KQs vs KJo
Domination — a shared rank turns this into a kicker fight, and kicker fights are lopsided.
- KQs Win
- 72.1%
- Tie
- 5.4%
- KQs Lose
- 22.5%
- Card combinations
- 36
- KQs vs random
- 63.4% · #16
- KJo vs random
- 60.5% · #26
Win, tie and loss for KQs
When KQs and KJo get all in before the flop, KQs wins 74.8% of the time and KJo takes 25.2%. Broken down, KQs wins outright 72.1%, chops 5.4% and loses 22.5% — a margin of 49.6 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 one shared suit the number is 74.6% (for example Ks Qs against Kh Js); with no shared suit it is 74.9% (Ks Qs against Kh Jd). That is a spread of 0.34 points across the 36 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 KQs 47.7%, KJo 20.8%, random 31.5%. KQs gives up 27.1 points and KJo gives up 4.4, 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, KQs is worth 63.4% against a random hand (rank 16 of 169) and KJo is worth 60.5% (rank 26). The gap between them in the ranking is only 2.9 points, yet head to head the gap is 49.6 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, KQs scoops roughly 72 pots, splits about 5, and loses the remaining 22. Against eight random opponents rather than this one specific hand, KQs would be down to 20.4% 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, 25.2% is the break-even point for calling an all-in at 2.97:1 pot odds. Put another way, the call is profitable as long as the amount you have to put in is less than 25.2% of the pot you are playing for. KQs holds the other 74.8% of that same pot.
Two caveats keep this figure honest. First, it is showdown equity across all 36 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, KQs's 74.8% moves. Use the individual pages for KQs 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 | KQs Equity | Win | Tie | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No shared suit | Ks Qs vs Kh Jd | 24 | 74.9% | 72.2% | 5.4% | 22.4% |
| One shared suit | Ks Qs vs Kh Js | 12 | 74.6% | 71.8% | 5.5% | 22.7% |
Adding a random third hand
200,000 simulated showdowns, with the third hand dealt at random each time.
At a bigger table
| Random opponents | KQs | KJo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63.4% | 60.5% |
| 2 | 47.2% | 43.2% |
| 4 | 32.3% | 27.9% |
| 8 | 20.4% | 15.8% |
Related
FAQ
KQs or KJo — which is ahead preflop?
KQs is the favourite. KQs takes 74.8% and KJo 25.2%, a margin of 49.6 points, with 5.4% of hands ending in a chop.
Do the suits change KQs vs KJo?
Yes. With one shared suit it is 74.6%, and with no shared suit it is 74.9% — a swing of up to 0.34 points.
What happens three-way?
With one extra random hand in the pot the split is KQs 47.7%, KJo 20.8%, random 31.5%. KQs drops 27.1 points compared with heads-up.
433 words / 29 distinct figures — Method