KQs vs a 20bb shoving range: Equity & Strategy

King-Queen Suited (KQs) has 42.6% equity all-in preflop against a 20bb shoving range — 164 combos, 12.4% of all starting hands. It wins 39.3% of runouts outright, loses 54.2% and chops 6.4%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

Double the stack, half the range. At twenty big blinds a jam risks far more chips to win the same blinds and antes, so the push collapses to hands that are happy to be called: 55+, the strong suited aces plus the wheel aces, suited broadways and ATo+. Around 12% of hands.

20bb shove — 164 combos, 12.4% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, AKs, AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A5s, A4s, KQs, KJs, QJs, JTs, AKo, AQo, AJo, ATo, KQo

After card removal, 141 of those 164 combos are still available (23 are blocked by the cards KQs holds). KQs is ahead of 16 and behind 125.

Hardest parts of the range for KQs

Easiest parts of the range for KQs

Put KQs up against a 20bb shoving range — 164 combos, 12.4% of all hands — and the exact answer is 42.6% equity: 39.3% outright wins, 54.2% losses and 6.4% chops. Your own two cards remove 23 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 only 16 of the 141 combos still live (11%) — the rest of the range is level with or in front of you, which is why the figure sits below even money.

The range behind this number is not a guess. Double the stack, half the range. At twenty big blinds a jam risks far more chips to win the same blinds and antes, so the push collapses to hands that are happy to be called: 55+, the strong suited aces plus the wheel aces, suited broadways and ATo+. Around 12% of hands. KQs's worst spots in it are KK (13.9%), AA (17.1%) and AKs (28.6%) — and its best are KJs (70.9%), QJs (70.8%) and JTs (63.3%). Across the whole range KQs's equity swings from 13.9% at the bottom to 70.9% at the top — the single 42.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Calling a shove is a pure equity question — there is no postflop skill left — so 42.6% is the entire decision. Against a typical pot laying you better than 2-to-1 with blinds and antes in the middle, 42.6% is a call.

KQs vs 20bb shove FAQ

What is KQs's equity against a 20bb shoving range?

KQs has 42.6% equity all-in preflop against a 20bb shoving range — it wins 39.3% of runouts outright, loses 54.2% and chops 6.4%. The range holds 164 combos (12.4% of all hands); KQs blocks 23 of them, leaving 141 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 20bb shoving range beat KQs?

KQs is behind 125 of the 141 live combos and ahead of the other 16. The worst matchups are KK (13.9%), AA (17.1%) and AKs (28.6%); its best are KJs (70.9%), QJs (70.8%) and JTs (63.3%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a 20bb shoving range?

26 hand classes and 164 combos — 12.4% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 37% pocket pairs (10 pairs, 60 combos), 27% suited hands (11 classes, 44 combos) and 37% offsuit hands (5 classes, 60 combos). That shape is why KQs runs at 42.6% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. KQs has 57.5% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 29.5% 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 · kqs vs utg-open · kqs vs mp-open · kqs vs co-open · aa vs shove-10bb · aa vs shove-20bb · kk vs shove-10bb