88
53.50%
Wins 53.29%, ties 0.42%
QJo
46.50%
Wins 46.29%, ties 0.42%
88 against QJo: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 53.292 | 0.419 | 46.289 | 53.502 |
| QJo | 46.289 | 0.419 | 53.292 | 46.498 |
The matchup pits a pocket pair against an offsuit hand. One hand holds a pair and the other holds two cards that both outrank it, which keeps the equity closer than most people expect.
That is a slim edge: neither hand is far ahead. Ties are part of the picture: 0.42% of boards end in a split pot, and each side counts that as half a win.
Place 7 of 169 belongs to 88 and place 39 belongs to QJo in the ranking against a random hand.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 65,702,000 | 517,000 | 57,068,000 |
| QJo | 57,068,000 | 517,000 | 65,702,000 |
Exact total: 72 deals times 1,712,304 boards. The other three counts come from the five-decimal percentages and are rounded to the nearest thousand, so read them as approximate.
| Hand | Equity as odds (to 1) | Wins one deal in | Loses one deal in | Pot odds needed to call (to 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 1.151 | 1.876 | 2.160 | 0.869 |
| QJo | 0.869 | 2.160 | 1.876 | 1.151 |
In the last column, a pot-to-call ratio at or above the figure makes a call break even or better at this equity.
Who is ahead on which flops
Across the five flop textures 88's equity moves by 34.20 points, from 45.57% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better to 79.77% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower). Rainbow flops topped by a ten or better favor QJo, the hand that is behind overall.
| Flop | Share of flops | 88 wins | Ties | QJo wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 24.717 | 45.469 | 0.203 | 54.328 | 45.570 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 6.314 | 79.347 | 0.853 | 19.800 | 79.774 |
| Two-tone | 46.485 | 52.099 | 0.321 | 47.580 | 52.259 |
| Monotone | 5.151 | 49.323 | 1.712 | 48.965 | 50.179 |
| Paired | 17.333 | 59.336 | 0.451 | 40.213 | 59.562 |
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
Against one random hand instead, 88 holds 69.16% and QJo holds 58.14%. Facing each other changes that by -15.66 points for 88 and -11.64 points for QJo.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88, all flops | 53.502 | 69.163 | -15.661 | 0.77356 |
| 88, rainbow, ten or higher | 45.570 | 69.163 | -23.593 | 0.65888 |
| 88, rainbow, nine or lower | 79.774 | 69.163 | +10.611 | 1.15342 |
| 88, two-tone | 52.259 | 69.163 | -16.904 | 0.75559 |
| 88, monotone | 50.179 | 69.163 | -18.984 | 0.72552 |
| 88, paired | 59.562 | 69.163 | -9.601 | 0.86118 |
| QJo, all flops | 46.498 | 58.135 | -11.637 | 0.79983 |
| QJo, rainbow, ten or higher | 54.430 | 58.135 | -3.705 | 0.93627 |
| QJo, rainbow, nine or lower | 20.226 | 58.135 | -37.909 | 0.34791 |
| QJo, two-tone | 47.741 | 58.135 | -10.394 | 0.82121 |
| QJo, monotone | 49.821 | 58.135 | -8.314 | 0.85699 |
| QJo, paired | 40.438 | 58.135 | -17.697 | 0.69559 |
Does a shared suit matter?
Does suit overlap move the numbers? 88 has 53.41% when the hands share a suit and 53.94% when they do not. 88 does better with no shared suit, by 0.53 points.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 88 wins | Ties | QJo wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 60 | 83.33 | 53.196 | 0.435 | 46.369 | 53.414 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 16.67 | 53.772 | 0.340 | 45.888 | 53.942 |
How often this matchup comes up
Out of 1,624,350 ways to deal two seats two cards each, 72 are 88 in one seat and QJo in the other (0.0044%); with the seats swapped too, 144 (0.0089%).
A worked example
Worked example: both players commit $100, so $200 sits in the middle. Over every board, 88's average share is $107.00 (a gain of $7.00) and QJo's is $93.00 (a loss of $7.00).
In 1,000 deals of exactly this matchup, expect about 533 won outright by 88, about 463 won outright by QJo and about 4 split.
The same matchup from the other side
The mirror image, QJo against 88, is 46.50% to 53.50%, and its address redirects to this page.
Keep exploring
Try 8s8h against QdJc in the calculator: the hands share no suit, and every card can be changed. The links after it are the closest matchups in the ranking.
How this was computed
We counted every case. Each suit pattern of the 72 specific 88 against QJo deals meets all 1,712,304 boards, and the better five-card hand wins; a split pot is half a win each. The flop table reads each board under all ten of its three-card flops.
Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used.
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