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

Ace-King (AK) has 50.5% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands. It wins 42.0% of runouts outright, loses 41.0% and chops 17.0%. 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, 54 of those 72 combos are still available (18 are blocked by the cards AK holds). AK is ahead of 22 and behind 32.

Hardest parts of the range for AK

Easiest parts of the range for AK

AK has 50.5% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all hands. Ace-King wins the pot outright 42.0% of the time, loses 41.0% and chops 17.0%. Your own two cards remove 18 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 22 of the 54 combos you can still be facing (41%), which is what a 50.5% number actually looks like hand by hand.

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. Inside that range, the combos that hurt AK most are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and TT (43.8%); the ones you want to see are AQo (74.7%), KQs (70.7%) and AQs (70.4%). Across the whole range AK's equity swings from 8.2% at the bottom to 74.7% at the top — the single 50.5% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a value 3-betting range — only 5.4% of hands — AK holds 50.5%. That is enough to play a big pot: get it in, or 4-bet and let the bluffs fold out.

AK vs 3-bet (value) FAQ

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

AK has 50.5% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — it wins 42.0% of runouts outright, loses 41.0% and chops 17.0%. The range holds 72 combos (5.4% of all hands); AK blocks 18 of them, leaving 54 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

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

AK is behind 32 of the 54 live combos and ahead of the other 22. The worst matchups are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and TT (43.8%); its best are AQo (74.7%), KQs (70.7%) and AQs (70.4%). 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 AK runs at 50.5% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. AK has 64.5% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 46.1% 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 · ak vs utg-open · ak vs mp-open · ak vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-value