AQ vs a small-blind opening range: Equity & Strategy
Ace-Queen (AQ) has 61.9% equity all-in preflop against a small-blind opening range — 534 combos, 40.3% of all starting hands. It wins 59.9% of runouts outright, loses 36.1% and chops 3.9%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQ | 59.9% | 3.9% | 61.9% |
| a small-blind opening range | 36.1% | 3.9% | 38.1% |
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, 456 of those 534 combos are still available (78 are blocked by the cards AQ holds). AQ is ahead of 370 and behind 86.
Hardest parts of the range for AQ
| Hand | Combos | AQ equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 3 | 8.6% |
| AKs | 3 | 25.6% |
| AKo | 9 | 26.7% |
| KK | 6 | 29.1% |
| 3 | 31.3% |
Easiest parts of the range for AQ
| Hand | Combos | AQ equity |
|---|---|---|
| Q9o | 9 | 75.1% |
| KQo | 9 | 74.8% |
| AJo | 9 | 74.2% |
| A9o | 9 | 74.0% |
| A2o | 9 | 73.8% |
Put AQ up against a small-blind opening range — 534 combos, 40.3% of all hands — and the exact answer is 61.9% equity: 59.9% outright wins, 36.1% losses and 3.9% chops. Your own two cards remove 78 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 370 of the 456 combos you can still be facing (81%), which is what a 61.9% 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 AQ most are AA (8.6%), AKs (25.6%) and AKo (26.7%); the ones you want to see are Q9o (75.1%), KQo (74.8%) and AJo (74.2%). Across the whole range AQ's equity swings from 8.6% at the bottom to 75.1% at the top — the single 61.9% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
The practical read on 61.9% against a small-blind opening range: you can 3-bet for value or flat in position, but this is not a stack-off-preflop holding against a 40.3% opener.
AQ vs SB open FAQ
What is AQ's equity against a small-blind opening range?
AQ has 61.9% equity all-in preflop against a small-blind opening range — it wins 59.9% of runouts outright, loses 36.1% and chops 3.9%. The range holds 534 combos (40.3% of all hands); AQ blocks 78 of them, leaving 456 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a small-blind opening range beat AQ?
AQ is behind 86 of the 456 live combos and ahead of the other 370. The worst matchups are AA (8.6%), AKs (25.6%) and AKo (26.7%); its best are Q9o (75.1%), KQo (74.8%) and AJo (74.2%). 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 AQ runs at 61.9% 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 3bet-value · aq vs 3bet-bluff · aq vs 4bet-range · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open