Help Me Calculate EV

The easiest way to remember this for me is to think of how much your stack will increase if you call and win and how much your stack will decrease if you call and lose. So in your case if you call and win your stack will increase with $5.35 and if you call and lose your stack will decrease with $3.

[subzero]

You have to call $3 to win $5.35. So the pot is laying you 5.35 to 3 or 1.78 to 1. To make this call +EV, your odds of winning should be better than 1.78:1. Changed to percentages, you need to have better than a 36% [1/(1+1.78)] chance of winning to make this +EV. You're estimating that you will win 43% of the time, so the call is correct.

[ptmusic]

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You have to call $3 to win $5.35. So the pot is laying you 5.35 to 3 or 1.78 to 1. To make this call +EV, your odds of winning should be better than 1.78:1. Changed to percentages, you need to have better than a 36% [1/(1+1.78)] chance of winning to make this +EV. You're estimating that you will win 43% of the time, so the call is correct.

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Cool - I never thought of it that way.

I guess you could also say you need better than 3/8.35=36% chance of winning for it to be +EV.

But does anyone actually do these calculations in the heat of battle? Especially when there are often complications, such as bluffing or fold equity potential?

-ptmusic