What is poker insurance?

In an all-in pot, the player who is ahead can pay a small amount to insure the pot against the next card. If one of the other players' outs comes, the insurer pays them the amount they bought times the odds for that number of outs. If no out comes, they keep the pot but lose what they paid.

How much insurance can I buy?

At most the pot divided by the odds. With a 1,000 pot and 2 outs at odds of 15, the most you can buy is 66.66.

What happens if I buy insurance and win?

You keep the pot, minus what you paid for the insurance. Buying 50 on a 1,000 pot leaves you 950.

Does insurance work with side pots?

Yes. Enter what each player bets on each street and who goes all in or folds, and the main pot and side pots are worked out. Each pot is insured on its own: the player ahead among the players in that pot can insure it against their outs.

Poker Insurance Cal.

🚧 In progress: we're still working on this tool. You can try it, but some parts may change.

How poker insurance works

Insurance is only for all-in pots. Once everyone is all in, the player who is ahead can buy insurance against the next card.

Count the outs: the cards that would put another player in that pot ahead.

Look up the odds for that number of outs (1 to 18) in your odds table.

Buy up to the pot ÷ odds. If an out comes, you're paid what you bought × the odds. If not, you keep the pot and the insurance is lost.

Example: AA against KK, all in before the flop, $1,000 pot.

KK has 2 outs (the last two kings).

At odds of 15, the AA player can buy up to $1,000 ÷ 15 = $66.66.

They buy $50 and a king comes: they're paid $50 × 15 = $750.

No king comes: they win the pot but the $50 is gone, leaving $950.

Recording the hand: pick each player's cards, then enter the bets street by street. A pop-up opens as each street starts (or tap ✎ Bets). Tick All-in or Fold as it happens.

The main pot and side pots are worked out from the bets and shown on the right of the table.

Chips of a player who folded stay in the pot, but they can't win it. A bet nobody called goes back to the player.

Example: P1 is all in pre-flop for 300 and P2 and P3 call. On the flop P2 bets 100 and P3 calls. On the turn P2 goes all in for 200 and P3 folds. Main pot 900 (P1, P2), side pot 200 to P2, and P2's last 200 goes back to P2.

Insurance opens when the betting is over: everyone left is all in, or only one player still has chips.

The outs against the player ahead in each pot are shown on the left of the table.

Each pot is insured on its own, by the player ahead among the players in that pot.

Break-even buy is the amount that pays back the leader's own share of the pot if an out comes.

Settle up: enter what the player ahead buys on each street. Once all five cards are out (or everyone else folds), you see who takes each pot, how every insurance deal ended, and what each player and the host win or lose.

Frequently asked questions

Why are cards that split the pot not outs?

An out is a card that makes the insured player lose. A card that only ties still gives them their share, so it isn't counted. The calculator lists those cards separately.

Why is there no insurance with more than 18 outs?

With that many outs the player is barely ahead, so the odds would be below 1. Insurance tables stop at 18 outs.

Can I insure on the flop and again on the turn?

Yes. Insurance is for the next card only. Add the next card to the board and the calculator works out the new outs and odds.

Poker Insurance Cal.

Set up your odds

All-in players

Insurance

Settle up

Pre-flop bets