AKs
62.88%
Wins 62.64%, ties 0.48%
98s
37.12%
Wins 36.88%, ties 0.48%
AKs against 98s: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKs | 62.642 | 0.481 | 36.877 | 62.882 |
| 98s | 36.877 | 0.481 | 62.642 | 37.118 |
Both hands are suited hands: AKs and 98s. The two hands share no rank, which makes this a pure matchup of card strength, straight chances and flush chances.
That is a modest edge, the kind that shows up over many hands and is easy to miss in one. A split pot comes up on 0.48% of boards, so the wins and the equity differ by half of that.
Place 8 of 169 belongs to AKs and place 83 belongs to 98s in the ranking against a random hand.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKs | 17,162,000 | 132,000 | 10,103,000 |
| 98s | 10,103,000 | 132,000 | 17,162,000 |
16 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKs | 1.694 | 1.596 | 2.712 | 0.590 |
| 98s | 0.590 | 2.712 | 1.596 | 1.694 |
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 AKs' equity moves by 28.53 points, from 40.48% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower) to 69.01% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better. 98s is ahead on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower), even though it trails AKs when every flop is counted.
| Flop | Share of flops | AKs wins | Ties | 98s wins | AKs equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 24.595 | 68.936 | 0.156 | 30.908 | 69.014 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 6.314 | 40.131 | 0.698 | 59.171 | 40.480 |
| Two-tone | 46.727 | 62.128 | 0.241 | 37.631 | 62.248 |
| Monotone | 5.273 | 58.381 | 3.405 | 38.214 | 60.084 |
| Paired | 17.091 | 64.619 | 0.624 | 34.757 | 64.931 |
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
The table below sets each hand against its own random-hand baseline: a change of -4.17 points for AKs, from 67.05%, and -13.68 for 98s, from 50.80%.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AKs, all flops | 62.882 | 67.045 | -4.163 | 0.93791 |
| AKs, rainbow, ten or higher | 69.014 | 67.045 | +1.969 | 1.02937 |
| AKs, rainbow, nine or lower | 40.480 | 67.045 | -26.565 | 0.60377 |
| AKs, two-tone | 62.248 | 67.045 | -4.797 | 0.92845 |
| AKs, monotone | 60.084 | 67.045 | -6.961 | 0.89617 |
| AKs, paired | 64.931 | 67.045 | -2.114 | 0.96847 |
| 98s, all flops | 37.118 | 50.801 | -13.683 | 0.73065 |
| 98s, rainbow, ten or higher | 30.986 | 50.801 | -19.815 | 0.60995 |
| 98s, rainbow, nine or lower | 59.520 | 50.801 | +8.719 | 1.17163 |
| 98s, two-tone | 37.752 | 50.801 | -13.049 | 0.74313 |
| 98s, monotone | 39.916 | 50.801 | -10.885 | 0.78573 |
| 98s, paired | 35.069 | 50.801 | -15.732 | 0.69032 |
Does a shared suit matter?
Does suit overlap move the numbers? AKs has 65.18% when the hands share a suit and 62.12% when they do not. AKs does better with a shared suit, by 3.06 points.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | AKs wins | Ties | 98s wins | AKs equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 4 | 25.00 | 64.901 | 0.560 | 34.539 | 65.181 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 75.00 | 61.889 | 0.455 | 37.656 | 62.116 |
How often this matchup comes up
How often does it happen? 16 of the 1,624,350 ordered deals (0.0010%) are AKs against 98s, and 32 (0.0020%) if either hand may sit in either seat.
A worked example
Take a $200 pot built from $100 each. AKs' equity of 62.88% is worth $125.76, a $25.76 edge, and 98s' 37.12% is worth $74.24, which is $25.76 under its stake.
In 1,000 deals of exactly this matchup, expect about 626 won outright by AKs, about 369 won outright by 98s and about 5 split.
The same matchup from the other side
98s against AKs adds nothing new: it is 37.12% for 98s and 62.88% for AKs, the same figures reversed.
Keep exploring
Open the calculator with AsKs against 9h8h 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
Method: exact enumeration. The 16 specific deals are grouped by suit pattern, each is run against all 1,712,304 boards, and both seven-card hands are scored. Equity adds half of every tie, and flop textures are tallied over the ten flops inside each board.
Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used.
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