Poker Equity & OddsShould you call with a draw?
Short answer
Call when your equity is higher than the share of the final pot you pay. A flush draw against top pair has 38.9% and a half-pot call needs 25.0%, so it is a call. A gutshot against top pair has 20.3% and needs the same 25.0%, so the price alone says fold. Poker Equity & Odds works both numbers out on the phone.
The one-line test
- Count your equityHow often you win if the hand goes to the river. The calculator counts every runout; at the table, outs times 4 is close enough.
- Read the priceCall divided by the pot after you call: call / (pot + bet + call). A half-pot bet asks for 25.0%, a pot-size bet for 33.3%.
- CompareEquity above the price is a call. Below it, fold, unless the chips you win later cover the gap. That is the implied odds page.
A flush draw at half pot
You call 50 to win 200, so you need 25.0%. You have 38.9%, counted over all 990 runouts. Call. On average the call wins about 27.8 chips more than it costs, if the hand goes to showdown with no more betting.
Your equity
- Pot odds
- 3 : 1
- Needs
- 25.0%
- Call earns, on average
- +27.8 chips
- Runouts counted
- 990
Five draws, one bet
The same half-pot bet, each draw against the top pair it faces in the ledger. The draws sit on their own boards; this is a same-bet comparison, not one pot.
| Draw on the flop | Equity | Needs | Call earns | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flush draw + open-ender | 56.8% | 25.0% | +63.6 | CALL |
| Flush draw | 38.9% | 25.0% | +27.8 | CALL |
| Open-ended straight draw | 34.2% | 25.0% | +18.4 | CALL |
| Two overcards | 22.1% | 25.0% | -5.8 | FOLD |
| Gutshot | 20.3% | 25.0% | -9.4 | FOLD |
How big a bet can you call?
For each draw, the biggest bet into a pot of 100 that still leaves equity above the price, from the eight sizes in the cheat sheet, and the exact break-even size.
| Draw on the flop | Equity | Biggest cheat-sheet bet | Break-even bet into 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flush draw + open-ender | 56.8% | 2x pot | none |
| Flush draw | 38.9% | 1.5x pot | 175.2 |
| Open-ended straight draw | 34.2% | Pot | 108.2 |
| Two overcards | 22.1% | 1/3 pot | 39.6 |
| Gutshot | 20.3% | 1/3 pot | 34.2 |
This is the price, not the whole story
The test above assumes the hand goes to showdown with no more betting. If villain will bet again on the turn, each card has to pay for itself, and the gutshot's third of the pot becomes a smaller number. If you expect to win more chips when you hit, the gutshot's fold can turn into a call. That extra amount is a number too, and the implied odds guide works it out for this hand.
I only need one heart. Call.
Questions
Should I call a half-pot bet with a flush draw?
Against one pair, usually yes. 5♥ 4♥ on K♥ 9♥ 2♣ against K♦ Q♣ has 38.9%, and a half-pot call needs 25.0%. That assumes no more betting on the turn.
Can I call with a gutshot?
On the price alone, only up to a third-pot bet: a gutshot against top pair has 20.3% and a third-pot call needs 20.0%. Bigger than that, you need implied odds.
What about two overcards?
A♣ K♦ on 8♥ 6♠ 2♣ against 8♦ 7♦ has 22.1%. A third-pot bet (20.0%) is a call, a half-pot bet (25.0%) is a fold, and some of those outs may be dirty.
How does Decide decide?
It counts your equity against the hand or range you give it, works out what the call needs from the pot and the bet, and prints CALL or FOLD with the margin and the reason.
Where the numbers come from. Every figure on this page comes from the app's own engine, the code that runs on your phone. Outs come from the Outs & Odds tool, hit chances are exact counts, and equities count every runout with no sampling. Engine build 18a5e00d. More worked numbers: flush draw odds and the pot odds cheat sheet.