Equity a call needs
16.67%
against a quarter-pot bet
- Pot oddsfor every 1 you call5 : 1
- Bet on a $100 pota quarter of the pot$25
- Pot after your callyou put in $25$150
The price of a quarter-pot bet
At 16.67% this is one of the cheaper prices you will face: a draw only has to land about once in every 6.0 tries.
e = f / (1 + 2f)f = 0.25e = 0.25 / (1 + 2 x 0.25) = 16.67%Pot odds = (1 + 0.25) / 0.25 = 5 : 1
Read the 5 : 1 price this way: $125 is on the table for a $25 call, and $25 is 16.67% of the final pot of $150.
A $100 pot facing a quarter-pot bet
The pot is $100 and your opponent puts in $25. You are now asked to match $25 to see the next card.
- Pot before the bet$100
- Opponent bets$25
- You call$25
- Pot after your call$150
- You risk$25
- You can win$125
- Equity needed16.67%
After you call there is $150 in the pot. If you win 16.67% of the time you break even, and every point above 16.67% is a gain.
Which draws can call a quarter-pot bet
Each draw below is compared with the 16.67% price. Two chances are shown: two cards to come from the flop, and one card to come from the turn.
From the flop, 5 of the 8 draws clear 16.67%, and the smallest of them is two overcards, with 6 outs.
On the turn the bar of 16.67% is met by 4 of the 8 draws; the smallest is an open-ended straight draw, with 8 outs.
| Draw | Outs | Flop: hit by the river | Flop margin | Flop verdict | Turn: hit on the river | Turn margin | Turn verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A pocket pair that wants a set | 2 | 8.42% | -8.25 points | Fold | 4.35% | -12.32 points | Fold |
| One overcard to top pair | 3 | 12.49% | -4.18 points | Fold | 6.52% | -10.14 points | Fold |
| A gutshot straight draw | 4 | 16.47% | -0.20 points | Fold | 8.70% | -7.97 points | Fold |
| Two overcards | 6 | 24.14% | +7.48 points | Call | 13.04% | -3.62 points | Fold |
| An open-ended straight draw | 8 | 31.45% | +14.79 points | Call | 17.39% | +0.72 points | Call |
| A flush draw | 9 | 34.97% | +18.30 points | Call | 19.57% | +2.90 points | Call |
| A flush draw with a gutshot | 12 | 44.96% | +28.29 points | Call | 26.09% | +9.42 points | Call |
| A flush draw with an open-ended straight draw | 15 | 54.12% | +37.45 points | Call | 32.61% | +15.94 points | Call |
Implied odds against a quarter-pot bet
Drawing hands often win more than the pot when they hit. Add that extra, W, to the pot of $150 and divide $25 by the total.
Add $500 to the pot and the equity you need slides to 3.85%, which is 12.82 points lower than 16.67%.
Take 9 outs and one card to come: 19.57%. That beats 16.67%, so no future winnings are needed.
Implied odds help most with hidden hands, such as a flush draw or a low set, because your opponent cannot see them coming.
Add a margin for risk when your outs are shaky. A price of 16.67% on paper can become a worse one when you lose big pots after hitting.
| Future winnings W | Pot after call plus W | Equity needed | Change from the plain price | Flush draw margin from the flop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $150 | 16.67% | 0.00 points | +18.30 points |
| $50 | $200 | 12.50% | -4.17 points | +22.47 points |
| $100 | $250 | 10.00% | -6.67 points | +24.97 points |
| $250 | $400 | 6.25% | -10.42 points | +28.72 points |
| $500 | $650 | 3.85% | -12.82 points | +31.12 points |
Quarter-pot next to the other sizes
At the low end of the sizes, quarter-pot needs only 16.67%, and every other size asks for more.
A bigger third-pot bet asks for 20.00%; that is 3.33 points more than the 16.67% here.
- Pot odds facing a third-pot bet: Needs 20.00%, 3.33 points more.
The outs that justify a call
The fewest outs that justify a flop call here is 5, which hits 20.35% by the river. One out fewer hits 16.47%.
With one card to come the cut-off rises to 8 outs. That hits 17.39%, and the count below it stops at 15.22%.
- 5 outs on the flop: 20.35% by the river against 16.67%.
- 8 outs on the turn: 17.39% on the river against 16.67%.
How this is computed
The figures here start from a $100 pot and a bet of a quarter of the pot, which is $25. The page computes the price of the call, then sets common draws against it.
A call of f into a pot of 1 + f makes a final pot of 1 + 2f. Your share, f / (1 + 2f), is 16.67% for f = 0.25, and the pot odds are 5 : 1.
Hit chances count unseen cards, 47 after the flop and 46 after the turn, all equally likely. The call is for the full bet, no one bets again after it, and a hit takes the whole pot.
Method: the closed form f / (1 + 2f) computed by the GeorgeLiPoker math library, with draw chances counted from the unseen cards.
Updated
Questions
What equity do you need to call a quarter-pot bet?
Required equity is 16.67%, which is 5 : 1 in odds. The figure holds for any pot size, because only the size of the bet next to the pot matters: a quarter of the pot. Scale the dollars and the percent does not move.
How many outs do you need against a quarter-pot bet?
You need 5 outs on the flop to call, because that many outs reach 20.35% against a price of 16.67%. On the turn you need 8 outs. Use the cleaned count, after dropping outs that could lose to a better hand.
How much do implied odds help against a quarter-pot bet?
They can swing a close call. Going from 16.67% with no future winnings to 3.85% with $500 is a change of 12.82 points, so a draw that is just short may become a call when stacks are deep.
Can you call a quarter-pot bet with a flush draw?
Take 9 outs against 16.67%. On the flop its chance to hit by the river is 34.97%, which is above 16.67%, so it is a call. On the turn the chance is 19.57%, which is above 16.67%, so it is a call. Check that the flush cannot lose to a higher flush before you rely on it.
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