Nov 07, 2018 Improve your poker game with AK Poker Odds Calculator. It lets you calculate the winning probability of your hand. Increase your chances to win by seeing the probabilities. Features: - calculate odds for up to 10 players - accurate results for both specified and unspecified players cards - simulation of tens of thousands of hands - showing tie odds - fast computation - buttons for adding. Mar 16, 2009 In poker the odds for ak vs any pocket pair? I just went at cardplayer.com and I used their calculator and found out that qq vs ak was 56.55% 43%. Is this right? I thought they were suppose to be near coinflips. Cause thats what I always hear on t.v when those 2 hands go against each other, even against any pocket pair the pockets will have a.
Pocket queens and ace king are two hands with very similar equity. As a result of the similar equity, players often find themselves in situations where they are unsure what to do when holding QQ or AK. There will be a number of spots where your opponent too could be holding either AK or QQ.
As a general rule of thumb, it is better to have QQ than it is to have AK. If you happen to run up against AA or KK when holding AK, you don’t have the greatest of odds. Now, if you have QQ against AA or KK, you are still a sizable underdog, but catching up is within the realm of possibilities.
The true dilemmas with these two hands is almost always found pre flop. These are the borderline hands where it could be ok to go all in, but it could also be ok to fold against some major pressure. The limits and flow of the game you are in will help in determining what the proper play is, but these hands will remain tricky nonetheless.
QQ is a hand where you could think “Wow, he folded QQ?!?!,” but also think, “Why didn’t he fold QQ,” the very next hand. As is often the case with poker, QQ and AK are situational hands that depend on a number of variables.
Your Position and Your Opponent’s Position
If you are in late position and are holding QQ or AK, consider yourself lucky. Position will almost always make playing a hand that much easier. QQ or AK can be particularly dangerous when out of position because they can be bullied around. When you get to play these hands in later position you will also have the advantage of fold equity.
You could decide to go all in without worrying about having the best hand at showdown. Sometimes forcing a fold is just as good as getting a call, especially when the only hands that will call are likely to have you beat.
An Example With QQ (or AK)
Imagine that you are under the gun (first to act) and are dealt pocket queens. Your initial reaction will be that you have a great hand to play, and this would be spot on. The standard play would be to make an open raise, usually to something around 4x the big blind.
The real action, though, will come after your initial raise. If the other players simply call your raise or elect to fold and get out of the way, there isn’t a lot of thinking required on your end. When you get re raised, however, it can be quite difficult to accurately determine what the best play is.
On one hand you have pocket queens, a very strong hand, but on the other hand you will be crushed by AA or KK and are chopping the pot with AK. You need to then decide whether your opponent would re raise with nothing or a hand that you just barely have beat.
There is a very legitimate chance that a player who has position will either make a light three bet or raise your bet with a hand like TT or JJ. Your job is to identify whether you are likely ahead or behind and how you should play the remainder of the hand. If you think that you are ahead, you should try and get all of the money in the middle before the flop is even dealt.
The problem with this, though, is that you will often force a fold from the only hands that will three bet you yet still be behind pocket queens. On occasion, and depending on the particular game, you will be able to get a player all in with AQ, JJ, or even TT. These will be the only times where getting QQ is very profitable in the long run.
If you open pre flop with QQ, are three bet, and then decide to flat call, you are still going to have a lot of issues after the flop. If an ace or a king comes you will need to analyze whether or not your hand is still the best. Plus, even if it is the best hand, your opponent will be able to easily represent an ace or a king.
In addition to this is the fact that you will now struggle to extract value from your once strong pocket pair. As you can see, there truly are never ending land mines with pocket queens. Though this example used QQ as the pre flop hand, the similarities between QQ and AK are evidenced in that AK would be played almost the exact same way. Your approach with QQ and AK should seldom be different and you will always need to adjust to the exact circumstances.
Fold Equity
QQ and AK are typically worthy of some big pre flop action regardless of whether or not you end up going all in. If you do decide to go all in pre flop, try to ensure that you are putting in the last bet. The odds of profitability increase dramatically with QQ or AK when you are the one placing the last bet or raise vs. calling the last bet or raise. The reason for this is because you will be able to force folds on occasion.
When this happens you will be able to take down the pot without any need to see the board. Beyond this, when you are the last player to make a bet you will get more calls from weaker hands. It is rare for a player to call off their stack with AK or QQ and have someone completely dominated, though it certainly does happen. In the end, you could be ahead with AK or QQ whether you are placing the last bet or calling the last bet, but your profitability and win rate will be much higher when you take the last initiative.
Poker Odds Ak Vs Ak Suited
Further Reading:
- Also check out our post, How to Play Pocket Queens for further discussion on playing QQ.
Poker Odds Ak Vs Ak Vs
Example drawing to | Outs | Make on turn | Make on river | Make on turn or river | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prob. | Odds | Prob. | Odds | Prob. | Odds | ||
Inside straight flush; Four of a kind | 1 | 0.0213 | 46.0-1 | 0.0217 | 45.0-1 | 0.0426 | 22.5-1 |
Open-ended straight flush; Three of a kind | 2 | 0.0426 | 22.5-1 | 0.0435 | 22.0-1 | 0.0842 | 10.9-1 |
High pair | 3 | 0.0638 | 14.7-1 | 0.0652 | 14.3-1 | 0.1249 | 7.01-1 |
Inside straight; Full house | 4 | 0.0851 | 10.8-1 | 0.0870 | 10.5-1 | 0.1647 | 5.07-1 |
Three of a kind or two pair | 5 | 0.1064 | 8.40-1 | 0.1087 | 8.20-1 | 0.2035 | 3.91-1 |
Either pair | 6 | 0.1277 | 6.83-1 | 0.1304 | 6.67-1 | 0.2414 | 3.14-1 |
Full house or four of a kind; (see note) Inside straight or high pair | 7 | 0.1489 | 5.71-1 | 0.1522 | 5.57-1 | 0.2784 | 2.59-1 |
Open-ended straight | 8 | 0.1702 | 4.88-1 | 0.1739 | 4.75-1 | 0.3145 | 2.18-1 |
Flush | 9 | 0.1915 | 4.22-1 | 0.1957 | 4.11-1 | 0.3497 | 1.86-1 |
Inside straight or pair | 10 | 0.2128 | 3.70-1 | 0.2174 | 3.60-1 | 0.3839 | 1.60-1 |
Open-ended straight or high pair | 11 | 0.2340 | 3.27-1 | 0.2391 | 3.18-1 | 0.4172 | 1.40-1 |
Inside straight or flush; Flush or high pair | 12 | 0.2553 | 2.92-1 | 0.2609 | 2.83-1 | 0.4496 | 1.22-1 |
13 | 0.2766 | 2.62-1 | 0.2826 | 2.54-1 | 0.4810 | 1.08-1 | |
Open-ended straight or pair | 14 | 0.2979 | 2.36-1 | 0.3043 | 2.29-1 | 0.5116 | 0.955-1 |
Open-ended straight or flush; Flush or pair; Inside straight, flush or high pair | 15 | 0.3191 | 2.13-1 | 0.3261 | 2.07-1 | 0.5412 | 0.848-1 |
16 | 0.3404 | 1.94-1 | 0.3478 | 1.88-1 | 0.5698 | 0.755-1 | |
17 | 0.3617 | 1.76-1 | 0.3696 | 1.71-1 | 0.5976 | 0.673-1 | |
Inside straight or flush or pair; Open-ended straight, flush or high pair | 18 | 0.3830 | 1.61-1 | 0.3913 | 1.56-1 | 0.6244 | 0.601-1 |
19 | 0.4043 | 1.47-1 | 0.4130 | 1.42-1 | 0.6503 | 0.538-1 | |
20 | 0.4255 | 1.35-1 | 0.4348 | 1.30-1 | 0.6753 | 0.481-1 | |
Open-ended straight, flush or pair | 21 | 0.4468 | 1.24-1 | 0.4565 | 1.19-1 | 0.6994 | 0.430-1 |