KQo vs KJo
Domination — a shared rank turns this into a kicker fight, and kicker fights are lopsided.
- KQo Win
- 71.0%
- Tie
- 5.7%
- KQo Lose
- 23.3%
- Card combinations
- 108
- KQo vs random
- 61.5% · #23
- KJo vs random
- 60.5% · #26
Win, tie and loss for KQo
When KQo and KJo get all in before the flop, KQo wins 73.9% of the time and KJo takes 26.1%. Broken down, KQo wins outright 71.0%, chops 5.7% and loses 23.3% — a margin of 47.8 points. Domination — a shared rank turns this into a kicker fight, and kicker fights are lopsided.
The same matchup shifts depending on how the suits overlap. With no shared suit the number is 73.7% (for example Ks Qh against Kd Jc); with both suits shared it is 74.2% (Ks Qh against Kh Js). That is a spread of 0.54 points across the 108 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 44.9%, KJo 21.6%, random 33.5%. KQo gives up 29 points and KJo gives up 4.5, so the favourite loses more than the underdog 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 KJo is worth 60.5% (rank 26). The gap between them in the ranking is only 1 points, yet head to head the gap is 47.8 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 71 pots, splits about 6, and loses the remaining 23. Against eight random opponents rather than this one specific hand, KQo would be down to 16.7% and KJo to 15.8%, so the shape of this particular confrontation matters far more than either hand's standing in the overall ranking.
From KJo's side, 26.1% is the break-even point for calling an all-in at 2.83:1 pot odds. Put another way, the call is profitable as long as the amount you have to put in is less than 26.1% of the pot you are playing for. KQo holds the other 73.9% of that same pot.
Two caveats keep this figure honest. First, it is showdown equity across all 108 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 KJo really does hold exactly KJo; against the wider range a player would actually get all in with, KQo's 73.9% moves. Use the individual pages for KQo and KJo 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 Kd Jc | 24 | 73.7% | 70.9% | 5.6% | 23.5% |
| One shared suit | Ks Qh vs Kh Jd | 72 | 73.9% | 71.1% | 5.7% | 23.2% |
| Both suits shared | Ks Qh vs Kh Js | 12 | 74.2% | 71.3% | 5.8% | 22.9% |
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 84.3% of the time and KJo 15.7%, 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, KJo comes back on the turn and river 13.4% of the time. When KJo leads on the flop, KQo turns it around 22.6% of the time. The hand in front holds on to win 79.5% of the time from the flop and 86.5% from the turn (level spots left out).
With the turn out, KQo leads 79.1% and KJo 19.6%. Counted exhaustively, KQo finishes with 73.96% equity (the 73.9% at the top of the page is a 200,000-hand simulation).
| After the flop | How often | KQo wins | Tie | KJo wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KQo ahead | 84.3% | 80.2% | 6.40% | 13.4% |
| Level (same hand) | 0% | Never happens | ||
| KJo ahead | 15.7% | 22.6% | 1.35% | 76.0% |
| After the turn | How often | KQo wins | Tie | KJo wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KQo ahead | 79.1% | 86.6% | 5.43% | 7.97% |
| Level (same hand) | 1.37% | 9.92% | 84.0% | 6.09% |
| KJo ahead | 19.6% | 13.0% | 0.806% | 86.2% |
"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 | KJo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61.5% | 60.5% |
| 2 | 44.4% | 43.2% |
| 4 | 29.2% | 27.9% |
| 8 | 16.7% | 15.8% |
Related
FAQ
KQo or KJo — which is ahead preflop?
KQo is the favourite. KQo takes 73.9% and KJo 26.1%, a margin of 47.8 points, with 5.7% of hands ending in a chop.
Do the suits change KQo vs KJo?
Yes. With no shared suit it is 73.7%, and with both suits shared it is 74.2% — a swing of up to 0.54 points.
What happens three-way?
With one extra random hand in the pot the split is KQo 44.9%, KJo 21.6%, random 33.5%. KQo drops 29 points compared with heads-up.
How often does the flop leader lose in KQo vs KJo?
The hand ahead on the flop goes on to lose 14.8% of the time (level spots left out). When KQo leads, KJo comes back 13.4%. When KJo leads, KQo comes back 22.6%. Exact counts over every flop, turn and river.
433 words / 27 distinct figures — Method