Mastering Equity and Expected Value in Poker

Equity in poker cannot account for very good hands earning more money than their equity share of the pot, nor can it account for some very bad hands earning less than their EV share of the pot. Additionally, equity is a hypothetical value that only describes how often your hand would win the pot if the hand went to showdown. It does not account for the times someone folds, and therefore, it cannot describe the overall win frequency or predict the winner of the pot.

Equity in poker only describes how often your hand would win the pot if the hand went to showdown. It is a measure of the relative strength of your hand compared to your opponents' hands.

Equity in poker does not tell us how often we lose the pot by having to fold or how often we win the pot by making our opponents fold. It also does not predict the winner of the pot.

An End of Action Spot occurs when we are considering either calling or folding to what will certainly be the last bet of the hand. Equity is important in this situation because it determines our decision between calling and folding. If our equity is equal to our investment divided by the final pot after we have called, our hand is indifferent between the two actions.

Equity describes our hypothetical pot share if the hand was to go to showdown. EV, on the other hand, describes our average monetary gain or loss based on all the factors present in a hand of poker. While equity is a large part of EV, it does not account for factors such as future bets earned, future folds, or the impact of position. Therefore, equity is just one component of the overall EV in poker.

Tunnel vision is a common problem in poker where players focus too narrowly on one part of the "tree" of possibilities in a hand. This can lead to suboptimal decisions and missed opportunities. To avoid tunnel vision, players should consider all the branches of the hand, including positive and negative outcomes, and not get fixated on a single possibility. This broader perspective allows for better decision making and maximizes EV in poker.