Updated In September, 2023 – Obviously, no one can memorize the odds for every match-up in online Texas Hold’em. However, every experienced poker player knows that certain situations arise time and time again. So, if you don’t know the chances of winning with a nine-five offsuit against a seven-two offsuit, you will probably survive (by the way, the nine-five wins 64.5% of the time). However, if you’re unsure of how a small pair fares against ace-king, you’re at a considerable disadvantage. This page covers some of the most common match-ups for when you go allin in Texas Hold’em at an online poker room.
Numbers are hard to remember for most human beings so we’ve provided a few simple rules that take care of the most important situations. But for those players whose favorite class in high school was algebra, we’ve sprinkled some numbers in for you. Below I have added links to more poker articles that you will likely find interesting.
The pair’s advantage over two (unsuited) overcards falls somewhere between 5 and 14 percent. A variety of factors contribute to the difference: the suits of the cards involved, as well as the chances that the hands have of making a straight. Because of these variables, the percentages given below are only approximations
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-King |
47% |
2-2 |
53% |
Ace-King |
45% |
7-7 |
55% |
Ace-King |
43% |
Queen-Queen |
57% |
King-Jack |
49% |
2-2 |
51% |
King-Jack |
46% |
7-7 |
54% |
King-Jack |
43% |
10-10 |
57% |
Jack-Ten |
48% |
2-2 |
52% |
Jack-Ten |
48% |
7-7 |
52% |
Jack-Ten |
46% |
9-9 |
54% |
Ace-Seven |
47% |
2-2 |
53% |
Ace-Seven |
43% |
6-6 |
57% |
The situation where one hand dominates another is commonly referred to in hold’em, and is used to describe two situations. A hand is said to dominate another when it shares one card with another hand, but has a side card that outranks the other hand’s side card. The other situation in which a hand is dominated is when one player holds a pair of equal or greater rank as the smaller card in the opponent’s hand.
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-King |
74% |
Ace-Queen |
26% |
Ace-King |
74% |
Ace-2 |
26% |
Ace-7 |
63% |
Ace-2 |
37% |
Ace-7 |
69% |
8-7 |
31% |
Queen-Jack |
73% |
Queen-10 |
27% |
Queen-Jack |
74% |
Jack-Ten |
26% |
King-King |
70% |
Ace-King |
30% |
King-King |
72% |
Ace-Queen |
28% |
Ace-7 |
70% |
7-7 |
30% |
Ace-7 |
29% |
9-9 |
71% |
Jack-Ten |
35% |
10-10 |
65% |
10-8 |
70% |
9-9 |
30% |
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How often have you folded hand after hand waiting to pick up something playable, then finally find ace-king and lose with it? If it seems like it happens to you all the time, you’re not alone. It happens to everybody. The beauty of ace-king is that it’s a favorite against virtually every hand, and the few hands it’s an underdog to, it’s only a slightly behind (with the exception of pocket aces and kings). The flip side of the equation is that it’s never a prohibitive favorite either. Sure, you win more often with ace-king than you lose with it, but you still lose more than it seems like you should. A look at the table below shows the numbers.
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-King |
66% |
3-2 |
34% |
Ace-King |
67% |
7-2 |
33% |
Ace-King |
63% |
Jack-10 |
37% |
Ace-King |
65% |
Queen-Jack |
35% |
Queen-Jack |
66% |
10-9 |
34% |
Queen-Jack |
69% |
7-2 |
31% |
Queen-Jack |
67% |
3-2 |
33% |
If you watch poker on television, you know how aggressive players act when they hold an ace in a shorthanded game. This is because the strength of your hand heads up is determined primarily by the biggest card in your hand. Consequently, even an ace with a small side card is a favorite over every unpaired hand that doesn’t have an ace with a bigger side card. If you’re only playing against a couple players, there’s a pretty good chance that’s the case.
Of course, there’s another reason to play ace-rag hands strong: the hands they are favoured against are only a small favorite. So if you raise pre-flop and steal the blinds with these hands, it’s a great outcome.
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-Queen |
63% |
King-Jack |
37% |
Ace-Jack |
59% |
King-Queen |
41% |
Ace-2 |
55% |
Jack-Ten |
45% |
Ace-2 |
56% |
5-4 |
44% |
King-10 |
65% |
Queen-8 |
35% |
King-10 |
60% |
Queen-Jack |
40% |
Jack-Ten |
48% |
2-2 |
52% |
Jack-Ten |
48% |
7-7 |
52% |
Jack-Ten |
46% |
9-9 |
54% |
Ace-Seven |
47% |
2-2 |
53% |
Ace-Seven |
43% |
6-6 |
57% |
Pre-flop: this is really the only situation in hold’em where one player is a prohibitive favorite over the other. For a couple of reasons though, it’s a situation that occurs infrequently. As experienced players know, big hands in hold’em are reasonably rare. And in order for two players to be all-in pre-flop , a big hand generally has to be dealt to two people. Secondly, one of the hands has to be a big pair which is rare in of itself and when one player holds two aces or kings, it significantly reduces the chances that another player has a very strong hand (since the most common big hand is ace-king).
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-Ace |
82% |
King-King |
18% |
Ace-Ace |
80% |
7-7 |
20% |
Ace-Ace |
93% |
Ace-King |
7% |
Ace-Ace |
81% |
10-9 |
19% |
10-10 |
82% |
2-2 |
18% |
10-10 |
87% |
10-9 |
13% |
10-10 |
81% |
5-4 |
19% |
Though this may not seem like a significant change, in poker, where almost all edges are small, 5% is a significant difference. Sometimes, this small difference determines whether one should call or fold.
Hand 1 |
Hand 1 Win % |
Hand 2 |
Hand 2 Win% |
Ace-King Suited |
75% |
Ace-Queen |
25% |
Ace-King |
70% |
Ace-Queen Suited |
30% |
King-King |
66% |
Ace-King Suited |
34% |
King-King |
68% |
Ace-Queen Suited |
32% |
Ace-Ace |
77% |
8-7 Suited |
23% |
Ace-Queen Suited |
66% |
King-9 |
34% |
Ace-Queen |
60% |
King-9 Suited |
40% |
Ace-10 Suited |
62% |
King-Queen |
38% |
Ace-10 |
57% |
King-Queen Suited |
43% |
Ace-6 |
51% |
Jack-Ten Suited |
49% |
Ace-6 Suited |
56% |
Jack-Ten |
44% |
Ace-King Suited |
64% |
8-7 |
36% |
Ace-King |
59% |
8-7 Suited |
41% |