98s vs 22
Pair against two overcards — the classic coinflip, with the pair a shade ahead.
- 98s Win
- 52.5%
- Tie
- 2.0%
- 98s Lose
- 45.5%
- Card combinations
- 24
- 98s vs random
- 50.8% · #83
- 22 vs random
- 50.2% · #88
Win, tie and loss for 98s
When 98s and 22 get all in before the flop, 98s wins 53.5% of the time and 22 takes 46.5%. Broken down, 98s wins outright 52.5%, chops 2.0% and loses 45.5% — a margin of 7 points. Pair against two overcards — the classic coinflip, with the pair a shade ahead.
The same matchup shifts depending on how the suits overlap. With one shared suit the number is 53.4% (for example 9s 8s against 2s 2h); with no shared suit it is 53.5% (9s 8s against 2h 2d). That is a spread of 0.1 points across the 24 distinct card combinations, and it comes almost entirely from whether the two hands are fighting over the same flush.
Add a third player holding a random hand and the split becomes 98s 39.2%, 22 29.5%, random 31.3%. 98s gives up 14.3 points and 22 gives up 17, so the underdog loses more than the favourite does. Extra players always eat into the leader's share faster than into anyone else's.
Taken on their own, 98s is worth 50.8% against a random hand (rank 83 of 169) and 22 is worth 50.2% (rank 88). The gap between them in the ranking is only 0.6 points, yet head to head the gap is 7 points — a reminder that a ranking table and a direct matchup are two different questions.
Framed as a run of one hundred identical all-ins, 98s scoops roughly 52 pots, splits about 2, and loses the remaining 46. Against eight random opponents rather than this one specific hand, 98s would be down to 14.4% and 22 to 12.5%, so the shape of this particular confrontation matters far more than either hand's standing in the overall ranking.
From 22's side, 46.5% is the break-even point for calling an all-in at 1.15:1 pot odds. Put another way, the call is profitable as long as the amount you have to put in is less than 46.5% of the pot you are playing for. 98s holds the other 53.5% of that same pot.
Two caveats keep this figure honest. First, it is showdown equity across all 24 card combinations with five board cards still to come — there is no fold equity in it, so the value of shoving in practice is usually higher than the raw percentage suggests. Second, it assumes 22 really does hold exactly 22; against the wider range a player would actually get all in with, 98s's 53.5% moves. Use the individual pages for 98s and 22 to see how each of them fares against all 168 other holdings before treating this single pairing as the whole picture.
Overlapping suits move the number
200,000 simulated showdowns per condition. The example column shows one concrete four-card layout.
| Condition | Example | Combos | 98s Equity | Win | Tie | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No shared suit | 9s 8s vs 2h 2d | 12 | 53.5% | 52.5% | 2.0% | 45.5% |
| One shared suit | 9s 8s vs 2s 2h | 12 | 53.4% | 52.4% | 2.0% | 45.6% |
Adding a random third hand
200,000 simulated showdowns, with the third hand dealt at random each time.
At a bigger table
| Random opponents | 98s | 22 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50.8% | 50.2% |
| 2 | 36.2% | 30.2% |
| 4 | 23.6% | 17.8% |
| 8 | 14.4% | 12.5% |
Related
FAQ
98s or 22 — which is ahead preflop?
98s is the favourite. 98s takes 53.5% and 22 46.5%, a margin of 7 points, with 2.0% of hands ending in a chop.
Do the suits change 98s vs 22?
Yes. With one shared suit it is 53.4%, and with no shared suit it is 53.5% — a swing of up to 0.1 points.
What happens three-way?
With one extra random hand in the pot the split is 98s 39.2%, 22 29.5%, random 31.3%. 98s drops 14.3 points compared with heads-up.
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