Definition
Equity in poker refers to the share of the pot that belongs to you based on the probability of winning the hand. If you hold a flush draw on the flop and your opponent holds top pair, you might have approximately 35% equity — meaning you expect to win 35% of the pot on average over many runouts of the board.
Equity is calculated based on the remaining cards in the deck and which cards would give you the winning hand. Tools like Equilab, PokerStove, and in-hand calculators can compute exact equity percentages between any two or more ranges.
Equity is a foundational concept for pot odds calculations, determining whether to call or fold, and understanding the long-term expected value of your decisions. Many situations in poker involve trading equity for information (by betting) or preserving equity (by checking) in nuanced ways.
Example
Holding 9♠8♠ on a K♥7♠2♠ flop against an opponent's top pair, you have approximately 45% equity — the flush and straight draws make you a near-coin flip, even against a made hand.