AKs vs a button opening range: Equity & Strategy
Ace-King Suited (AKs) has 65.4% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands. It wins 63.8% of runouts outright, loses 33.1% and chops 3.2%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKs | 63.8% | 3.2% | 65.4% |
| a button opening range | 33.1% | 3.2% | 34.6% |
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, 506 of those 586 combos are still available (80 are blocked by the cards AKs holds). AKs is ahead of 431 and behind 75.
Hardest parts of the range for AKs
| Hand | Combos | AKs equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 3 | 12.1% |
| KK | 3 | 34.1% |
| TT | 6 | 45.9% |
| 6 | 46.0% | |
| JJ | 6 | 46.0% |
Easiest parts of the range for AKs
| Hand | Combos | AKs equity |
|---|---|---|
| K9o | 9 | 77.0% |
| KQo | 9 | 75.6% |
| A9o | 9 | 75.4% |
| AQo | 9 | 75.4% |
| KJo | 9 | 75.3% |
AKs has 65.4% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all hands. Ace-King Suited wins the pot outright 63.8% of the time, loses 33.1% and chops 3.2%. Your own two cards remove 80 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 431 of the 506 combos you can still be facing (85%), which is what a 65.4% number actually looks like hand by hand.
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. Inside that range, the combos that hurt AKs most are AA (12.1%), KK (34.1%) and TT (45.9%); the ones you want to see are K9o (77.0%), KQo (75.6%) and A9o (75.4%). Across the whole range AKs's equity swings from 12.1% at the bottom to 77.0% at the top — the single 65.4% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
The practical read on 65.4% 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.
AKs vs BTN open FAQ
What is AKs's equity against a button opening range?
AKs has 65.4% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — it wins 63.8% of runouts outright, loses 33.1% and chops 3.2%. The range holds 586 combos (44.2% of all hands); AKs blocks 80 of them, leaving 506 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a button opening range beat AKs?
AKs is behind 75 of the 506 live combos and ahead of the other 431. The worst matchups are AA (12.1%), KK (34.1%) and TT (45.9%); its best are K9o (77.0%), KQo (75.6%) and A9o (75.4%). 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 AKs runs at 65.4% against it rather than against a random hand.
Does AKs do better against a wider or a tighter range?
Wider, almost always. AKs has 65.8% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 48.2% 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 · aks vs 3bet-value · aks vs 3bet-bluff · aks vs 4bet-range · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open