KK vs a value 3-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Pocket Kings (KK) has 69.6% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands. It wins 68.5% of runouts outright, loses 29.3% and chops 2.2%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

A pure QQ+/AK 3-bet is only 34 combos — 2.6% of hands — which is far tighter than anyone actually 3-bets for value in a modern game. The merged value range a good regular uses adds the mid pairs and the second-best broadways: 99+, AQs+, KQs and AQo+, about 5.4% of hands.

3-bet (value) — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, AKs, AQs, KQs, AKo, AQo

After card removal, 57 of those 72 combos are still available (15 are blocked by the cards KK holds). KK is ahead of 50 and behind 7.

Hardest parts of the range for KK

Easiest parts of the range for KK

Against a value 3-betting range (72 combos, 5.4% of all hands), KK runs at 69.6%. It wins 68.5% of runouts outright, loses 29.3% and splits the remaining 2.2%. Your own two cards remove 15 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 50 of the 57 combos you can still be facing (88%), which is what a 69.6% number actually looks like hand by hand.

The range behind this number is not a guess. A pure QQ+/AK 3-bet is only 34 combos — 2.6% of hands — which is far tighter than anyone actually 3-bets for value in a modern game. The merged value range a good regular uses adds the mid pairs and the second-best broadways: 99+, AQs+, KQs and AQo+, about 5.4% of hands. KK's worst spots in it are AA (18.1%), KK (50.0%) and AKs (65.9%) — and its best are KQs (86.1%), QQ (81.9%) and JJ (81.5%). Across the whole range KK's equity swings from 18.1% at the bottom to 86.1% at the top — the single 69.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a value 3-betting range — only 5.4% of hands — KK holds 69.6%. That is enough to play a big pot: get it in, or 4-bet and let the bluffs fold out.

KK vs 3-bet (value) FAQ

What is KK's equity against a value 3-betting range?

KK has 69.6% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — it wins 68.5% of runouts outright, loses 29.3% and chops 2.2%. The range holds 72 combos (5.4% of all hands); KK blocks 15 of them, leaving 57 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a value 3-betting range beat KK?

KK is behind 7 of the 57 live combos and ahead of the other 50. The worst matchups are AA (18.1%), KK (50.0%) and AKs (65.9%); its best are KQs (86.1%), QQ (81.9%) and JJ (81.5%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a value 3-betting range?

11 hand classes and 72 combos — 5.4% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 50% pocket pairs (6 pairs, 36 combos), 17% suited hands (3 classes, 12 combos) and 33% offsuit hands (2 classes, 24 combos). That shape is why KK runs at 69.6% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. KK has 78.7% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 59.9% 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 · kk vs utg-open · kk vs mp-open · kk vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-bluff