99 vs a 4-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Pocket Nines (99) has 41.6% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands. It wins 41.4% of runouts outright, loses 58.2% and chops 0.4%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

Four-betting is the tightest voluntary action in preflop poker. The standard construction is QQ+ and AK for value plus a token pair of blocker bluffs — A5s and A4s, which remove combos of AA and AK from the opponent's continuing range and still flop wheel and nut-flush draws when called. About 3% of hands.

4-bet — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, AKs, A5s, A4s, AKo

After card removal, 42 of those 42 combos are still available (0 are blocked by the cards 99 holds). 99 is ahead of 24 and behind 18.

Hardest parts of the range for 99

Easiest parts of the range for 99

99 has 41.6% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all hands. Pocket Nines wins the pot outright 41.4% of the time, loses 58.2% and chops 0.4%. None of the range's combos share a card with 99, so all 42 of them are live in this calculation. You are ahead of only 24 of the 42 combos still live (57%) — the rest of the range is level with or in front of you, which is why the figure sits below even money.

Four-betting is the tightest voluntary action in preflop poker. The standard construction is QQ+ and AK for value plus a token pair of blocker bluffs — A5s and A4s, which remove combos of AA and AK from the opponent's continuing range and still flop wheel and nut-flush draws when called. About 3% of hands. Inside that range, the combos that hurt 99 most are QQ (18.8%), AA (19.1%) and KK (19.2%); the ones you want to see are A4s (66.6%), A5s (66.0%) and AKo (55.3%). Across the whole range 99's equity swings from 18.8% at the bottom to 66.6% at the top — the single 41.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

A 4-bet is the tightest action in preflop poker, and 41.6% reflects that: 99 is behind, and against a range this narrow the only sane options are 5-bet-jam with the right blockers or fold. There is no flat-and-outplay-them line against 3.2% of hands with the stacks a 4-bet creates.

99 vs 4-bet FAQ

What is 99's equity against a 4-betting range?

99 has 41.6% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — it wins 41.4% of runouts outright, loses 58.2% and chops 0.4%. The range holds 42 combos (3.2% of all hands); all 42 are live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 4-betting range beat 99?

99 is behind 18 of the 42 live combos and ahead of the other 24. The worst matchups are QQ (18.8%), AA (19.1%) and KK (19.2%); its best are A4s (66.6%), A5s (66.0%) and AKo (55.3%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a 4-betting range?

7 hand classes and 42 combos — 3.2% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 43% pocket pairs (3 pairs, 18 combos), 29% suited hands (3 classes, 12 combos) and 29% offsuit hands (1 classes, 12 combos). That shape is why 99 runs at 41.6% 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 4bet-range · kk vs 4bet-range · qq vs 4bet-range