What is equity in poker?
Equity is the share of the pot your hand is worth right now. Put two hands all in and run the board out a million times, and equity is simply how often each hand wins. If your hand has 60% equity, it takes the pot 60 times out of 100 on average. Ties get split, so each player gets credit for half.
Equity is the number behind almost every decision in poker. It tells you whether a call is profitable when you compare it to your pot odds, and it tells you which preflop hands are actually ahead when the money goes in.
How to use this equity calculator
It takes about five seconds. Tap a card slot, then tap a card below to fill it.
- Pick two cards for Player 1 and two for Player 2.
- Leave the board empty for a preflop all-in, or add a flop, turn, or river.
- The win percentages update instantly. Hit Random hands to explore matchups fast.
An example is filled in to start (AK suited against a pair of queens) so you can see a result right away.
Exact vs simulated: how the numbers are calculated
On the flop, turn, and river there are only a handful of ways the board can finish, so the calculator enumerates every single runout and gives you the exact equity. Preflop is different. With two known hands there are over 1.7 million possible boards, which is a lot to grind through on every keystroke, so the tool runs a Monte Carlo simulation: it deals about 80,000 random boards and measures the win rate. That is accurate to roughly a fifth of a percent, close enough that you will not notice the difference.
The hand evaluator behind it was checked against exact enumeration of full matchups and against published equity figures, so the numbers you see are trustworthy.
Common matchups worth memorizing
A handful of equities come up again and again. Learn these and you will read most all-in spots instantly.
Pair over pair is crushing. AA against KK, or QQ against JJ, is about 81 to 82%. The bigger pair is a huge favorite because the smaller pair needs to hit one of only two remaining cards.
A pair against two overcards is a coin flip. 22 against AK is about 53/47 for the pair. It is already made, while AK has to improve. These races decide a huge number of tournament hands.
Two overcards beat a pair when the pair is lower than both. AK against QQ is still a slight underdog at about 46%, because the queens are made. But AK against a pair below the king, plus a board, often flips fast. Domination is the real danger: AK against AQ is about 74/26, because they share the ace and your kicker plays.
Equity and ranges
Hand vs hand is the cleanest way to learn the matchups, which is why this calculator starts there. In a real hand you rarely know the exact two cards your opponent holds, so the next step is to think in ranges. Use the Range Visualizer to see which hands a player opens or 3-bets from each position, then test your hand against the specific hands in that range. If you are new to which hands belong in a range, the guide on poker starting hands is a good place to start, and what a 3-bet is covers the spots where these all-in equities matter most.
Frequently asked questions
What does equity mean in poker?
Equity is the share of the pot your hand is worth right now, measured as how often it would win at showdown against the other hand. 60% equity means it wins 60 times out of 100. Ties are split, counting as half a win for each player.
How is poker equity calculated?
You run out every possible board, play each hand to showdown, and count the wins. Postflop there are few enough runouts to enumerate exactly. Preflop there are over 1.7 million, so calculators sample a large number of random boards (Monte Carlo) and measure the win rate.
What is a coin flip or race?
A roughly 50/50 matchup, usually a pair against two higher cards like 22 against AK. The pair is a small favorite around 53% because it is already made while the overcards still have to improve.
Is AK better than a pair before the flop?
As raw all-in equity, AK is a slight underdog to any pair: about 47% against a small or medium pair and about 46% against a big one. AK is still a premium hand because of how well it plays after the flop, but it is behind every pocket pair preflop.
How accurate is this calculator?
Exact on the flop, turn, and river, since it enumerates every runout. Preflop it simulates about 80,000 boards, accurate to roughly plus or minus 0.2%. The evaluator was validated against exact enumeration and published equities.
Can I calculate equity against a range?
This tool is hand vs hand. To work with ranges, use the Range Visualizer to see an opponent’s range by position, then test your hand against the hands in it.