Equity — Poker Term Explained

Equity is your share of the pot if the hand were played to the river many times from this exact point. AA against KK all-in preflop has about 82% equity, so in a 100-chip pot your hand "owns" 82 chips even though the cards have not run out yet. Equity is a snapshot, and it changes on every street: a flush draw with 36% before the flop card comes has 0% or 100% the moment the river lands.

Separate raw equity from realised equity. Position, stack depth and how well your hand can stand pressure decide how much of your equity you actually collect — an out-of-position gutshot facing two barrels realises far less than its 16% suggests, while a suited hand in position realises more. This is why good players value position so highly and why they fold hands whose equity looks fine on a calculator but disappears in practice. Use equity to size bets too: bet big when you want to deny an opponent's equity, bet small when your own hand does not need protection.

Treating a hand-versus-hand equity number as the whole story. You are not against one hand, you are against a range, and you will not see all five cards for free. Both facts push realised equity below the calculator number for weak hands out of position.

• AA vs KK all-in preflop: about 82% / 18%
• AK vs QQ all-in preflop: about 43% / 57% (the classic "flip")
• Flush draw on the flop: about 36% equity by the river
• Open-ended straight draw on the flop: about 32% equity by the river

A♠A♥ מול K♣K♦ טרום פלופ ≈ 81/19 לטובת AA.