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%.
How often does AJ beat AQ?
AJ wins 24.1% of the time all-in preflop against AQ — roughly 1 in 4 — so it needs good pot odds or fold equity to get the money in profitably.
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.
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