Pot odds

Pot odds turn a bet into a break-even question: how often do you need to win for calling to make money? Compare the size of your call to the pot you would be calling into, and the answer falls out as a percentage.

required equity = call / (pot + call)

Here "pot" means everything already in the middle, including your opponent's bet, before your call goes in.

Worked example. The pot sits at 80 and your opponent bets 20, making the pot 100 before you call:

required equity = 20 / (100 + 20) = 0.167

You need about 17% equity to call profitably. Win more often than that and the call shows an immediate profit; win less and it is a fold.

Pot odds price this single decision only. They say nothing about money you might win or lose on later streets, which is the job of implied odds and reverse implied odds. Work out the price first, then layer those adjustments on top.