Pot Odds and Break-Even Equity
Learning objectiveCompute the equity required for a call under stated assumptions.
Understand the idea
If the existing pot is P and the cost to call is C, a call that ends betting needs win probability C/(P+C) to break even, ignoring ties, future betting, and rake. Use legal.callAmount as the call cost. Confirm what hand.pot already includes before adding C; do not count a bet twice.
If the pot is 60 and calling costs 20, the final pot after your call is 80, so break-even equity is 20/80 = 25%. A draw with 30% estimated equity has positive immediate call EV under the simplified no-future-betting assumption.
At the poker table
With pot 60, call 20, equity 30%: EV(call) = 0.30×60 − 0.70×20 = +4 chips. The expression treats the 60 as winnings available before your call.
Code and decision sketch
Pseudocoderequired_equity = call_amount / (pot_before_call + call_amount)
call_ev = equity * pot_before_call - (1 - equity) * call_amountCommon mistake
Future betting, side pots, folds, and ties change real EV. Do not use this one-street formula as a universal decision rule.
Try it yourself
Calculate break-even equity for pot 90 and call 30. Repeat if the call is 60.