times the pot |
| Quick count | Outs x 2 with one card to come |
| Outs x 4 with two to come |
All-in before the flop
How does equity work?
Take aces against kings with all the money in before the flop. The aces win 81.7 times in 100 and tie 0.5 times. Share the ties and that's 82% equity, so $82 of every $100 in the middle belongs to the aces on average.
What does equity look like in real matchups?
These are exact, counted over every board and every suit pairing.
All-in before the flop
The first hand's chance to win, tie or lose
How do you estimate it at the table?
Count your outs, the cards that make your hand. With one card to come, multiply by 2. With two to come, multiply by 4. A flush draw has 9 outs, so about 36% on the flop and 18% on the turn.
The exact numbers are 35.0% and 19.6%, so the shortcut is close enough. With 15 or more outs it runs high: 60% against a real 54%. Our page on outs has the full table.
9 outs
What do you do with the number?
Compare it with the price. If your equity is more than the share of the pot you have to pay, the call makes money. With 30% equity and a price of 25%, call. With 20% and a price of 25%, fold unless you expect to win more later.
Our page on pot odds shows how to work out the price, and the odds calculator gives you exact equity for any two hands.
Compare them
What is your equity worth?
What about against a range?
You never know the exact cards. In practice you estimate your equity against all the hands the player could have, and that average decides what you do. Our page on ranges shows how to think about them.
Can you estimate your share?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask
Is equity the same as odds?
They describe the same thing in different ways. Equity is a percentage of the pot, and odds compare wins to losses.
Does equity change during a hand?
Yes, with every new card.
Why don't I always get my equity?
A hand you fold wins nothing, however much equity it had. Playing out of position, or against bets you can't call, means some of it never reaches you.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
Matchups are exact counts over every suit pairing and all 1,712,304 boards. Outs percentages are exact card counts.
Know someone who says it was a coin flip?
Send them the real numbers.