What is equity in poker?
Equity is your share of the pot if the hand were dealt to showdown many times — your percentage chance to win, counting half for ties. AA has about 85% equity against a random hand preflop; a flush draw on the flop has about 35% by the river.
Why it matters
Equity is the currency every decision is priced in. Compare it to pot odds and you know whether to call; compare it to fold equity and you know whether a bluff needs folds to work. Ranges, not single hands, are what you measure equity against in practice.
The common misunderstanding is treating equity as fixed. It changes with every card and every narrowing of ranges — a hand that is 60% on the flop can be 20% on the turn.
The numbers
- Classic preflop matchups: pair over pair (AA vs KK) about 82/18; pair vs two overcards (QQ vs AK) about 55/45; two overcards vs two undercards (AK vs 87) about 62/38; dominated aces (AK vs AQ) about 74/26.
- Rule of thumb from outs: equity on the next card ≈ outs × 2; by the river (two cards) ≈ outs × 4 (slightly high above 8 outs).
Figures come from the same preflop charts and research data the rest of the site uses (charts last updated July 5, 2026); they change when that data does.
Hand vs hand or hand vs range equity on any board, in the browser.
You can't quickly estimate equity vs typical ranges, leading to bad bluff-catch and bluff decisions.
Common questions
How is poker equity calculated?
By enumerating (or simulating) every possible run-out of the remaining cards and counting the share your hand wins, with ties split. Calculators do this instantly; at the table you approximate it from outs.
What is hand vs range equity?
Your equity against every hand an opponent could hold, weighted by how likely each is — the number that actually matters, since you never know their exact two cards.
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