99 vs a value 3-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Pocket Nines (99) has 38.4% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands. It wins 37.5% of runouts outright, loses 60.7% and chops 1.8%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

A pure QQ+/AK 3-bet is only 34 combos — 2.6% of hands — which is far tighter than anyone actually 3-bets for value in a modern game. The merged value range a good regular uses adds the mid pairs and the second-best broadways: 99+, AQs+, KQs and AQo+, about 5.4% of hands.

3-bet (value) — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, AKs, AQs, KQs, AKo, AQo

After card removal, 67 of those 72 combos are still available (5 are blocked by the cards 99 holds). 99 is ahead of 36 and behind 31.

Hardest parts of the range for 99

Easiest parts of the range for 99

Against a value 3-betting range (72 combos, 5.4% of all hands), 99 runs at 38.4%. It wins 37.5% of runouts outright, loses 60.7% and splits the remaining 1.8%. Your own two cards remove 5 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 only 36 of the 67 combos still live (54%) — the rest of the range is level with or in front of you, which is why the figure sits below even money.

The range behind this number is not a guess. A pure QQ+/AK 3-bet is only 34 combos — 2.6% of hands — which is far tighter than anyone actually 3-bets for value in a modern game. The merged value range a good regular uses adds the mid pairs and the second-best broadways: 99+, AQs+, KQs and AQo+, about 5.4% of hands. 99's worst spots in it are TT (18.0%), JJ (18.4%) and QQ (18.8%) — and its best are AQo (55.4%), AKo (55.3%) and AQs (52.7%). Across the whole range 99's equity swings from 18.0% at the bottom to 55.4% at the top — the single 38.4% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a value 3-betting range — only 5.4% of hands — 99 holds 38.4%. That is a continue, not a commit: you have enough to see a flop with the right price but not enough to shovel a stack in preflop.

99 vs 3-bet (value) FAQ

What is 99's equity against a value 3-betting range?

99 has 38.4% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — it wins 37.5% of runouts outright, loses 60.7% and chops 1.8%. The range holds 72 combos (5.4% of all hands); 99 blocks 5 of them, leaving 67 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a value 3-betting range beat 99?

99 is behind 31 of the 67 live combos and ahead of the other 36. The worst matchups are TT (18.0%), JJ (18.4%) and QQ (18.8%); its best are AQo (55.4%), AKo (55.3%) and AQs (52.7%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a value 3-betting range?

11 hand classes and 72 combos — 5.4% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 50% pocket pairs (6 pairs, 36 combos), 17% suited hands (3 classes, 12 combos) and 33% offsuit hands (2 classes, 24 combos). That shape is why 99 runs at 38.4% against it rather than against a random hand.

Does 99 do better against a wider or a tighter range?

Wider, almost always. 99 has 64.9% 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 · 99 vs utg-open · 99 vs mp-open · 99 vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-value