Stack-to-pot ratio calculator
Enter both stacks and the pot on the flop. See the stack-to-pot ratio, how many bets it takes to get all the money in, and which hands it suits.
Use dollars or big blinds, the same unit for all three.
That is more streets than there are after the flop, so at this size some money stays behind.
A deep ratio. Even three pot-size bets leave money behind. One pair is rarely worth all of it, and the hands that can make the best possible hand gain the most.
How the figure is worked out
The stack-to-pot ratio is the smaller of the two stacks left behind, divided by the pot on the flop. Only the smaller stack can change hands, which is why the calculator uses it.
A pot-size bet that gets called makes the pot three times bigger. So one pot-size bet gets all the money in at a ratio of 1, two at 4 and three at 13. That is where the lines on this page come from: up to 4 the money goes in by the turn, up to 13 by the river, and above 13 some of it stays behind.
The ratio is set before the flop, by the size of the raise. With 100 big blinds each, a raise to 3 big blinds that the big blind calls makes a pot of 6.5 big blinds with 97 behind: a ratio of about 15. A raise to 10 that gets called makes a pot of 20.5 with 90 behind: about 4.4. The same top pair is a different hand in those two pots.
Questions
What is a good stack-to-pot ratio?
There is no good or bad one. It decides which hands want all the money. With a low ratio, top pair is usually strong enough to put it all in. With a deep one it is not, and the hands that can make the best possible hand gain the most.
How do I change the ratio?
With the size of the raise before the flop. A bigger raise makes a bigger pot and leaves less behind, so the ratio on the flop is lower.
Why the smaller stack?
Only the smaller of the two stacks can be won or lost in the hand, so the ratio uses the smaller one.