AA vs a cutoff opening range: Equity & Strategy
Pocket Aces (AA) has 83.6% equity all-in preflop against a cutoff opening range — 366 combos, 27.6% of all starting hands. It wins 83.1% of runouts outright, loses 16.0% and chops 0.9%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 83.1% | 0.9% | 83.6% |
| a cutoff opening range | 16.0% | 0.9% | 16.4% |
The range this is computed against
The cutoff opens roughly a quarter of hands: all pairs and suited aces, suited kings down to K5s, every suited connector and one-gapper, and offsuit broadways down to A8o / KTo / QJo / JTo. Two players behind instead of five is worth more than ten percentage points of width.
CO open — 366 combos, 27.6% 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, QJs, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, JTs, J9s, J8s, T9s, T8s, T7s, 98s, 97s, 87s, 86s, 76s, 75s, 65s, 64s, 54s, AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, A9o, A8o, KQo, KJo, KTo, QJo, JTo
After card removal, 301 of those 366 combos are still available (65 are blocked by the cards AA holds). AA is ahead of 300 and behind 1.
Hardest parts of the range for AA
| Hand | Combos | AA equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 1 | 50.0% |
| 87s | 4 | 77.5% |
| 76s | 4 | 77.5% |
| 65s | 4 | 77.5% |
| T9s | 4 | 77.8% |
Easiest parts of the range for AA
| Hand | Combos | AA equity |
|---|---|---|
| A9o | 6 | 93.8% |
| A8o | 6 | 93.3% |
| AKo | 6 | 93.2% |
| AQo | 6 | 92.7% |
| AJo | 6 | 92.3% |
AA has 83.6% equity all-in preflop against a cutoff opening range — 366 combos, 27.6% of all hands. Pocket Aces wins the pot outright 83.1% of the time, loses 16.0% and chops 0.9%. Your own two cards remove 65 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 300 of the 301 combos you can still be facing (100%), which is what a 83.6% number actually looks like hand by hand.
The range behind this number is not a guess. The cutoff opens roughly a quarter of hands: all pairs and suited aces, suited kings down to K5s, every suited connector and one-gapper, and offsuit broadways down to A8o / KTo / QJo / JTo. Two players behind instead of five is worth more than ten percentage points of width. AA's worst spots in it are AA (50.0%), 87s (77.5%) and 76s (77.5%) — and its best are A9o (93.8%), A8o (93.3%) and AKo (93.2%). Across the whole range AA's equity swings from 50.0% at the bottom to 93.8% at the top — the single 83.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
Facing a cutoff opening range, 83.6% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: AA is far ahead of the range as a whole, so building the pot before the flop is worth more than disguising the hand. Against 27.6% of hands, you are priced in against a pot-sized bet (which needs about 33%).
AA vs CO open FAQ
What is AA's equity against a cutoff opening range?
AA has 83.6% equity all-in preflop against a cutoff opening range — it wins 83.1% of runouts outright, loses 16.0% and chops 0.9%. The range holds 366 combos (27.6% of all hands); AA blocks 65 of them, leaving 301 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a cutoff opening range beat AA?
AA is behind 1 of the 301 live combos and ahead of the other 300. The worst matchups are AA (50.0%), 87s (77.5%) and 76s (77.5%); its best are A9o (93.8%), A8o (93.3%) and AKo (93.2%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.
What hands are in a cutoff opening range?
63 hand classes and 366 combos — 27.6% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 21% pocket pairs (13 pairs, 78 combos), 43% suited hands (39 classes, 156 combos) and 36% offsuit hands (11 classes, 132 combos). That shape is why AA runs at 83.6% against it rather than against a random hand.
Does AA do better against a wider or a tighter range?
Wider, almost always. AA has 84.3% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 84.5% 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.
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