progressPot odds and required equity
Call, or fold? The answer is one division.
Pot odds compare the price of a call with the pot you can win. The required equity is the share of the time you must win for the call to break even in chips.
The formula
required equity = call / (pot + call)
Here the pot is what it is before the bet you are facing, plus that bet. For a bet of b times the pot, the call is b and the pot after the bet is 1 + b, so you need b / (1 + 2b).
The cheat sheet
| Bet size | Pot odds | Equity you need |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 pot | 5.00 : 1 | 16.7% |
| 1/3 pot | 4.00 : 1 | 20% |
| 1/2 pot | 3.00 : 1 | 25% |
| 2/3 pot | 2.50 : 1 | 28.6% |
| 3/4 pot | 2.33 : 1 | 30% |
| pot | 2.00 : 1 | 33.3% |
| 1.5 x pot | 1.67 : 1 | 37.5% |
| 2 x pot | 1.50 : 1 | 40% |
Example
The pot is 100 and your opponent bets 50. The pot is now 150 and you pay 50: you need 50 / 200 = 25%. With a flush draw on the flop (9 outs) your chance to hit by the river is about 35%, so the call is profitable on pot odds alone. See the outs table for the exact numbers.
Things the number does not include
- Implied odds: money you win on later streets if you hit.
- Fold equity: the chance that a raise makes your opponent fold.
- Reverse implied odds: money you lose when you hit but are still beaten.
- ICM: in a tournament near a payout jump you need more than this number. See bubble factor.
The pot odds calculator does the division for any pot and bet, and also shows the exact chance to hit your outs.
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Related guides
Questions
How do I calculate pot odds?
Divide the amount you must call by the pot after the bet plus your call. The result is the equity you need.
What equity do I need to call a half-pot bet?
Exactly 25 percent.
What equity do I need to call a pot-sized bet?
One third, about 33.3 percent.
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progressGTO guides use our own solution book (v13, 8-max tournaments with ante, chip EV): an approximation of equilibrium with a modelled postflop, not an exact solution. Numbers are computed from the book and from the exact ICM model.
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