AQ vs AJ: Preflop Equity & Odds
| Hand | Win | Tie | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQ (Ace-Queen) | 70.3% | 5.7% | 73.1% |
| AJ (Ace-Jack) | 24.1% | 5.7% | 26.9% |
Suited vs offsuit: AQ
| Matchup | Win | Tie | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQs | 71.2% | 5.5% | 73.9% |
| AQo | 70.0% | 5.7% | 72.8% |
How AQ vs AJ 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% |
AQ vs AJ is the matchup every "but I had top pair" cooler is made of: AQ wins 70.3%, AJ wins 24.1%, and 5.7% of boards chop. Note the chunky 5.7% chop rate — it surfaces whenever the shared rank plays and the kickers don't. Spots like this are where stacks quietly disappear: the dominated hand can't fold pre and can't outrun the kicker post. You'll hear this matchup argued about constantly — the enumerator settles it for good.
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.
AQ vs AJ FAQ
Who wins AQ vs AJ 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, AQ's preflop equity is 73.1%.
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.
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