Quick answer: this pot odds calculator tells you whether a poker call pays. Enter the pot, the bet and your outs, and it compares the equity you need with your real chance of hitting. Example: calling £50 into a £150 pot needs 25% equity. A flush draw on the flop has 19.1% with one card to come, so it’s a fold on pot odds alone, but 35.0% if you’re all-in and see both the turn and river, so then it’s a call.
Pot odds only: the result ignores later betting unless you read the implied-odds line. Outs are cards that make the hand you think wins; the calculator doesn’t know your opponent’s cards.
How to use the pot odds calculator
- Pick the game and the street. Texas Hold’em or Omaha (PLO). Choose “Flop, 1 card” if more betting will follow on the turn, “Flop, 2 cards” only when someone is all-in, or “Turn, 1 card”.
- Enter the pot before the bet and the bet you must call. If the pot was £100 and your opponent bets £50, enter 100 and 50.
- Choose your draw or type your outs. Outs are the unseen cards that give you the hand you think wins. Use “−” and “+” to change them one at a time.
- Read the verdict. The screen shows the equity you need, your exact equity, the rule of 2 and 4 estimate and the average result (EV) of calling. The table adds the outs you would need and how much more you must win later to make a call pay.
How do you calculate pot odds?
Divide the amount you must call by the total pot after your call. That gives the share of the time you must win for the call to break even:
Equity needed = call ÷ (pot + bet + call)
With £100 in the pot and a £50 bet, you call £50 to win £150. You put £50 into a £200 pot, so you need to win 25% of the time. As a ratio, that’s £150 to £50, or 3 to 1: you need to win 1 time in 4. If your chance of winning is higher than the equity needed, calling makes money in the long run.
Outs and your chance of hitting
| Draw | Outs | Flop, 1 card | Flop, 2 cards | Turn, 1 card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gutshot straight draw | 4 | 8.5% | 16.5% | 8.7% |
| Pair to two pair or trips | 5 | 10.6% | 20.4% | 10.9% |
| Two overcards | 6 | 12.8% | 24.1% | 13.0% |
| Open-ended straight draw | 8 | 17.0% | 31.5% | 17.4% |
| Flush draw | 9 | 19.1% | 35.0% | 19.6% |
| Flush draw + gutshot | 12 | 25.5% | 45.0% | 26.1% |
| Flush draw + open-ended straight draw | 15 | 31.9% | 54.1% | 32.6% |
The rule of 2 and 4
At the table, multiply your outs by 2 for one card to come and by 4 for two. A flush draw on the flop: 9 × 4 = 36%, close to the exact 35.0%. The shortcut runs high with big draws: 15 outs × 4 gives 60%, against an exact 54.1%. The calculator shows both, so you can see how far off the shortcut is.
Equity needed for common bet sizes
| Bet size | Pot odds | Equity needed to call |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ pot | 5 to 1 | 16.7% |
| ⅓ pot | 4 to 1 | 20.0% |
| ½ pot | 3 to 1 | 25.0% |
| ⅔ pot | 2.5 to 1 | 28.6% |
| ¾ pot | 2.33 to 1 | 30.0% |
| Pot | 2 to 1 | 33.3% |
| 2 × pot | 1.5 to 1 | 40.0% |
So a flush draw on the turn (19.6%) can call a quarter-pot bet on pot odds alone, but not a third-pot bet, which needs 20.0%. Against a pot-sized bet you need 33.3%, more than any draw in the table has with one card to come; even the 15-out combo draw on the turn (32.6%) falls just short.
Implied odds: when a fold-on-paper call still pays
Pot odds only count the money already in the pot. Implied odds add what you expect to win on later streets when you hit. The calculator’s “implied odds needed” line shows the extra you must win later for the call to break even:
Extra needed = (1 − equity) × call ÷ equity − (pot + bet)
In the default example (flush draw, one card to come, £50 to call into £150), you need to win at least £61.11 more when you hit. Against an opponent with a big stack who will pay off a flush, that can be realistic; against a short stack or a careful player, it usually isn’t. Watch for reverse implied odds too: making your hand and still losing, such as a low flush against a higher one.
Pot odds in Omaha (PLO)
The maths is the same, but you hold four cards instead of two, so fewer cards are unseen: 45 on the flop and 44 on the turn. Each out is worth a little more: 9 outs with one card to come is 20.0% in Omaha against 19.1% in Hold’em. Count outs carefully, though. In Omaha you must use exactly two of your four hole cards and three from the board, so a card that looks like an out may not make your hand.
More poker maths and calculators
- Poker maths: outs, EV and bluffing
- Poker hand rankings
- How to win at poker
- Odds calculator
- Kelly criterion calculator
- Roulette calculator
- Poker terms glossary
How we checked this
The calculator does its own maths: equity is outs ÷ unseen cards with one card to come, and 1 − (misses ÷ unseen) × (misses − 1) ÷ (unseen − 1) with two. We tested it against hand-worked examples for Hold’em and Omaha on every street.
- Pot odds formula, the rule of 2 and 4, and the flush draw at 19.6% on the turn: Wikipedia: Pot odds and DeucesCracked.
- Hold’em draw chances (16.5%, 31.5%, 35.0% from flop to river; 8.7%, 17.4%, 19.6% on the turn): DeucesCracked, matching our own maths. The 47 and 46 unseen cards: Wikipedia.
- Omaha’s four hole cards and the two-card rule: Wikipedia: Omaha hold ’em. The 45 and 44 unseen cards are our own maths (52 − 4 − 3 and 52 − 4 − 4).
Last checked: 10 October 2026, when we tested the calculator on phone-size screens against hand-worked Hold’em and Omaha examples. Gambling is for adults (18+) only. If it stops being fun, see our responsible gambling guide.
Pot odds calculator FAQs
What are pot odds in poker?
Pot odds compare the size of the pot with the cost of a call. Calling £50 to win £150 is 3 to 1, which means you need to win at least 25% of the time for the call to pay.
How do I count my outs?
Count the unseen cards that give you the hand you think wins. A flush draw has 9 (13 cards of the suit minus the 4 you can see), and an open-ended straight draw has 8. Don’t count cards that also give your opponent a better hand.
What is the rule of 2 and 4?
A shortcut: multiply your outs by 2 for one card to come or by 4 for two, to get your rough chance of hitting. It’s close for small draws but too high for big ones: 15 outs × 4 is 60% against an exact 54.1%.
Should I always fold when the pot odds are against me?
No. Implied odds (what you can win later) can make a call pay, and sometimes raising as a semi-bluff is better than calling. But if you call every draw without the odds, you lose money over time.
Does the pot odds calculator work for Omaha?
Yes. Choose Omaha (PLO) and it uses 45 unseen cards on the flop and 44 on the turn. Remember that you must use exactly two hole cards, so check that each out really makes your hand.
