KTs: the 4 combos
Fix the suit, and the king and ten of that suit are the only choice; four suits make 4 combos.
Spelled out, KTs is these 4 holdings. The suits are what separate them from each other, and the ranks are the same in all.
How cards you can see change the count
A card in your hand or on the board takes combos away from your opponent's possible hands. This table counts what is left of KTs for each rank of card you can see.
| Known card | KTs combos left |
|---|---|
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 4 |
| Jack | 4 |
| Ten | 3 |
| Nine | 4 |
| Eight | 4 |
| Seven | 4 |
| Six | 4 |
| Five | 4 |
| Four | 4 |
| Three | 4 |
| Two | 4 |
With a king or a ten in view, 3 of the 4 combos of KTs remain, which removes 25%. Any card of a different rank leaves all 4 combos in play.
When the board is paired
Two board cards of one rank are out of reach for your opponent. The table gives the KTs combos that remain for each paired rank.
| Board pair | KTs combos left |
|---|---|
| Aces | 4 |
| Kings | 2 |
| Queens | 4 |
| Jacks | 4 |
| Tens | 2 |
| Nines | 4 |
| Eights | 4 |
| Sevens | 4 |
| Sixes | 4 |
| Fives | 4 |
| Fours | 4 |
| Threes | 4 |
| Twos | 4 |
Only a board pair of kings or tens matters here: 2 combos of KTs remain, against 4 for any other pair.
A worked example
Say your hole cards are a king and a two. That leaves 1,225 possible two-card hands for an opponent, and 3 of them are KTs: a 0.24% chance, roughly 1 in 408. Without the king in your hand it would be 4 combos, 0.33%, roughly 1 in 306.
How strong is KTs?
KTs ranks number 22 of the 169 starting-hand classes, inside the top 30 classes. Against one random hand it has 61.79% equity, which counts a win as 1 and a tie as one half over every five-card board.
138 of the 1,326 starting hands are KTs or better by this ranking. That is 10.41% of deals.
KTs against ranges of hands
Tighter ranges are harder to beat. KTs gets 36.01% against the top 5 percent (60 combos), 36.53% against the top 10 percent (130 combos), 42.11% against the top 20 percent (264 combos), 47.02% against the top 30 percent (386 combos) and 55.14% against the top 50 percent (658 combos), and each figure counts every combo your cards leave possible.
| Opponent range | Combos in range | KTs equity |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 percent | 60 | 36.01% |
| Top 10 percent | 130 | 36.53% |
| Top 20 percent | 264 | 42.11% |
| Top 30 percent | 386 | 47.02% |
| Top 50 percent | 658 | 55.14% |
The line sits between the top 30 and top 50 percent: KTs is behind the narrower range and ahead of the wider one.
Check what KTs does to the top 10 percent range of 130 combos: averaged over its 4, 114.00 remain for an opponent. That is 16.00 combos fewer than the 130 an opponent has before you look.
Hands next to KTs
Rank says who is stronger against a random hand; a head-to-head says who is stronger against each other. KTs has 43.13% equity against A8s, the hand ranked number 21: it wins 42.89% of boards, ties 0.48% and loses 56.62%. It is the underdog in that matchup. KTs has 30.55% equity against KQo, the hand ranked number 23: it wins 27.87% of boards, ties 5.37% and loses 66.76%. It is the underdog in that matchup.
Switch KTs from suited to offsuit and you get KTo: 12 combos, rank 33, 59.74% equity. KTo is 3 times as many combos but 2.05 points weaker against a random hand.
Questions about KTs combos
- How many combos of KTs are there?
- 4 combos, which is 0.30% of the 1,326 two-card starting hands, so you are dealt KTs about 1 time in 331.5.
- How many KTs combos are left if I hold a king?
- 3 combos of KTs remain out of 4. With a two as your other card, an opponent has it about 1 time in 408.
- Is KTs stronger than KTo?
- Yes, by 2.05 points: KTs has 61.79% equity against a random hand and ranks number 22, while KTo has 59.74% and ranks number 33. KTo has 12 combos to KTs's 4.
How this was computed
All 1,326 two-card holdings were grouped into classes, and the KTs group was counted. The blocker rows drop each combo containing a visible card; the board-pair rows do it for a visible pair.
Exact matchups, counted over all 1,712,304 boards, supply the rank and equity. A tie counts as half, and ranges are weighted by the combos that remain.
Source: GeorgeLiPoker's own count of the 52-card deck and its preflop matchup table.