KK vs a button opening range: Equity & Strategy
Pocket Kings (KK) has 77.7% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — 586 combos, 44.2% of all starting hands. It wins 77.4% of runouts outright, loses 21.9% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KK | 77.4% | 0.7% | 77.7% |
| a button opening range | 21.9% | 0.7% | 22.3% |
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, 527 of those 586 combos are still available (59 are blocked by the cards KK holds). KK is ahead of 520 and behind 7.
Hardest parts of the range for KK
| Hand | Combos | KK equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 6 | 18.1% |
| KK | 1 | 50.0% |
| AKs | 2 | 65.9% |
| A5s | 4 | 66.7% |
| A4s | 4 | 67.0% |
Easiest parts of the range for KK
| Hand | Combos | KK equity |
|---|---|---|
| K9o | 6 | 92.3% |
| KQo | 6 | 91.3% |
| KJo | 6 | 90.9% |
| KTo | 6 | 90.4% |
| K2s | 2 | 89.2% |
Against a button opening range (586 combos, 44.2% of all hands), KK runs at 77.7%. It wins 77.4% of runouts outright, loses 21.9% and splits the remaining 0.7%. Your own two cards remove 59 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 520 of the 527 combos you can still be facing (99%), which is what a 77.7% number actually looks like hand by hand.
Where does the range come from? 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. Broken down hand by hand, KK does worst against AA (18.1%), KK (50.0%) and AKs (65.9%) and best against K9o (92.3%), KQo (91.3%) and KJo (90.9%). Across the whole range KK's equity swings from 18.1% at the bottom to 92.3% at the top — the single 77.7% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
Facing a button opening range, 77.7% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: KK 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%).
KK vs BTN open FAQ
What is KK's equity against a button opening range?
KK has 77.7% equity all-in preflop against a button opening range — it wins 77.4% of runouts outright, loses 21.9% and chops 0.7%. The range holds 586 combos (44.2% of all hands); KK blocks 59 of them, leaving 527 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a button opening range beat KK?
KK is behind 7 of the 527 live combos and ahead of the other 520. The worst matchups are AA (18.1%), KK (50.0%) and AKs (65.9%); its best are K9o (92.3%), KQo (91.3%) and KJo (90.9%). 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 KK runs at 77.7% 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 3bet-value · kk vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 4bet-range · aa vs utg-open · aa vs mp-open · aa vs co-open