Q9s
68.22%
Wins 66.21%, ties 4.02%
98s
31.78%
Wins 29.77%, ties 4.02%
Q9s against 98s: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q9s | 66.212 | 4.021 | 29.767 | 68.223 |
| 98s | 29.767 | 4.021 | 66.212 | 31.777 |
Q9s meets 98s, and both are suited hands. The two hands share a rank, and the one with the better other card dominates: it wins most kicker battles when that shared rank hits.
A lead of 36.44 points is large but not decisive: 98s still takes about 298 of every 1,000 deals. Ties are part of the picture: 4.02% of boards end in a split pot, and each side counts that as half a win.
In the ranking of all 169 starting hands, Q9s is number 43 and 98s is number 83.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q9s | 13,605,000 | 826,000 | 6,116,000 |
| 98s | 6,116,000 | 826,000 | 13,605,000 |
12 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q9s | 2.147 | 1.510 | 3.359 | 0.466 |
| 98s | 0.466 | 3.359 | 1.510 | 2.147 |
The last column is the smallest pot odds, written as a pot-to-call ratio, at which a call breaks even with this equity.
Who is ahead on which flops
By flop texture, Q9s' equity runs from 55.34% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower) up to 72.61% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better. Q9s stays ahead on all five textures, but the swing between them is large, so how the flop looks matters a great deal.
| Flop | Share of flops | Q9s wins | Ties | 98s wins | Q9s equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 25.254 | 70.916 | 3.382 | 25.702 | 72.607 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 5.654 | 53.407 | 3.868 | 42.725 | 55.341 |
| Two-tone | 46.543 | 65.439 | 3.164 | 31.397 | 67.021 |
| Monotone | 5.215 | 59.428 | 5.442 | 35.130 | 62.149 |
| Paired | 17.334 | 67.654 | 6.873 | 25.473 | 71.090 |
Flop types: rainbow means three different suits, two-tone means one suit twice, monotone means one suit three times, paired means a repeated rank.
Compared with a random hand
How much does the opponent matter? Compared with its random-hand 57.66%, Q9s changes by +10.56 points, and 98s, from 50.80%, by -19.02.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q9s, all flops | 68.223 | 57.664 | +10.559 | 1.18311 |
| Q9s, rainbow, ten or higher | 72.607 | 57.664 | +14.943 | 1.25914 |
| Q9s, rainbow, nine or lower | 55.341 | 57.664 | -2.323 | 0.95971 |
| Q9s, two-tone | 67.021 | 57.664 | +9.357 | 1.16227 |
| Q9s, monotone | 62.149 | 57.664 | +4.485 | 1.07778 |
| Q9s, paired | 71.090 | 57.664 | +13.426 | 1.23283 |
| 98s, all flops | 31.777 | 50.801 | -19.024 | 0.62552 |
| 98s, rainbow, ten or higher | 27.393 | 50.801 | -23.408 | 0.53922 |
| 98s, rainbow, nine or lower | 44.659 | 50.801 | -6.142 | 0.87910 |
| 98s, two-tone | 32.979 | 50.801 | -17.822 | 0.64918 |
| 98s, monotone | 37.851 | 50.801 | -12.950 | 0.74508 |
| 98s, paired | 28.910 | 50.801 | -21.891 | 0.56908 |
Does a shared suit matter?
For this pair the shared-suit row is empty: the two hands cannot both own a card of one suit without reusing a card.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | Q9s wins | Ties | 98s wins | Q9s equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 0 | 0.00 | not possible | not possible | not possible | not possible |
| No shared suit | 12 | 100.00 | 66.212 | 4.021 | 29.767 | 68.223 |
How often this matchup comes up
This page stands for 12 specific-card matchups (0.0007% of 1,624,350 ordered deals), or 24 once you count the seats both ways (0.0015%).
A worked example
To see what the equity is worth, imagine $100 each in a $200 pot. Q9s is worth $136.44 on average (+$36.44); 98s is worth $63.56 (-$36.44).
Think in thousands: about 662 of 1,000 go to Q9s, about 298 go to 98s, and about 40 are chopped.
The same matchup from the other side
98s against Q9s adds nothing new: it is 31.78% for 98s and 68.22% for Q9s, the same figures reversed.
Keep exploring
Open the calculator with Qs9s 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 12 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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