Pot odds & equity
What a call costs as a share of the final pot, and why you call when your chance to win is higher.
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There’s $100 in the pot. Your opponent bets $50.
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To stay in, you call $50. If you win, you collect all $200: the pot, their bet, and your own $50 back.
- 03, open this step in the interactive version
Your $50 is a quarter of that $200. You’re paying 25% of the final pot.
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So you need to win at least 25% of the time just to break even. That number is your pot odds.
- 05, open this step in the interactive version
Do you win that often? You hold A♥ J♥, and two more hearts are on the board. One more heart makes a flush.
- 06, open this step in the interactive version
46 cards are unseen. 9 of them are hearts. You hit 9 times in 46, about 19.6%. That’s your equity.
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You need 25%. You have 19.6%. Calling loses about $10.87 each time on average, so you fold.
- 08, open this step in the interactive version
Now change the bet. Smaller bets lower what you need. Where does calling become right?