88 vs a button opening range: Equity & Strategy
Pocket Eights (88) has 60.6% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands. It wins 60.3% of runouts outright, loses 39.0% and chops 0.8%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 60.3% | 0.8% | 60.6% |
| a button opening range | 39.0% | 0.8% | 39.4% |
The range this is computed against
The button is the widest legitimate opening range in poker — guaranteed position for the rest of the hand and only two blinds left to act, so close to 45% of all hands open profitably: every pair, every suited ace and king, most suited queens and jacks, all the suited connectors and gappers, and offsuit aces all the way down to A2o.
BTN open — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, AKs, AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8s, A7s, A6s, A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s, KQs, KJs, KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4s, K3s, K2s, QJs, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, Q7s, Q6s, Q5s, Q4s, Q3s, Q2s, JTs, J9s, J8s, J7s, T9s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 98s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 87s, 86s, 85s, 76s, 75s, 74s, 65s, 64s, 63s, 54s, 53s, 52s, 43s, AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, A9o, A8o, A7o, A6o, A5o, A4o, A3o, A2o, KQo, KJo, KTo, K9o, QJo, QTo, Q9o, JTo, J9o, T9o, 98o
After card removal, 551 of those 586 combos are still available (35 are blocked by the cards 88 holds). 88 is ahead of 514 and behind 37.
Hardest parts of the range for 88
| Hand | Combos | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|
| 99 | 6 | 18.1% |
| TT | 6 | 18.4% |
| JJ | 6 | 18.8% |
| KK | 6 | 19.1% |
| 6 | 19.1% |
Easiest parts of the range for 88
| Hand | Combos | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|
| 85s | 2 | 84.6% |
| 86s | 2 | 83.3% |
| 74s | 4 | 82.1% |
| 87s | 2 | 82.0% |
| 77 | 6 | 81.8% |
Against a button opening range (586 combos, 44.2% of all hands), 88 runs at 60.6%. It wins 60.3% of runouts outright, loses 39.0% and splits the remaining 0.8%. Your own two cards remove 35 of those combos before the flop is even dealt — a blocker effect this number already accounts for, because every combo containing one of your exact cards is stripped out of the range first. You are ahead of 514 of the 551 combos you can still be facing (93%), which is what a 60.6% number actually looks like hand by hand.
The button is the widest legitimate opening range in poker — guaranteed position for the rest of the hand and only two blinds left to act, so close to 45% of all hands open profitably: every pair, every suited ace and king, most suited queens and jacks, all the suited connectors and gappers, and offsuit aces all the way down to A2o. Inside that range, the combos that hurt 88 most are 99 (18.1%), TT (18.4%) and JJ (18.8%); the ones you want to see are 85s (84.6%), 86s (83.3%) and 74s (82.1%). Across the whole range 88's equity swings from 18.1% at the bottom to 84.6% at the top — the single 60.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
Facing a button opening range, 60.6% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: 88 is in front of the average opener but not by enough to want a bloated pot out of position. Against 44.2% of hands, you are priced in against a pot-sized bet (which needs about 33%).
88 vs BTN open FAQ
What is 88's equity against a button opening range?
88 has 60.6% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — it wins 60.3% of runouts outright, loses 39.0% and chops 0.8%. The range holds 586 combos (44.2% of all hands); 88 blocks 35 of them, leaving 551 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a button opening range beat 88?
88 is behind 37 of the 551 live combos and ahead of the other 514. The worst matchups are 99 (18.1%), TT (18.4%) and JJ (18.8%); its best are 85s (84.6%), 86s (83.3%) and 74s (82.1%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.
What hands are in a button opening range?
94 hand classes and 586 combos — 44.2% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 13% pocket pairs (13 pairs, 78 combos), 40% suited hands (58 classes, 232 combos) and 47% offsuit hands (23 classes, 276 combos). That shape is why 88 runs at 60.6% against it rather than against a random hand.
Does 88 do better against a wider or a tighter range?
Wider, almost always. 88 has 61.4% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 41.6% against a 4-betting range (3.2%). Equity against a range is mostly a question of how many weak hands the range still contains — which is why the same holding can be a monster against a button open and a fold against a 4-bet.
Run any hand vs range in the free equity calculator · All hand-vs-range matchups · 88 vs 3bet-value · 88 vs 4bet-range · 88 vs calling-station · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open