AQ vs a 3-bet bluffing range: Equity & Strategy

Ace-Queen (AQ) has 63.4% equity all-in preflop against a 3-bet bluffing range — 52 combos, 3.9% of all starting hands. It wins 62.4% of runouts outright, loses 35.6% and chops 2.0%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

The bluff half of a polarised 3-bet is built from hands that are too weak to flat profitably but that block the opener's best continues or flop well when called: the suited wheel aces (which block AA and AK), suited broadways like KJs and QTs, and the suited connectors. About 4% of hands.

3-bet (bluff) — 52 combos, 3.9% of all starting hands: A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s, KJs, KTs, QJs, QTs, JTs, T9s, 87s, 76s, 65s

After card removal, 46 of those 52 combos are still available (6 are blocked by the cards AQ holds). AQ is ahead of 46 and behind 0.

Hardest parts of the range for AQ

Easiest parts of the range for AQ

Put AQ up against a 3-bet bluffing range — 52 combos, 3.9% of all hands — and the exact answer is 63.4% equity: 62.4% outright wins, 35.6% losses and 2.0% chops. Your own two cards remove 6 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. AQ is a favourite against every one of the 46 live combos in the range — there is nothing in it you would rather not see.

The bluff half of a polarised 3-bet is built from hands that are too weak to flat profitably but that block the opener's best continues or flop well when called: the suited wheel aces (which block AA and AK), suited broadways like KJs and QTs, and the suited connectors. About 4% of hands. Inside that range, the combos that hurt AQ most are 65s (59.2%), KTs (59.5%) and 76s (59.5%); the ones you want to see are A2s (69.6%), A3s (69.2%) and QJs (69.1%). Across the whole range AQ's equity swings from 59.2% at the bottom to 69.6% at the top — the single 63.4% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a 3-bet bluffing range — only 3.9% of hands — AQ holds 63.4%. That is enough to play a big pot: get it in, or 4-bet and let the bluffs fold out.

AQ vs 3-bet (bluff) FAQ

What is AQ's equity against a 3-bet bluffing range?

AQ has 63.4% equity all-in preflop against a 3-bet bluffing range — it wins 62.4% of runouts outright, loses 35.6% and chops 2.0%. The range holds 52 combos (3.9% of all hands); AQ blocks 6 of them, leaving 46 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 3-bet bluffing range beat AQ?

None — AQ is a favourite against all 46 live combos. Its thinnest edges are 65s (59.2%), KTs (59.5%) and 76s (59.5%), its biggest against A2s (69.6%), A3s (69.2%) and QJs (69.1%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a 3-bet bluffing range?

13 hand classes and 52 combos — 3.9% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 0% pocket pairs (0 pairs, 0 combos), 100% suited hands (13 classes, 52 combos) and 0% offsuit hands (0 classes, 0 combos) — it contains no offsuit hands at all. That shape is why AQ runs at 63.4% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. AQ has 62.7% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 34.1% 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 · aq vs utg-open · aq vs mp-open · aq vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-value