Quote:
Originally Posted by smasherjp1
I am one that doesn't know about how all this equity business goes but i do know it's important. I have read a little, but still find the concept hard to grasp. BUT i do freaking love the way you explained your thought process and I want to learn that more than ever!!!
It’s a pretty simple concept really. Many beginners just say “I am behind, I should fold”, but depending on the situation that may not be the case. Even if you’re behind NOW, that doesn’t mean you cannot win the pot. Equity is just your chance of winning the pot. If you have enough equity, it can be correct to call a bet even if you know your opponent is ahead.
Simple example: you are on the flop with AThh. (Assume a live game), your opponent accidentally exposed his cards and he has KK. Flop is Kh Qs 6h. He bets $10 into a $40 pot. You and two others call. 2d on the turn. He bets $20 into the now $80 pot. The two players ahead of you fold so it’s heads up. Do you call?
You know you’re behind, but it’s a clear, easy call. You have 10 outs — 7 hearts (note that the Q and 2 are not outs) plus the three jacks that aren’t hearts. You know 8 cards, so there are 44 left in the deck. Your equity is therefore 10/44 = 22.7%. How do we know if this is enough to call? A simple formula is risk/(risk+gain). If that value is less than your equity, call. In this example calling risks $20 to gain $100 (the $80 already in the pot plus the $20 your opponent bet). The formula then gives 20/(20+100) = 16.7%, which is less than your equity so you call.
It won’t always be so straightforward; you obviously won’t generally know your exact equity since you don’t know your opponent’s hand. You can approximate it reasonably well though. Also the risk/reward calculation I gave is valid, but incomplete. In my example, (unless the bet put you or your opponent all in) there can be further action on the river. If you hit one of your outs, you could bet and possibly get more gain from calling than what was figured above. If you miss, you obviously will fold, so you aren’t increasing your risk by calling. This it’s often ok to call even if your equity falls short of what the risk/gain formula indicates. This concept is called implied odds, and it’s often the reason you can call draws.