98s
63.21%
Wins 61.87%, ties 2.69%
65s
36.79%
Wins 35.44%, ties 2.69%
98s against 65s: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98s | 61.869 | 2.688 | 35.443 | 63.213 |
| 65s | 35.443 | 2.688 | 61.869 | 36.787 |
Both hands are suited hands: 98s and 65s. The two hands share no rank, which makes this a pure matchup of card strength, straight chances and flush chances.
A 26.42 point lead is real, and 65s still takes about 354 of every 1,000 deals outright. Ties are 2.69% of the outcomes here; each tied board gives both hands half the pot.
In the ranking of all 169 starting hands, 98s is number 83 and 65s is number 128.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98s | 16,950,000 | 736,000 | 9,710,000 |
| 65s | 9,710,000 | 736,000 | 16,950,000 |
The total is exact: 16 specific deals times 1,712,304 boards. The three counts are approximate, worked out from the percentages to five decimals and 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98s | 1.718 | 1.616 | 2.821 | 0.582 |
| 65s | 0.582 | 2.821 | 1.616 | 1.718 |
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
The flop changes the picture. 98s does best on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better, at 66.02%, and worst on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower), at 53.86%. 98s stays ahead on all five textures.
| Flop | Share of flops | 98s wins | Ties | 65s wins | 98s equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 25.844 | 65.016 | 1.999 | 32.985 | 66.016 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 5.065 | 53.640 | 0.443 | 45.917 | 53.861 |
| Two-tone | 46.727 | 62.186 | 1.565 | 36.249 | 62.969 |
| Monotone | 5.273 | 58.507 | 4.314 | 37.179 | 60.664 |
| Paired | 17.091 | 59.716 | 6.968 | 33.316 | 63.200 |
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
Start from the random-hand figures, 50.80% for 98s and 43.13% for 65s. This opponent changes them by +12.41 and -6.34 points.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98s, all flops | 63.213 | 50.801 | +12.412 | 1.24433 |
| 98s, rainbow, ten or higher | 66.016 | 50.801 | +15.215 | 1.29950 |
| 98s, rainbow, nine or lower | 53.861 | 50.801 | +3.060 | 1.06024 |
| 98s, two-tone | 62.969 | 50.801 | +12.168 | 1.23952 |
| 98s, monotone | 60.664 | 50.801 | +9.863 | 1.19415 |
| 98s, paired | 63.200 | 50.801 | +12.399 | 1.24407 |
| 65s, all flops | 36.787 | 43.133 | -6.346 | 0.85287 |
| 65s, rainbow, ten or higher | 33.984 | 43.133 | -9.149 | 0.78789 |
| 65s, rainbow, nine or lower | 46.139 | 43.133 | +3.006 | 1.06969 |
| 65s, two-tone | 37.031 | 43.133 | -6.102 | 0.85853 |
| 65s, monotone | 39.336 | 43.133 | -3.797 | 0.91197 |
| 65s, paired | 36.800 | 43.133 | -6.333 | 0.85318 |
Does a shared suit matter?
Suit overlap shows up in the numbers. With a suit in common 98s has 65.62% equity, and with none in common it has 62.41%. 98s does better with a shared suit, by 3.21 points.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 98s wins | Ties | 65s wins | 98s equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 4 | 25.00 | 64.167 | 2.897 | 32.936 | 65.616 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 75.00 | 61.102 | 2.619 | 36.279 | 62.412 |
How often this matchup comes up
Out of 1,624,350 ways to deal two seats two cards each, 16 are 98s in one seat and 65s in the other (0.0010%); with the seats swapped too, 32 (0.0020%).
A worked example
Take a $200 pot built from $100 each. 98s' equity of 63.21% is worth $126.42, a $26.42 edge, and 65s' 36.79% is worth $73.58, which is $26.42 under its stake.
Think in thousands: about 619 of 1,000 go to 98s, about 354 go to 65s, and about 27 are chopped.
The same matchup from the other side
Read it from the other side: 65s against 98s is the same matchup with the numbers swapped, so 65s holds 36.79% and 98s holds 63.21%. That address sends you back to this page.
Keep exploring
9s8s against 6h5h is a ready-made deal for the calculator, with no suit in common between the hands. The neighboring matchups below replace one hand with another of similar strength.
How this was computed
The page is built from a full enumeration: 1,712,304 boards, every suit pattern of the 16 specific deals, both seven-card hands evaluated. A tie is worth half a win to each hand, and a board is tallied under each of its ten possible flops for the texture rows.
Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used.
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