--- title: "99 vs QJs: preflop equity" url: "https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-qjs.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-qjs" last_updated: "2026-10-23" type: "reference" summary: "99 vs QJs is close to a coin flip before the flop: 51.91% to 48.09% equity, counted exactly over every board, with the split by flop type and suit." related: ["https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-k9s.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-a5s.md", "https://georgelipoker.com/equity/88-vs-qjs.md"] --- # 99 vs QJs: preflop equity 99 vs QJs is close to a coin flip before the flop: 51.91% to 48.09% equity, counted exactly over every board, with the split by flop type and suit. Averaged over every possible board, 99 is ahead of QJs by 3.82 points of equity, 51.91% to 48.09%. ## 99 against QJs: the numbers **Exact preflop results for 99 against QJs, in percent** | Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 99 | 51.704 | 0.414 | 47.882 | 51.911 | | QJs | 47.882 | 0.414 | 51.704 | 48.089 | Here a pocket pair (99) meets a suited hand (QJs). 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. 99 leads by less than 4 points of equity, so the result of any one deal is close to a toss-up. Split pots make up 0.41% of the boards, and both equity figures count them as half a win each. By strength against a random hand, 99 holds place 6 of 169 and QJs holds place 28. **Boards behind the percentages: 41,095,296 counted in all** | Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 99 | 21,248,000 | 170,000 | 19,677,000 | | QJs | 19,677,000 | 170,000 | 21,248,000 | Exact total: 24 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. **99 against QJs read as odds** | Hand | Equity as odds (to 1) | Wins one deal in | Loses one deal in | Pot odds needed to call (to 1) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 99 | 1.079 | 1.934 | 2.088 | 0.926 | | QJs | 0.926 | 2.088 | 1.934 | 1.079 | The final column gives the least the pot must offer for each unit called for a call to break even at this equity. ## Who is ahead on which flops By flop texture, 99's equity runs from 45.34% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better up to 77.04% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower). The overall edge for 99 hides rainbow flops topped by a ten or better and two-tone flops, where QJs comes out in front. **99 against QJs by flop texture, in percent** | Flop | Share of flops | 99 wins | Ties | QJs wins | 99 equity | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Rainbow, ten or higher | 24.595 | 45.266 | 0.154 | 54.580 | 45.343 | | Rainbow, nine or lower | 6.314 | 76.550 | 0.982 | 22.468 | 77.041 | | Two-tone | 46.545 | 49.496 | 0.298 | 50.206 | 49.645 | | Monotone | 5.212 | 49.601 | 2.391 | 48.008 | 50.796 | | Paired | 17.334 | 58.352 | 0.291 | 41.357 | 58.498 | Rainbow flops have three suits, two-tone flops repeat one suit, monotone flops are all one suit, and paired flops repeat a rank. ## Compared with a random hand Compared with a random opponent, this matchup shifts 99 from 72.06% by -20.15 points and QJs from 60.26% by -12.17 points. **99 and QJs here compared with each against a random hand, in percent** | Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 99, all flops | 51.911 | 72.057 | -20.146 | 0.72042 | | 99, rainbow, ten or higher | 45.343 | 72.057 | -26.714 | 0.62927 | | 99, rainbow, nine or lower | 77.041 | 72.057 | +4.984 | 1.06917 | | 99, two-tone | 49.645 | 72.057 | -22.412 | 0.68897 | | 99, monotone | 50.796 | 72.057 | -21.261 | 0.70494 | | 99, paired | 58.498 | 72.057 | -13.559 | 0.81183 | | QJs, all flops | 48.089 | 60.259 | -12.170 | 0.79804 | | QJs, rainbow, ten or higher | 54.657 | 60.259 | -5.602 | 0.90703 | | QJs, rainbow, nine or lower | 22.959 | 60.259 | -37.300 | 0.38101 | | QJs, two-tone | 50.355 | 60.259 | -9.904 | 0.83564 | | QJs, monotone | 49.204 | 60.259 | -11.055 | 0.81654 | | QJs, paired | 41.502 | 60.259 | -18.757 | 0.68873 | ## Does a shared suit matter? Suit overlap shows up in the numbers. With a suit in common 99 has 52.04% equity, and with none in common it has 51.79%. 99 does better with a shared suit, by 0.25 points. **99 against QJs by suit overlap, in percent** | Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 99 wins | Ties | QJs wins | 99 equity | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Share a suit | 12 | 50.00 | 51.810 | 0.455 | 47.735 | 52.038 | | No shared suit | 12 | 50.00 | 51.599 | 0.372 | 48.029 | 51.785 | ## 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 Worked example: both players commit $100, so $200 sits in the middle. Over every board, 99's average share is $103.82 (a gain of $3.82) and QJs' is $96.18 (a loss of $3.82). Scaled to 1,000 deals, that is roughly 517 wins for 99, 479 for QJs and 4 chopped pots. ## The same matchup from the other side The reversed view, QJs against 99, shows 48.09% for QJs and 51.91% for 99. It is the same count, so it redirects here. ## Keep exploring 9s9h against QdJd 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. - [Open 9s9h against QdJd in the equity calculator](https://georgelipoker.com/tools/equity-calculator.md#p1=9s9h&p2=QdJd) - [99 combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/99.md) - [QJs combos](https://georgelipoker.com/combos/qjs.md) - [99 vs K9s](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-k9s.md) - [99 vs A5s](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-a5s.md) - [88 vs QJs](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/88-vs-qjs.md) - [All hand matchups](https://georgelipoker.com/equity.md) ## How this was computed Nothing here is simulated. The 24 deals of 99 against QJs fall into a few suit patterns, each dealt against all 1,712,304 boards, with both best five-card hands compared on every board. Ties give each hand half a win, and the flop rows count a board under each of its ten flops. Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used. ## Related - [99 vs K9s: preflop equity](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-k9s.md) - [99 vs A5s: preflop equity](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/99-vs-a5s.md) - [88 vs QJs: preflop equity](https://georgelipoker.com/equity/88-vs-qjs.md)