Making equity calculations on the fly can take some getting used to. How big is your stack? If you’re in a tournament, how close are you to the money, or to the final table? If you fold, how many chips will you have left? What do you do? Equity dictates you fold, because now you are a 2 to 1 underdog to win the hand, and with having to pay 9,000 to win 16,500, the pot is not offering you 2 to 1 odds.īut there are other factors that could lead you to make the call. Let’s say Player 1 leads out with a bet of 9,000, into a pot of 7,500, and Player 2 folds. Player 1, with the pocket queens, is now at 55%, and Player 2 is at 9 percent. Your equity – the chance you will win the hand – has dropped to 36 percent. Let’s say the turn is a brick for all three players – a nothing card like the 3 of diamonds. In terms of equity, you gained 55% of the 6,000 chips that went in the pot, or 3,300 chips – almost twice what you bet. You only have a 10-high at this point and figure to be behind both players, but your potential to improve is so good that it makes sense to try a semi-bluff, so you put out a bet of 2,000, and both players call. Let’s say you are in position and both players check. How Much Money Can You Make Playing Poker?Įquity would dictate that you bet.
