AJ vs AQ: Preflop Equity & Odds
| Hand | Win | Tie | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AJ (Ace-Jack) | 24.1% | 5.7% | 26.9% |
| AQ (Ace-Queen) | 70.3% | 5.7% | 73.1% |
Suited vs offsuit: AJ
| Matchup | Win | Tie | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AJs | 27.3% | 5.5% | 30.1% |
| AJo | 23.0% | 5.7% | 25.8% |
How AJ vs AQ unfolds by street
Ace-Queen (AQ) is still ahead on 84% of flops against AJ, and the lead survives to the turn on 80%. AJ takes the lead on the other 16% of flops. These figures come from full board enumeration, not a simulation.
| Street | AQ still ahead | AJ flipped the lead |
|---|---|---|
| Flop | 84% | 16% |
| Turn | 80% | 20% |
Share a card and you get a kicker problem — that's AJ vs AQ: AQ wins 70.3%, AJ wins 24.1%, and 5.7% of boards chop. Live to only its odd card (plus a thin straight or flush), AJ wins about 1 in 4; the 5.7% tie figure is the tell that these hands are tangled on the same rank. It's one of the most-quoted spots in poker, so the exact figure is worth committing to memory.
Here's the intuition behind 73.1% to 26.9%: AQ wins roughly 3 of every 4 times the chips go in, but the underdog cashing 26.9% of the time is exactly why you can't slow-play and let it draw for free.
Domination is where preflop hand-reading pays off. With AQ you want stacks in; with AJ you want out, because three outs and a prayer is not a stack-off — recognizing that you're crushed against a strong range is worth more than any postflop move.
AJ vs AQ FAQ
Who wins AJ vs AQ preflop?
AQ (Ace-Queen) is the favorite, winning 70.3% of all runouts, while AJ (Ace-Jack) wins 24.1%. The remaining 5.7% are split pots. Counting splits as half, AJ's preflop equity is 26.9%.
Does the AJ vs AQ probability change all-in preflop?
No. Once both hands are all-in preflop the odds are set by the cards alone — position, stack size and who bet first change nothing. The only thing that moves the number is suits: AJ's equity runs from 24.9% to 30.7% depending on suitedness and which suits the two hands share, which is why different sites quote slightly different figures. It does change once board cards are dealt (AQ leads on 84% of flops) and in multiway pots, where every extra caller takes equity from both hands.
Why is AJ so bad against AQ?
Because they share a card, AJ is drawing to roughly three outs and chops 5.7% of the time — it wins only about 1 in 4. That's the danger of a dominated hand: too strong to fold, too far behind to outdraw, which is how kicker problems quietly cost full stacks.
Does AQ hold up against AJ after the flop?
AQ is still ahead on 84% of flops and stays ahead through the turn on 80% of boards; AJ takes the lead on the other 16% of flops. These are exact figures from full board enumeration.
Run any matchup in the free equity calculator · AA VS KK · KK VS AA · AA VS AK · AK VS AA · KK VS AK · AK VS KK
AJ against a range
All-in against one known hand is the textbook case; at the table AJ is usually up against a range. Exact equities, computed over every combo with card removal applied:
- AJ vs calling station — 61.1% against 670 combos (50.5% of hands)
- AJ vs BTN open — 60.2% against 586 combos (44.2% of hands)
- AJ vs CO open — 56.6% against 366 combos (27.6% of hands)
- AJ vs 10bb shove — 56.3% against 334 combos (25.2% of hands)