Using pot equity to decide between raising or calling

[fellfold]

You pot equity is the percentage you get of every dollar that goes into the pot. In poker, every person who wants to continue has to put in the same amount of money (except for all-ins of course). You have an equity edge when for every dollar you put in, you get more back in terms of EV.

If you have an equity edge, a raise will make you money. So if the choice is between call/raise and you have an equity edge, it's usually fine to just go ahead and raise. Mathematically speaking, if you have an equity edge, you always have sufficient pot odds to call.

You should use pot odds to make call/fold decisions. For example, if you are getting 5 to 1 on your 11 to 1 gutshot, you should fold. It's often the case that when you are drawing, you have sufficient pot odds, but negative equity. For example, if you are getting 8 to 1 for a 20% to hit draw on the turn. You have negative equity here, but the amount of money in the pot gives you sufficient odds to call. You are paying 80% of your call (you are getting 20% back when you hit) to get 20% of what's in the pot. You win when that 20% is bigger than what you had to pay.