What is Equity?

Equity in poker is the share of the pot your hand is statistically entitled to right now, based on its probability of winning if all remaining cards were dealt out. If you will win 60% of the time in a £100 pot, your equity is £60. Equity shifts with every card, so it is always measured at a given moment. Worked example: holding A-K against an opponent's pocket queens before the flop, you have roughly 43% equity; in a £200 all-in pot that is about £86 of long-run value. On a draw, convert outs to equity with the rule of two and four: a nine-out flush draw on the flop is about 18% to hit on the next card and about 35% by the river. In a £100 pot, that draw is worth roughly £35. Equity matters because every betting decision compares it against the pot odds you are being offered. You profit by calling or betting when your equity exceeds the price, and lose when it does not — this is the practical bridge between equity and Expected Value. A frequent mistake is treating raw outs as if they were a percentage, or ignoring that some outs are tainted (they also improve an opponent). Equity is the foundation beneath Pot Odds, GTO play and ICM, and underpins how you value draws such as a Gutshot.