AJ vs a 4-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Ace-Jack (AJ) has 33.5% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands. It wins 31.9% of runouts outright, loses 64.8% and chops 3.3%. 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, 33 of those 42 combos are still available (9 are blocked by the cards AJ holds). AJ is ahead of 6 and behind 27.

Hardest parts of the range for AJ

Easiest parts of the range for AJ

Put AJ up against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all hands — and the exact answer is 33.5% equity: 31.9% outright wins, 64.8% losses and 3.3% chops. Your own two cards remove 9 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 6 of the 33 combos still live (18%) — 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. 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. AJ's worst spots in it are AA (9.0%), AKs (25.9%) and AKo (27.0%) — and its best are A4s (67.8%), A5s (67.4%) and KK (29.5%). Across the whole range AJ's equity swings from 9.0% at the bottom to 67.8% at the top — the single 33.5% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a 4-betting range, AJ runs at 33.5%. 33.5% against a 3.2% range is what "dominated" looks like as a number. Folding here costs you nothing you were going to win.

AJ vs 4-bet FAQ

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

AJ has 33.5% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — it wins 31.9% of runouts outright, loses 64.8% and chops 3.3%. The range holds 42 combos (3.2% of all hands); AJ blocks 9 of them, leaving 33 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 4-betting range beat AJ?

AJ is behind 27 of the 33 live combos and ahead of the other 6. The worst matchups are AA (9.0%), AKs (25.9%) and AKo (27.0%); its best are A4s (67.8%), A5s (67.4%) and KK (29.5%). 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 AJ runs at 33.5% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. AJ has 61.1% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 33.5% 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.

Run any hand vs range in the free equity calculator · All hand-vs-range matchups · aj vs utg-open · aj vs mp-open · aj vs co-open · aa vs 4bet-range · kk vs 4bet-range · qq vs 4bet-range