QQ vs KQs
Pair against one overcard — roughly 70/30 in the pair's favour.
- QQ Win
- 64.2%
- Tie
- 1.2%
- QQ Lose
- 34.6%
- Card combinations
- 12
- QQ vs random
- 79.9% · #3
- KQs vs random
- 63.4% · #16
Win, tie and loss for QQ
When QQ and KQs get all in before the flop, QQ wins 64.8% of the time and KQs takes 35.2%. Broken down, QQ wins outright 64.2%, chops 1.2% and loses 34.6% — a margin of 29.5 points. Pair against one overcard — roughly 70/30 in the pair's favour.
The same matchup shifts depending on how the suits overlap. With no shared suit the number is 64.8% (for example Qs Qh against Kd Qd); with no shared suit it is 64.8% (Qs Qh against Kd Qd). That is a spread of 0 points across the 12 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 QQ 52.2%, KQs 30.7%, random 17.1%. QQ gives up 12.5 points and KQs gives up 4.6, 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, QQ is worth 79.9% against a random hand (rank 3 of 169) and KQs is worth 63.4% (rank 16). The gap between them in the ranking is only 16.5 points, yet head to head the gap is 29.5 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, QQ scoops roughly 64 pots, splits about 1, and loses the remaining 35. Against eight random opponents rather than this one specific hand, QQ would be down to 24.5% and KQs to 20.4%, so the shape of this particular confrontation matters far more than either hand's standing in the overall ranking.
From KQs's side, 35.2% is the break-even point for calling an all-in at 1.84:1 pot odds. Put another way, the call is profitable as long as the amount you have to put in is less than 35.2% of the pot you are playing for. QQ holds the other 64.8% of that same pot.
Two caveats keep this figure honest. First, it is showdown equity across all 12 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 KQs really does hold exactly KQs; against the wider range a player would actually get all in with, QQ's 64.8% moves. Use the individual pages for QQ and KQs 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 | QQ Equity | Win | Tie | Lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No shared suit | Qs Qh vs Kd Qd | 12 | 64.8% | 64.2% | 1.2% | 34.6% |
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, QQ is ahead 81.1% of the time and KQs 18.9%, 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 QQ leads on the flop, KQs comes back on the turn and river 21.8% of the time. When KQs leads on the flop, QQ turns it around 6.42% of the time. The hand in front holds on to win 80.0% of the time from the flop and 88.4% from the turn (level spots left out).
With the turn out, QQ leads 72.9% and KQs 26.9%. Counted exhaustively, QQ finishes with 64.66% equity (the 64.8% at the top of the page is a 200,000-hand simulation).
| After the flop | How often | QQ wins | Tie | KQs wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQ ahead | 81.1% | 77.5% | 0.751% | 21.8% |
| Level (same hand) | 0% | Never happens | ||
| KQs ahead | 18.9% | 6.42% | 2.95% | 90.6% |
| After the turn | How often | QQ wins | Tie | KQs wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQ ahead | 72.9% | 86.4% | 0.553% | 13.0% |
| Level (same hand) | 0.194% | 2.38% | 94.6% | 3.02% |
| KQs ahead | 26.9% | 3.95% | 2.15% | 93.9% |
"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 | KQs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 79.9% | 63.4% |
| 2 | 65.0% | 47.2% |
| 4 | 44.9% | 32.3% |
| 8 | 24.5% | 20.4% |
Related
FAQ
QQ or KQs — which is ahead preflop?
QQ is the favourite. QQ takes 64.8% and KQs 35.2%, a margin of 29.5 points, with 1.2% of hands ending in a chop.
Do the suits change QQ vs KQs?
Yes. With no shared suit it is 64.8%, and with no shared suit it is 64.8% — a swing of up to 0 points.
What happens three-way?
With one extra random hand in the pot the split is QQ 52.2%, KQs 30.7%, random 17.1%. QQ drops 12.5 points compared with heads-up.
How often does the flop leader lose in QQ vs KQs?
The hand ahead on the flop goes on to lose 18.9% of the time (level spots left out). When QQ leads, KQs comes back 21.8%. When KQs leads, QQ comes back 6.42%. Exact counts over every flop, turn and river.
428 words / 28 distinct figures — Method