Equity is your share of the pot based on how often your hand will win if all the remaining cards are dealt. If you have 40% equity in a $100 pot, your share is worth $40 on average.
Equity examples
- AA vs KK before the flop: AA has about 81% equity.
- A pair against two overcards, like QQ vs AK, is close to a coin flip: about 57% to 43%.
- A flush draw on the flop against top pair has roughly 35% equity with two cards to come.
How to estimate equity at the table
Use the rule of 2 and 4: count your outs and multiply by 4 on the flop (two cards to come) or by 2 on the turn (one card to come).
- 9 outs on the flop: 9 × 4 ≈ 36% (exact: 35%).
- 8 outs on the turn: 8 × 2 ≈ 16% (exact: 17.4%).
Equity against a range
In real hands you do not know your opponent’s exact cards, so you estimate your equity against their whole range. The range equity calculator does this for you.
Equity vs expected value
Equity is just your share of the pot. Expected value also counts what it costs to stay in, future betting and fold equity. A hand can have good equity but negative EV if calling costs too much, or low equity but positive EV as a semi-bluff.
Calculate any matchup in the poker odds calculator. More terms in the poker glossary.