Aces against kings: the exact numbers

Pocket aces are the best starting hand in Hold'em, and they still lose a bit more than one time in six against pocket kings. Here are exact numbers from our equity calculator, which counts every possible five-card board (1,712,304 of them) instead of simulating them. Ties count as half a win.

Aces against kings. With A♠A♥ against K♠K♥, the aces have 82.6% equity and the kings 17.4%. Give the kings the other two suits, A♠A♥ against K♦K♣, and the aces drop to 81.3%. Which suits the hands hold moves the answer by about a point. We haven't dug into why.

Aces against ace-king suited. A♠A♥ against A♦K♦ gives the aces 87.9%. Against seven-deuce offsuit (A♠A♥ against 7♦2♣) they have 87.4%. Those two are within a point of each other, so sharing an ace with the aces is worth almost nothing to the other hand.

These are heads-up numbers with no other cards removed. Add a third player, or dead cards, and every figure changes. To check your own spot, open one of these in the calculator: aces against kings, aces against ace-king suited, or aces against seven-deuce. Equity is not advice about how to play a hand; it ignores betting and how anyone plays.

Our read: Ace-king suited does no better against aces than seven-deuce does, and suits move the aces-against-kings number by about a point.