88
54.30%
Wins 54.11%, ties 0.39%
A9s
45.70%
Wins 45.50%, ties 0.39%
88 against A9s: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 54.107 | 0.387 | 45.506 | 54.300 |
| A9s | 45.506 | 0.387 | 54.107 | 45.700 |
We compare a pocket pair with a suited hand. A pair against two higher cards is the classic race: the pair is usually a small favorite or close to even, and each overcard that pairs is a way to take the lead.
That is a slim edge: neither hand is far ahead. About 0.39% of boards chop the pot, which is why equity sits slightly above the win figure for both hands.
Ranked by equity against a random hand, 88 is number 7 of the 169 starting hands and A9s is number 18.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 22,235,000 | 159,000 | 18,701,000 |
| A9s | 18,701,000 | 159,000 | 22,235,000 |
The board total is exact, 24 deals at 1,712,304 boards each. Won, tied and lost counts are rounded to the nearest thousand from the five-decimal percentages.
| Hand | Equity as odds (to 1) | Wins one deal in | Loses one deal in | Pot odds needed to call (to 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 1.188 | 1.848 | 2.198 | 0.842 |
| A9s | 0.842 | 2.198 | 1.848 | 1.188 |
The last column is the smallest pot odds, written as a pot-to-call ratio, at which a call breaks even with this equity.
Who is ahead on which flops
Split by what the flop looks like, 88 peaks at 60.50% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower) and bottoms out at 52.43% on two-tone flops. 88 stays ahead on all five textures.
| Flop | Share of flops | 88 wins | Ties | A9s wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 25.220 | 53.514 | 0.185 | 46.301 | 53.606 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 5.689 | 60.145 | 0.710 | 39.145 | 60.500 |
| Two-tone | 46.545 | 52.301 | 0.261 | 47.438 | 52.431 |
| Monotone | 5.212 | 51.668 | 2.373 | 45.959 | 52.855 |
| Paired | 17.334 | 58.570 | 0.317 | 41.113 | 58.729 |
A rainbow flop shows three suits, a two-tone flop repeats one suit, a monotone flop is a single suit, and a paired flop repeats a rank.
Compared with a random hand
Against one random hand instead, 88 holds 69.16% and A9s holds 62.78%. Facing each other changes that by -14.86 points for 88 and -17.08 points for A9s.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88, all flops | 54.300 | 69.163 | -14.863 | 0.78510 |
| 88, rainbow, ten or higher | 53.606 | 69.163 | -15.557 | 0.77507 |
| 88, rainbow, nine or lower | 60.500 | 69.163 | -8.663 | 0.87475 |
| 88, two-tone | 52.431 | 69.163 | -16.732 | 0.75808 |
| 88, monotone | 52.855 | 69.163 | -16.308 | 0.76421 |
| 88, paired | 58.729 | 69.163 | -10.434 | 0.84914 |
| A9s, all flops | 45.700 | 62.781 | -17.081 | 0.72793 |
| A9s, rainbow, ten or higher | 46.394 | 62.781 | -16.387 | 0.73898 |
| A9s, rainbow, nine or lower | 39.500 | 62.781 | -23.281 | 0.62917 |
| A9s, two-tone | 47.569 | 62.781 | -15.212 | 0.75770 |
| A9s, monotone | 47.145 | 62.781 | -15.636 | 0.75094 |
| A9s, paired | 41.271 | 62.781 | -21.510 | 0.65738 |
Does a shared suit matter?
When the hands share a suit, 88 holds 54.48%; when they do not, it holds 54.13%. 88 does better with a shared suit, by 0.35 points.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 88 wins | Ties | A9s wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 12 | 50.00 | 54.261 | 0.429 | 45.310 | 54.475 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 50.00 | 53.953 | 0.345 | 45.702 | 54.126 |
How often this matchup comes up
88 against A9s is made up of 24 specific-card matchups in one seat order, 0.0015% of the 1,624,350 ordered deals, and 48 counting both seat orders, 0.0030%.
A worked example
Try it with money: two players each put in $100 and the whole board runs out every possible way. 88 averages $108.60 from the $200, up $8.60; A9s averages $91.40, down $8.60.
Per 1,000 deals: 88 wins about 541, A9s wins about 455, and about 4 end in a split pot.
The same matchup from the other side
The mirror image, A9s against 88, is 45.70% to 54.30%, and its address redirects to this page.
Keep exploring
Open the calculator with 8s8h against Ad9d already entered, a deal with no shared suit, and change any card to try your own hand. The matchups after it each swap one hand for a nearby one in the ranking.
How this was computed
Each figure is a complete count over boards. Take the 24 specific deals, group them by suit pattern, deal all 1,712,304 boards against each, and compare the two seven-card hands. Equity counts a tie as half a win; the flop rows use every one of a board's ten flops.
Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used.
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