KQo vs 55
Pair against two overcards — the classic coinflip, with the pair a shade ahead.
- KQo Win
- 46.7%
- Tie
- 0.6%
- KQo Lose
- 52.7%
- Card combinations
- 72
- KQo vs random
- 61.5% · #23
- 55 vs random
- 60.3% · #27
Win, tie and loss for KQo
When KQo and 55 get all in before the flop, KQo wins 47.0% of the time and 55 takes 53.0%. Broken down, KQo wins outright 46.7%, chops 0.6% and loses 52.7% — a margin of -6 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 no shared suit the number is 46.6% (for example Ks Qh against 5d 5c); with both suits shared it is 47.5% (Ks Qh against 5s 5h). That is a spread of 0.94 points across the 72 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 KQo 39.4%, 55 37.4%, random 23.3%. KQo gives up 7.6 points and 55 gives up 15.6, 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, KQo is worth 61.5% against a random hand (rank 23 of 169) and 55 is worth 60.3% (rank 27). The gap between them in the ranking is only 1.2 points, yet head to head the gap is 6 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, KQo scoops roughly 47 pots, splits about one, and loses the remaining 53. Against eight random opponents rather than this one specific hand, KQo would be down to 16.7% and 55 to 13.2%, so the shape of this particular confrontation matters far more than either hand's standing in the overall ranking.
From 55's side, 53.0% is the break-even point for calling an all-in at 0.89:1 pot odds. Put another way, the call is profitable as long as the amount you have to put in is less than 53.0% of the pot you are playing for. KQo holds the other 47.0% of that same pot.
Two caveats keep this figure honest. First, it is showdown equity across all 72 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 55 really does hold exactly 55; against the wider range a player would actually get all in with, KQo's 47.0% moves. Use the individual pages for KQo and 55 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 | KQo Equity | Win | Tie | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No shared suit | Ks Qh vs 5d 5c | 12 | 46.6% | 46.3% | 0.5% | 53.2% |
| One shared suit | Ks Qh vs 5s 5d | 48 | 47.0% | 46.7% | 0.6% | 52.7% |
| Both suits shared | Ks Qh vs 5s 5h | 12 | 47.5% | 47.2% | 0.6% | 52.2% |
Who leads on each street, and how often it flips
Exact counts from the 48 unseen cards: all 17,296 flops × 990 turn-and-river pairs, and all 194,580 four-card turns × 44 rivers, for every suit combination — no simulation.
When the three flop cards are out, KQo is ahead 31.4% of the time and 55 68.6%, and the two hands are never level on the flop. "Ahead" means the better best-five-card hand from the cards showing plus the two hole cards; draws are not counted.
When KQo leads on the flop, 55 comes back on the turn and river 10.4% of the time. When 55 leads on the flop, KQo turns it around 27.2% of the time. The hand in front holds on to win 77.5% of the time from the flop and 87.3% from the turn (level spots left out).
With the turn out, KQo leads 39.6% and 55 60.4%. Counted exhaustively, KQo finishes with 46.95% equity (the 47.0% at the top of the page is a 200,000-hand simulation).
| After the flop | How often | KQo wins | Tie | 55 wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KQo ahead | 31.4% | 89.3% | 0.313% | 10.4% |
| Level (same hand) | 0% | Never happens | ||
| 55 ahead | 68.6% | 27.2% | 0.672% | 72.2% |
| After the turn | How often | KQo wins | Tie | 55 wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KQo ahead | 39.6% | 93.4% | 0.402% | 6.19% |
| Level (same hand) | 0% | Never happens | ||
| 55 ahead | 60.4% | 16.0% | 0.663% | 83.3% |
"Ahead" compares the best five-card hands available at that point (draws are not counted). "Flips" is the share of leads that end in a loss, with level spots left out.
Adding a random third hand
200,000 simulated showdowns, with the third hand dealt at random each time.
At a bigger table
| Random opponents | KQo | 55 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61.5% | 60.3% |
| 2 | 44.4% | 40.1% |
| 4 | 29.2% | 22.6% |
| 8 | 16.7% | 13.2% |
Related
FAQ
KQo or 55 — which is ahead preflop?
55 is the favourite. KQo takes 47.0% and 55 53.0%, a margin of 6 points, with 0.6% of hands ending in a chop.
Do the suits change KQo vs 55?
Yes. With no shared suit it is 46.6%, and with both suits shared it is 47.5% — a swing of up to 0.94 points.
What happens three-way?
With one extra random hand in the pot the split is KQo 39.4%, 55 37.4%, random 23.3%. KQo drops 7.6 points compared with heads-up.
How often does the flop leader lose in KQo vs 55?
The hand ahead on the flop goes on to lose 21.9% of the time (level spots left out). When KQo leads, 55 comes back 10.4%. When 55 leads, KQo comes back 27.2%. Exact counts over every flop, turn and river.
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