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

King-Queen (KQ) has 31.1% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands. It wins 28.9% of runouts outright, loses 66.7% and chops 4.3%. 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, 56 of those 72 combos are still available (16 are blocked by the cards KQ holds). KQ is ahead of 0 and behind 56.

Hardest parts of the range for KQ

Easiest parts of the range for KQ

Against a value 3-betting range (72 combos, 5.4% of all hands), KQ runs at 31.1%. It wins 28.9% of runouts outright, loses 66.7% and splits the remaining 4.3%. Your own two cards remove 16 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. There is not one combo in the range that KQ is a favourite against: all 56 live combos are in front of it. A range-average of 31.1% here is not an average of good spots and bad ones — every spot is a bad one.

Where does the range come from? 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. Broken down hand by hand, KQ does worst against KK (10.0%), AA (13.9%) and AKs (25.4%) and best against KQs (48.1%), 99 (45.4%) and TT (44.2%). Across the whole range KQ's equity swings from 10.0% at the bottom to 48.1% at the top — the single 31.1% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a value 3-betting range — only 5.4% of hands — KQ holds 31.1%. That is a continue, not a commit: you have enough to see a flop with the right price but not enough to shovel a stack in preflop.

KQ vs 3-bet (value) FAQ

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

KQ has 31.1% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — it wins 28.9% of runouts outright, loses 66.7% and chops 4.3%. The range holds 72 combos (5.4% of all hands); KQ blocks 16 of them, leaving 56 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

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

All of them — KQ is behind every one of the 56 live combos. The worst are KK (10.0%), AA (13.9%) and AKs (25.4%), and the closest it gets is KQs (48.1%), 99 (45.4%) and TT (44.2%). 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 KQ runs at 31.1% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. KQ has 55.8% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 26.5% 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 · kq vs utg-open · kq vs mp-open · kq vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-value