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

Pocket Queens (QQ) has 58.1% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all starting hands. It wins 57.0% of runouts outright, loses 40.7% 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 QQ holds). QQ is ahead of 44 and behind 13.

Hardest parts of the range for QQ

Easiest parts of the range for QQ

Put QQ up against a value 3-betting range — 72 combos, 5.4% of all hands — and the exact answer is 58.1% equity: 57.0% outright wins, 40.7% losses and 2.2% chops. 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 44 of the 57 combos you can still be facing (77%), which is what a 58.1% number actually looks like hand by hand.

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. Inside that range, the combos that hurt QQ most are KK (18.1%), AA (18.5%) and QQ (50.0%); the ones you want to see are JJ (82.0%), TT (81.6%) and 99 (81.2%). Across the whole range QQ's equity swings from 18.1% at the bottom to 82.0% at the top — the single 58.1% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

Against a value 3-betting range — only 5.4% of hands — QQ holds 58.1%. That is enough to play a big pot: get it in, or 4-bet and let the bluffs fold out.

QQ vs 3-bet (value) FAQ

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

QQ has 58.1% equity all-in preflop against a value 3-betting range — it wins 57.0% of runouts outright, loses 40.7% and chops 2.2%. The range holds 72 combos (5.4% of all hands); QQ 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 QQ?

QQ is behind 13 of the 57 live combos and ahead of the other 44. The worst matchups are KK (18.1%), AA (18.5%) and QQ (50.0%); its best are JJ (82.0%), TT (81.6%) and 99 (81.2%). 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 QQ runs at 58.1% against it rather than against a random hand.

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

Wider, almost always. QQ has 75.2% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 46.0% 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 · qq vs utg-open · qq vs mp-open · qq vs co-open · aa vs 3bet-value · aa vs 3bet-bluff · kk vs 3bet-value