Pot odds are the price a player is getting on a call. Divide the amount to call by the size of the pot after the call, and the answer is the share of the time the call has to win to break even. If the hand wins more often than that, calling makes money over time. If it wins less often, calling loses money, however good it feels.
The formula
Break-even equity = call ÷ (pot before the bet + the bet + the call)
Everything a player needs is on the table: the pot, the bet in front of them, and the amount it costs to continue. The same price can be written as a ratio: the money in the middle versus the money it costs. A $60 pot (after the bet) and a $20 call is 60:20, or 3:1, which converts to 1 ÷ (3 + 1) = 25%.
Steps, in order:
- Count the pot before the opponent bet.
- Add the opponent’s bet.
- Add the call the hero would make.
- Divide the call by that total. That is the equity needed.
- Compare with the hand’s real chance of winning (its equity). Call if equity is higher, fold if it is lower.
The bet-size table
Because pot odds depend only on the size of the bet relative to the pot, the break-even numbers can be learned once. Each row assumes a heads-up pot and a call that closes the action.
| Opponent bets | Pot odds | Equity needed to call |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 pot | 5:1 | 16.7% |
| 1/3 pot | 4:1 | 20.0% |
| 1/2 pot | 3:1 | 25.0% |
| 2/3 pot | 2.5:1 | 28.6% |
| 3/4 pot | 2.33:1 | 30.0% |
| Pot | 2:1 | 33.3% |
| 1.5x pot | 1.67:1 | 37.5% |
| 2x pot | 1.5:1 | 40.0% |
Check one row: a pot-sized bet into $100 means the hero calls $100 to win a $300 pot. 100 ÷ 300 = 33.3%. The general version, for a bet that is a fraction b of the pot, is b ÷ (1 + 2b).
Two patterns are worth noticing. Small bets give great prices: a quarter-pot bet only needs to be called with about one hand in six that wins. And doubling the bet does not double the equity needed; going from half pot to pot moves it from 25% to 33.3%.
A worked hand: the flush draw on the turn
$1/$2 no-limit, six-handed, $200 stacks. The cutoff raises to $6 and the hero calls in the big blind with 9♥ 8♥. Everyone else folds.
- Flop: K♥ 7♥ 2♣. Pot $13. The hero checks, the cutoff bets $7, the hero calls. Pot $27.
- Turn: 4♠. The hero checks. The cutoff bets $20. The pot is now $47, and it costs $20 to call.
Pot odds: 20 ÷ (27 + 20 + 20) = 20 ÷ 67 = 29.9%. The hero needs to win about 30% of the time.
Equity: The hero has a flush draw. Nine hearts are left. With the hero’s two cards and four board cards known, 46 cards are unseen, so the chance of hitting on the river is 9 ÷ 46 = 19.6%. If the cutoff shows K♣ Q♦ later, the exact figure against that hand is 9 ÷ 44 = 20.5% (checked by running all 44 possible rivers).
Decision: 19.6% is well short of 29.9%. On pot odds alone, this is a fold.
The arithmetic as expected value, using the 20.5% figure against K♣ Q♦: winning returns the $47 already in the middle, losing costs $20.
- EV of calling = 0.2045 × $47 − 0.7955 × $20 = $9.61 − $15.91 = −$6.30
Over a hundred of these calls, the hero burns about $630. That is the price of chasing.
A common way to get this wrong is to count the pot loosely. A player who rounds the $27 up to $40 in their head thinks the price is 20 ÷ 80 = 25%, which still says fold here but would flip closer spots. Count the pot first, street by street, every time.
When the price is right: the same draw on the flop
Go back to the flop. The pot was $13 and the cutoff bet $7, so the hero called $7 into a $27 pot after the call: 7 ÷ 27 = 25.9%.
Against K♣ Q♦, running every possible turn and river gives 9♥ 8♥ an equity of 39.8% on that flop. That figure includes the flush on either card plus runner-runner straights, two pairs and trips. But the hero is only buying one card for $7; the cutoff may bet again on the turn. With one card to come, the flush draw hits 9 ÷ 47 = 19.1% on the turn. That is also short of 25.9%, which is why flop calls with draws lean on implied odds, the money a player expects to win after hitting.
Implied odds: the money still to come
Pot odds count only what is in the middle now. Implied odds add what the hero can expect to win on later streets when the draw comes in.
Extra winnings needed = (call × chance of missing ÷ chance of hitting) − pot before the call (including the bet)
For the turn spot above (20.5% to hit, $20 to call, $47 to win):
- 20 × 35 ÷ 9 = $77.78 (the miss-to-hit ratio is 35 rivers to 9)
- $77.78 − $47 = $30.78
The hero would need to win about $31 more, on average, every time the flush arrives, for the call to break even. Against an opponent who pays off a river bet with top pair most of the time, that is realistic. Against a cautious player who shuts down when the third heart lands, it is not.
Three things shrink implied odds:
- Obvious draws. A third heart on the river scares everyone.
- Short stacks. An opponent with $25 behind cannot pay $31.
- Reverse implied odds. Hitting a hand that is second best loses even more. A small flush against a bigger flush is the classic case.
Quick reference: outs to call
When the opponent’s bet size is known, compare the needed equity with the one-card chance of hitting:
| Draw | Outs | One card (river, 46 unseen) | Beats which bets on price alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gutshot | 4 | 8.7% | None in the table |
| Open-ended straight | 8 | 17.4% | 1/4 pot bets |
| Flush draw | 9 | 19.6% | 1/4 pot bets |
| Flush + gutshot | 12 | 26.1% | Up to 1/2 pot |
| Flush + open-ended | 15 | 32.6% | Up to 3/4 pot |
The full table for 1 to 20 outs, with exact two-card figures and the rule-of-4-and-2 error, is in the poker odds chart. The next step, comparing price with equity against a range of hands rather than one known hand, is covered in pot odds vs equity.
Tools referenced on this site. Pot odds can be worked out with a pencil, as above. For the equity side, players use equity calculators and solvers that run every board automatically. The poker solvers comparison lists the main ones by published price and format. Tools that give advice in real time during play break the rules of many poker rooms, so they belong in study sessions only.
Poker is for adults (21+, or 18+ where state law allows), and no pot is worth chasing with money that is needed elsewhere. Free help is available on call or text at 1-800-MY-RESET; more is on the responsible gambling page.