AJ vs a button opening range: Equity & Strategy
Ace-Jack (AJ) has 60.2% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands. It wins 58.2% of runouts outright, loses 37.8% and chops 4.0%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AJ | 58.2% | 4.0% | 60.2% |
| a button opening range | 37.8% | 4.0% | 39.8% |
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, 511 of those 586 combos are still available (75 are blocked by the cards AJ holds). AJ is ahead of 413 and behind 98.
Hardest parts of the range for AJ
| Hand | Combos | AJ equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 3 | 9.0% |
| AKs | 3 | 25.9% |
| AQs | 3 | 26.1% |
| AKo | 9 | 27.0% |
| AQo | 9 | 27.2% |
Easiest parts of the range for AJ
| Hand | Combos | AJ equity |
|---|---|---|
| KJo | 9 | 74.6% |
| J9o | 9 | 73.7% |
| A9o | 9 | 73.3% |
| A6o | 9 | 73.1% |
| ATo | 9 | 73.1% |
Put AJ up against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all hands — and the exact answer is 60.2% equity: 58.2% outright wins, 37.8% losses and 4.0% chops. Your own two cards remove 75 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 413 of the 511 combos you can still be facing (81%), which is what a 60.2% number actually looks like hand by hand.
The range behind this number is not a guess. 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. AJ's worst spots in it are AA (9.0%), AKs (25.9%) and AQs (26.1%) — and its best are KJo (74.6%), J9o (73.7%) and A9o (73.3%). Across the whole range AJ's equity swings from 9.0% at the bottom to 74.6% at the top — the single 60.2% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
The practical read on 60.2% against a button opening range: you can 3-bet for value or flat in position, but this is not a stack-off-preflop holding against a 44.2% opener.
AJ vs BTN open FAQ
What is AJ's equity against a button opening range?
AJ has 60.2% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — it wins 58.2% of runouts outright, loses 37.8% and chops 4.0%. The range holds 586 combos (44.2% of all hands); AJ blocks 75 of them, leaving 511 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a button opening range beat AJ?
AJ is behind 98 of the 511 live combos and ahead of the other 413. The worst matchups are AA (9.0%), AKs (25.9%) and AQs (26.1%); its best are KJo (74.6%), J9o (73.7%) and A9o (73.3%). 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 AJ runs at 60.2% 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 3bet-value · aj vs 4bet-range · aj vs calling-station · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open