--- title: "53s Combos: Count, Blockers, Board Pairs" url: "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/53s.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/53s" last_updated: "2026-10-21" type: "reference" summary: "53s is 4 combos of the 1,326 starting hands (0.30%). See how a known card or a board pair changes the count, plus its rank and equity." related: ["https://georgelipoker.com/combos.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/65o.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/63s.md"] --- # 53s Combos: Count, Blockers, Board Pairs 53s is 4 combos of the 1,326 starting hands (0.30%). See how a known card or a board pair changes the count, plus its rank and equity. 53s is 4 combos out of the 1,326 possible two-card starting hands, or 0.30% of all deals. By equity against a random hand (39.69%) it ranks number 146 of the 169 starting-hand classes. - Combos: 4 - Share of 1,326: 0.30% - Rank of 169: 146 - Equity vs random: 39.69% - This hand and stronger: 83.41% ## 53s: the 4 combos A suited hand needs both cards in one suit, so each of the 4 suits gives exactly 1 combo: 4 in all. Here is every one of the 4 combos, written as the two cards you would see. Clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades each appear in the way the count above requires. The 4 combos of 53s: 5s 3s, 5h 3h, 5d 3d, 5c 3c. ## How cards you can see change the count Seeing a card changes which hands are possible. Here is the count of 53s combos that remain after you hold, or the board shows, one card of each rank. 53s combos left after one known card of each rank: | Known card | 53s combos left | | --- | --- | | Ace | 4 | | King | 4 | | Queen | 4 | | Jack | 4 | | Ten | 4 | | Nine | 4 | | Eight | 4 | | Seven | 4 | | Six | 4 | | Five | 3 | | Four | 4 | | Three | 3 | | Two | 4 | Holding a five or a three takes 53s from 4 combos down to 3, a cut of 25%. Any card of a different rank leaves all 4 combos in play. ## When the board is paired A paired board shows two cards of one rank, and those two cards cannot be in an opponent's hand either. The table shows the 53s combos left when the board holds a pair of each rank. 53s combos left after a pair of each rank on the board: | Board pair | 53s combos left | | --- | --- | | Aces | 4 | | Kings | 4 | | Queens | 4 | | Jacks | 4 | | Tens | 4 | | Nines | 4 | | Eights | 4 | | Sevens | 4 | | Sixes | 4 | | Fives | 2 | | Fours | 4 | | Threes | 2 | | Twos | 4 | Fives or threes paired on the board leave 2 combos of 53s, and no other pair changes the count of 4. ## A worked example You hold a five and a two. Your opponent's hand is one of 1,225 equally likely two-card holdings. 3 of them are 53s, which is 0.24%, or about 1 in 408. If your two cards had nothing to do with 53s, the same hand would have 4 combos and a 0.33% chance, about 1 in 306. ## How strong is 53s? Measured against a random hand, 53s has 39.69% equity and the number 146 spot of 169, among the 30 weakest classes. Wins count once and ties count half. Together with all stronger classes, 53s covers 1,106 combos, which is 83.41% of the 1,326 starting hands. ## 53s against ranges of hands Against a range, equity is averaged over every hand in it, weighted by how many combos of each hand are still possible. 53s makes 23.80% against the top 5 percent (60 combos), 31.07% against the top 10 percent (130 combos), 34.47% against the top 20 percent (264 combos), 35.39% against the top 30 percent (386 combos) and 36.93% against the top 50 percent (658 combos). 53s equity against the strongest hands: | Opponent range | Combos in range | 53s equity | | --- | --- | --- | | Top 5 percent | 60 | 23.80% | | Top 10 percent | 130 | 31.07% | | Top 20 percent | 264 | 34.47% | | Top 30 percent | 386 | 35.39% | | Top 50 percent | 658 | 36.93% | 53s is behind all five of these ranges, even the top 50 percent, so it is the underdog on average against each of them. Your own cards block part of an opponent's strong range. The top 10 percent holds 130 combos, and when you hold a combo of 53s an average of 130.00 of them stay possible. That is no loss at all: 53s blocks none of those hands. ## Hands next to 53s Compare 53s with the hand ranked just above it and the hand just below it. 53s has 39.46% equity against 65o, the hand ranked number 145: it wins 27.36% of boards, ties 24.20% and loses 48.45%. It is the underdog in that matchup. 53s has 39.28% equity against 63s, the hand ranked number 147: it wins 27.82% of boards, ties 22.92% and loses 49.26%. It is the underdog in that matchup. The offsuit twin of 53s is 53o, ranked number 161 with 36.27% equity against a random hand. 53o is 3 times as many combos but 3.43 points weaker against a random hand. Related to 53s: - [65o combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/65o.md) - [63s combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/63s.md) - [53o combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/53o.md) - [All starting hands](https://georgelipoker.com/combos.md) - [Hand ranking calculator](https://georgelipoker.com/tools/hand-ranking-calculator.md) - [Poker equity calculator](https://georgelipoker.com/tools/equity-calculator.md) - [64s vs 53s: preflop equity](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/64s-vs-53s.md) - [53s vs 43s: preflop equity](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/53s-vs-43s.md) ## Questions about 53s combos **How many combos of 53s are there?** 4 combos, which is 0.30% of the 1,326 two-card starting hands, so you are dealt 53s about 1 time in 331.5. **How many 53s combos are left if I hold a five?** 3 combos of 53s remain out of 4. With a two as your other card, an opponent has it about 1 time in 408. **Is 53s stronger than 53o?** Yes, by 3.43 points: 53s has 39.69% equity against a random hand and ranks number 146, while 53o has 36.27% and ranks number 161. 53o has 12 combos to 53s's 4. ## How this was computed The count starts from 1,326 two-card hands sorted into 169 classes. Removing the combos that use known cards gives each blocker and board-pair row, with nothing estimated. Our preflop table counts every board (1,712,304 of them) for each pair of classes, so rank and equity here are exact. Ties are halves; ranges are weighted by live combos. Source: GeorgeLiPoker's own count of the 52-card deck and its preflop matchup table. ## Related - [Poker Combos: Count Every Starting Hand](https://georgelipoker.com/combos.md) - [65o Combos: Count, Blockers, Board Pairs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/65o.md) - [63s Combos: Count, Blockers, Board Pairs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/63s.md)