88
51.28%
Wins 51.07%, ties 0.43%
KQs
48.72%
Wins 48.50%, ties 0.43%
88 against KQs: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 51.066 | 0.432 | 48.502 | 51.282 |
| KQs | 48.502 | 0.432 | 51.066 | 48.718 |
The matchup pits a pocket pair against 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.
With only 2.56 points between them, the board decides this matchup far more than the cards in hand. Split pots make up 0.43% of the boards, and both equity figures count them as half a win each.
Among the 169 starting hands, 88 is number 7 and KQs is number 16 by strength against a random hand.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 20,986,000 | 178,000 | 19,932,000 |
| KQs | 19,932,000 | 178,000 | 20,986,000 |
24 specific deals times 1,712,304 boards gives the exact total. The won, tied and lost counts are approximations from the five-decimal percentages, rounded to the nearest thousand.
| Hand | Equity as odds (to 1) | Wins one deal in | Loses one deal in | Pot odds needed to call (to 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 1.053 | 1.958 | 2.062 | 0.950 |
| KQs | 0.950 | 2.062 | 1.958 | 1.053 |
The last column is the break-even price: the pot odds a call needs to offer, as a ratio of pot to call.
Who is ahead on which flops
By flop texture, 88's equity runs from 44.48% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better up to 78.22% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower). On rainbow flops topped by a ten or better and two-tone flops the numbers flip and KQs is the one ahead.
| Flop | Share of flops | 88 wins | Ties | KQs wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 24.595 | 44.386 | 0.187 | 55.427 | 44.480 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 6.314 | 77.784 | 0.880 | 21.336 | 78.224 |
| Two-tone | 46.545 | 49.084 | 0.302 | 50.614 | 49.235 |
| Monotone | 5.212 | 49.466 | 2.400 | 48.134 | 50.666 |
| Paired | 17.334 | 56.616 | 0.376 | 43.008 | 56.804 |
Read the flop types this way: rainbow has three suits, two-tone has two cards of one suit, monotone has three, and paired repeats a rank.
Compared with a random hand
Compared with a random opponent, this matchup shifts 88 from 69.16% by -17.88 points and KQs from 63.40% by -14.68 points.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88, all flops | 51.282 | 69.163 | -17.881 | 0.74147 |
| 88, rainbow, ten or higher | 44.480 | 69.163 | -24.683 | 0.64312 |
| 88, rainbow, nine or lower | 78.224 | 69.163 | +9.061 | 1.13101 |
| 88, two-tone | 49.235 | 69.163 | -19.928 | 0.71187 |
| 88, monotone | 50.666 | 69.163 | -18.497 | 0.73256 |
| 88, paired | 56.804 | 69.163 | -12.359 | 0.82131 |
| KQs, all flops | 48.718 | 63.400 | -14.682 | 0.76842 |
| KQs, rainbow, ten or higher | 55.520 | 63.400 | -7.880 | 0.87571 |
| KQs, rainbow, nine or lower | 21.776 | 63.400 | -41.624 | 0.34347 |
| KQs, two-tone | 50.765 | 63.400 | -12.635 | 0.80071 |
| KQs, monotone | 49.334 | 63.400 | -14.066 | 0.77814 |
| KQs, paired | 43.196 | 63.400 | -20.204 | 0.68132 |
Does a shared suit matter?
Split by suits, the deals give 88 51.45% when the hands overlap in a suit and 51.11% when they do not. 88 does better with a shared suit, by 0.34 points.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 88 wins | Ties | KQs wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 12 | 50.00 | 51.215 | 0.476 | 48.309 | 51.453 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 50.00 | 50.917 | 0.389 | 48.694 | 51.112 |
How often this matchup comes up
You will meet this exact matchup 0.0030% of the time in a random heads-up deal: 48 of 1,624,350, counting either seat order.
A worked example
Say each player puts $100 in before the flop, making a $200 pot. On average 88 takes back $102.56 of it, which is $2.56 more than it put in, and KQs takes back $97.44, $2.56 less than it put in.
Think in thousands: about 511 of 1,000 go to 88, about 485 go to KQs, and about 4 are chopped.
The same matchup from the other side
If you came looking for KQs against 88, the numbers are the same with the hands swapped: 48.72% and 51.28%.
Keep exploring
Open the calculator with 8s8h against KdQd 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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