--- title: "Top 20% of Poker Hands: Range and Combos" url: "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/20.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/20" last_updated: "2026-10-20" type: "reference" summary: "The top 20 percent of starting hands is 39 hands and 264 combos, 19.91% of the 1,326 two-card hands, from AA down to QJo." related: ["https://georgelipoker.com/combos.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/15.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/25.md"] --- # Top 20% of Poker Hands: Range and Combos The top 20 percent of starting hands is 39 hands and 264 combos, 19.91% of the 1,326 two-card hands, from AA down to QJo. 39 hands fit inside the top 20 percent, 264 combos in all. That is 19.91% of the 1,326 possible hands, ending at QJo, and it matches about 1 deal in 5.02. - Hands: 39 - Combos: 264 - Share of 1,326: 19.91% - Weakest hand: QJo - Equity vs random: 64.16% ## The 39 hands in the top 20 percent Think of a budget of 265.20 combos, which is 20 percent of 1,326. Hands are bought in rank order until K9o, whose 12 combos would raise the total to 20.81% and break the budget. What is left in the range is 19.91%. The top 20 percent on the 13 by 13 grid: [AA](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/aa.md), [KK](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kk.md), [QQ](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qq.md), [JJ](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/jj.md), [TT](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/tt.md), [99](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/99.md), [88](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/88.md), [AKs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/aks.md), [77](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/77.md), [AQs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/aqs.md), [AJs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/ajs.md), [AKo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/ako.md), [ATs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/ats.md), [AQo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/aqo.md), [AJo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/ajo.md), [KQs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kqs.md), [66](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/66.md), [A9s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a9s.md), [ATo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/ato.md), [KJs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kjs.md), [A8s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a8s.md), [KTs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kts.md), [KQo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kqo.md), [A7s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a7s.md), [A9o](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a9o.md), [KJo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kjo.md), [55](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/55.md), [QJs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qjs.md), [K9s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/k9s.md), [A5s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a5s.md), [A6s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a6s.md), [A8o](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a8o.md), [KTo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/kto.md), [QTs](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qts.md), [A4s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a4s.md), [A7o](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a7o.md), [K8s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/k8s.md), [A3s](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/a3s.md), [QJo](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qjo.md). In order, the hands are AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, AKs, 77, AQs, AJs, AKo, ATs, AQo, AJo, KQs, 66, A9s, ATo, KJs, A8s, KTs, KQo, A7s, A9o, KJo, 55, QJs, K9s, A5s, A6s, A8o, KTo, QTs, A4s, A7o, K8s, A3s, QJo. ## How the combos split The range is a mix of three kinds of hand. Because combos per hand are 6, 4 and 12, the table lists hands and combos side by side for pairs, suited and offsuit. The top 20 percent by kind of hand: | Kind | Hands | Combos | Share of range | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Pairs | 10 | 60 | 22.73% | | Suited hands | 18 | 72 | 27.27% | | Offsuit hands | 11 | 132 | 50.00% | Offsuit hands are 50.0% of the range's 264 combos. Pairs add 60, suited hands 72 and offsuit hands 132. ## The range by top card Grouping the range by the higher card of each hand shows where its combos come from. Each row counts the hands whose top card is that rank and the combos they bring. The top 20 percent by higher card: | Top card | Hands | Combos | | --- | --- | --- | | Ace | 19 | 134 | | King | 9 | 62 | | Queen | 4 | 26 | | Jack | 1 | 6 | | Ten | 1 | 6 | | Nine | 1 | 6 | | Eight | 1 | 6 | | Seven | 1 | 6 | | Six | 1 | 6 | | Five | 1 | 6 | | Four | 0 | 0 | | Three | 0 | 0 | | Two | 0 | 0 | Hands with an ace on top are 19 of the 39 and 134 of the 264 combos, 50.8%. The lowest top card in the range is the five, with 1 hand and 6 combos. ## Hands worth knowing at the edge The border of the range is easy to name. Last in is QJo, ranked 39 at 58.14% equity against a random hand; first out is K9o, ranked 40 at 57.81%. Compared with the top 15 percent, this range adds 9 hands and 68 combos: A6s, A8o, KTo, QTs, A4s, A7o, K8s, A3s, QJo. ## How your cards shrink the range Count what survives. The top 20 percent starts with 264 combos; a known card of each rank and a full holding take some of them away, as the two tables show. Combos of the top 20 percent left after one known card of each rank: | Known card | Combos left | Combos removed | | --- | --- | --- | | Ace | 229 | 35 | | King | 243 | 21 | | Queen | 248 | 16 | | Jack | 249 | 15 | | Ten | 252 | 12 | | Nine | 256 | 8 | | Eight | 256 | 8 | | Seven | 257 | 7 | | Six | 260 | 4 | | Five | 260 | 4 | | Four | 263 | 1 | | Three | 263 | 1 | | Two | 264 | 0 | Combos of the top 20 percent left when you hold both cards of a hand: | You hold | Combos left | | --- | --- | | AA | 195 | | KK | 223 | | AKs | 209 | | AKo | 209 | | QQ | 233 | | JTs | 237 | | 77 | 251 | | A5s | 226 | | 72o | 257 | A known ace takes 35 combos out of 264; a known two takes 0. With AA in your hand 195 remain, against 257 with 72o. ## A worked example You hold AKs and your opponent plays the top 20 percent. Of that range's 264 combos, 209 use none of your two cards, so your opponent holds one of 209 hands, and the chance that a random deal of the other 1,225 hands falls in the range is 209 / 1,225 = 17.06%. ## How strong the range is as a group Equity for the whole top 20 percent: 64.16% against a random hand and 58.96% against the top 50 percent, each matchup weighted by how many hand pairs it stands for. ## Neighboring ranges and hands More about the top 20 percent: - [Top 15 percent range](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/15.md) - [Top 25 percent range](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/25.md) - [QJo combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qjo.md) - [K9o combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/k9o.md) - [AA combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/aa.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) ## Questions about the top 20 percent **How many hands are in the top 20 percent?** The top 20 percent is 39 hands and 264 combos, which is 19.91% of the 1,326 two-card hands. It runs from AA down to QJo. K9o is the first hand left out, because 12 more combos would reach 20.81%. **Why is the top 20 percent really 19.91%?** Hands go in as whole classes, in rank order, and a class is never split. The range stops at the last class that keeps the total at or under 20 percent, so it lands on 19.91%, 264 of 1,326 combos, rather than exactly 20. **How many of the combos have an ace in them?** 19 hands in the range have an ace as the higher card, adding up to 134 of 264 combos, 50.8%. Holding one ace yourself leaves 229 combos of the range possible for an opponent. ## How this was computed Start with the 169 classes ordered by equity against a random hand. Walk down the list adding combos (a pair is 6, a suited hand 4, an offsuit hand 12) and stop before the total passes 20 percent of 1,326. Live combos are tallied from the deck after the known cards are removed. Group equity averages our exact table of preflop matchups, every board counted, with weights set by how many pairs of specific hands each matchup stands for. 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) - [Top 15% of Poker Hands: Range and Combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/15.md) - [Top 25% of Poker Hands: Range and Combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/range/25.md)