JJ vs a button opening range: Equity & Strategy
Pocket Jacks (JJ) has 70.9% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands. It wins 70.6% of runouts outright, loses 28.7% and chops 0.7%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| JJ | 70.6% | 0.7% | 70.9% |
| a button opening range | 28.7% | 0.7% | 29.1% |
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, 537 of those 586 combos are still available (49 are blocked by the cards JJ holds). JJ is ahead of 518 and behind 19.
Hardest parts of the range for JJ
| Hand | Combos | JJ equity |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 18.0% | |
| KK | 6 | 18.5% |
| AA | 6 | 18.9% |
| JJ | 1 | 50.0% |
| KQs | 4 | 53.7% |
Easiest parts of the range for JJ
| Hand | Combos | JJ equity |
|---|---|---|
| J9o | 6 | 88.9% |
| JTo | 6 | 87.0% |
| J7s | 2 | 86.6% |
| T9o | 12 | 85.8% |
| J8s | 2 | 85.3% |
Against a button opening range (586 combos, 44.2% of all hands), JJ runs at 70.9%. It wins 70.6% of runouts outright, loses 28.7% and splits the remaining 0.7%. Your own two cards remove 49 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 518 of the 537 combos you can still be facing (96%), which is what a 70.9% 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 JJ most are QQ (18.0%), KK (18.5%) and AA (18.9%); the ones you want to see are J9o (88.9%), JTo (87.0%) and J7s (86.6%). Across the whole range JJ's equity swings from 18.0% at the bottom to 88.9% at the top — the single 70.9% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
Facing a button opening range, 70.9% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: JJ is far ahead of the range as a whole, so building the pot before the flop is worth more than disguising the hand. Against 44.2% of hands, you are priced in against a pot-sized bet (which needs about 33%).
JJ vs BTN open FAQ
What is JJ's equity against a button opening range?
JJ has 70.9% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — it wins 70.6% of runouts outright, loses 28.7% and chops 0.7%. The range holds 586 combos (44.2% of all hands); JJ blocks 49 of them, leaving 537 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a button opening range beat JJ?
JJ is behind 19 of the 537 live combos and ahead of the other 518. The worst matchups are QQ (18.0%), KK (18.5%) and AA (18.9%); its best are J9o (88.9%), JTo (87.0%) and J7s (86.6%). 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 JJ runs at 70.9% against it rather than against a random hand.
Does JJ do better against a wider or a tighter range?
Wider, almost always. JJ has 71.9% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 42.0% 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 · jj vs 3bet-value · jj vs 3bet-bluff · jj vs 4bet-range · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open