AK vs a 4-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Ace-King (AK) has 46.1% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands. It wins 29.8% of runouts outright, loses 37.6% and chops 32.6%. 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, 27 of those 42 combos are still available (15 are blocked by the cards AK holds). AK is ahead of 13 and behind 14.

Hardest parts of the range for AK

Easiest parts of the range for AK

Against a 4-betting range (42 combos, 3.2% of all hands), AK runs at 46.1%. It wins 29.8% of runouts outright, loses 37.6% and splits the remaining 32.6%. Your own two cards remove 15 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 13 of the 27 combos still live (48%) — 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 AK most are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and QQ (43.9%); the ones you want to see are A4s (69.2%), A5s (68.8%) and AKo (50.6%). Across the whole range AK's equity swings from 8.2% at the bottom to 69.2% at the top — the single 46.1% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

A 4-bet is the tightest action in preflop poker, and 46.1% reflects that: AK 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.

AK vs 4-bet FAQ

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

AK has 46.1% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — it wins 29.8% of runouts outright, loses 37.6% and chops 32.6%. The range holds 42 combos (3.2% of all hands); AK blocks 15 of them, leaving 27 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 4-betting range beat AK?

AK is behind 14 of the 27 live combos and ahead of the other 13. The worst matchups are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and QQ (43.9%); its best are A4s (69.2%), A5s (68.8%) and AKo (50.6%). 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 AK runs at 46.1% 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 4bet-range · kk vs 4bet-range · qq vs 4bet-range