AK vs QQ: Odds, Equity and How to Play It
Before the flop, pocket queens are a 57% favourite over ace-king offsuit and a 54% favourite over ace-king suited.
So AK vs QQ is close, but it is not a coin flip. Counting a split pot as half a win, AK has 43.2% offsuit and 46.0% suited, and 0.4% of boards are a split.
The odds for every suit combination
Most odds charts give one number for AK vs QQ. There are 6 different ways the suits can fall, and between the best and the worst for AK there are 3.4 points.
| Suits | Dealt | AK | Split | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK suited, any suits | 24 | 46.0% | 54.0% | 0.4% |
| AK suited, sharing its suit with the queens(A♥K♥ v Q♥Q♦) | 12 | 45.9% | 54.1% | 0.5% |
| AK suited, in a suit the queens don’t have(A♥K♥ v Q♦Q♠) | 12 | 46.2% | 53.8% | 0.4% |
| AK offsuit, any suits | 72 | 43.2% | 56.8% | 0.4% |
| AK offsuit, only the king shares a suit with the queens(A♥K♦ v Q♦Q♠) | 24 | 43.2% | 56.8% | 0.4% |
| AK offsuit, only the ace shares a suit with the queens(A♥K♦ v Q♥Q♠) | 24 | 43.2% | 56.8% | 0.4% |
| AK offsuit, both suits shared with the queens(A♥K♦ v Q♥Q♦) | 12 | 43.6% | 56.4% | 0.5% |
| AK offsuit, no suits shared(A♥K♦ v Q♠Q♣) | 12 | 42.8% | 57.2% | 0.3% |
AK and QQ: each hand’s share of the pot, counting a split as half a win. Split: how often the board splits the pot. Dealt: how many of the 96 ways to deal these two hands fall that way.
- Suited AK gains 2.8 points because it can make a flush with both of its own cards.
- Offsuit AK does worst when it shares no suits with the queens (42.8%) and best when it shares both (43.6%). In a shared suit, any flush the queens make, AK makes a higher one with its own ace or king of that suit.
- Suited AK does slightly better when the queens hold none of its suit (46.2% against 45.9%), because all 11 other cards of the suit are still in the deck.
How the flop changes it
These use A♥K♦ against Q♠Q♣, the deal with no shared suits, where AK starts at 42.8%. Each flop counts all 990 turn and river cards.
- A♠A7♣72♦2
AK 91.2%
QQ 8.8%AK pairs its ace and jumps to 91%. The queens need one of the two queens left, or two perfect cards.
- 9♠96♣64♦4
AK 23.9%
QQ 76.1%Nothing for AK. It needs an ace or a king, six cards in all, and is down to 24%.
- J♣JT♦T3♠3
AK 28.7%
QQ 71.3%AK picks up a gutshot: either of the two queens QQ doesn’t hold makes it a straight. With the aces and kings that is 8 outs, and 29%.
- Q♦Q8♣82♠2
AK 1.6%
QQ 98.4%QQ makes three queens. AK is almost drawing dead at 1.6%.
- 7♥76♥65♥5
AK 52.7%
QQ 47.3%The surprise. AK holds the ace of hearts and the queens hold no heart, so any heart on the turn or river gives AK the best flush. Now AK is the favourite, at 53%.
Deal your own flop
Pick one of the flops above, or deal a random one. The odds are worked out on the spot, over every turn and river.
AK
Flop
AK 43%, QQ 57% before the flop
Against a range, not just queens
At the table you rarely know it is exactly QQ. Say an opponent only goes all in with QQ, KK or AA. Because you hold an ace and a king, they can have queens 6 ways, but kings and aces only 3 ways each.
Against that range AK has 31.8%: 30.9% offsuit and 34.6% suited. Against kings alone it has 31.1%, and against aces 8.2%.
So whether to call an all-in with AK depends on what else that player would go all in with. Every weaker hand in their range, like AQ or JJ, adds to your share.
How to play AK against QQ
After the flop, AK is a hand that hits or misses. On the 9-6-4 flop above it has 24% and is behind any pair. On the ace-high flop it has 91%.
That is why AK plays best when all five cards get dealt: all in before the flop, it keeps its whole 43.2%. Called on the flop after a miss, it is usually drawing to six outs. The preflop trainer drills when AK and QQ are worth an all-in, by seat and stack size.
Know what to play from every seat
The free Preflop Pack: printable opening and all-in charts, the same ones the trainer drills.
Questions people ask
Is AK vs QQ a coin flip?
Nearly, but QQ is the favourite: 57% against ace-king offsuit and 54% against ace-king suited. Players call it a race.
How much does being suited help AK against QQ?
It adds 2.8 points: AK has 46.0% suited against 43.2% offsuit, counting a split pot as half a win.
What are the odds of AK against QQ, KK or AA?
If an opponent only goes all in with queens, kings or aces, AK has 31.8%. Against kings alone it has 31.1%, and against aces 8.2%.
How this was worked out: PokerLeap’s equity engine played out every one of the 1,712,304 possible five-card boards for each of the 6 suit combinations, so these figures are exact, not simulated. A split pot counts as half a win. The flop examples count all 990 turn and river cards.