AKs vs a small-blind opening range: Equity & Strategy
Ace-King Suited (AKs) has 65.4% equity all-in preflop against a small-blind opening range — 534 combos, 40.3% of all starting hands. It wins 63.6% of runouts outright, loses 32.9% and chops 3.5%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKs | 63.6% | 3.5% | 65.4% |
| a small-blind opening range | 32.9% | 3.5% | 34.6% |
The range this is computed against
A small blind raising first in is heads-up against a single opponent, so it opens nearly as wide as the button — around 40% — but trims the weakest offsuit hands and the trashiest suited gappers, because unlike the button it will be out of position on every postflop street.
SB open — 534 combos, 40.3% 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, JTs, J9s, J8s, J7s, T9s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 98s, 97s, 96s, 87s, 86s, 85s, 76s, 75s, 65s, 64s, 54s, 43s, AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, A9o, A8o, A7o, A6o, A5o, A4o, A3o, A2o, KQo, KJo, KTo, K9o, QJo, QTo, Q9o, JTo, T9o
After card removal, 454 of those 534 combos are still available (80 are blocked by the cards AKs holds). AKs is ahead of 379 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 small-blind opening range — 534 combos, 40.3% of all hands. Ace-King Suited wins the pot outright 63.6% of the time, loses 32.9% and chops 3.5%. 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 379 of the 454 combos you can still be facing (83%), which is what a 65.4% number actually looks like hand by hand.
A small blind raising first in is heads-up against a single opponent, so it opens nearly as wide as the button — around 40% — but trims the weakest offsuit hands and the trashiest suited gappers, because unlike the button it will be out of position on every postflop street. 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.
Facing a small-blind opening range, 65.4% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: AKs is in front of the average opener but not by enough to want a bloated pot out of position. Against 40.3% of hands, you are priced in against a pot-sized bet (which needs about 33%).
AKs vs SB open FAQ
What is AKs's equity against a small-blind opening range?
AKs has 65.4% equity all-in preflop against a small-blind opening range — it wins 63.6% of runouts outright, loses 32.9% and chops 3.5%. The range holds 534 combos (40.3% of all hands); AKs blocks 80 of them, leaving 454 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a small-blind opening range beat AKs?
AKs is behind 75 of the 454 live combos and ahead of the other 379. 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 small-blind opening range?
85 hand classes and 534 combos — 40.3% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 15% pocket pairs (13 pairs, 78 combos), 38% suited hands (51 classes, 204 combos) and 47% offsuit hands (21 classes, 252 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