QQ vs a 4-betting range: Equity & Strategy

Pocket Queens (QQ) has 46.0% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands. It wins 44.5% of runouts outright, loses 52.5% and chops 3.0%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.

The range this is computed against

Four-betting is the tightest voluntary action in preflop poker. The standard construction is QQ+ and AK for value plus a token pair of blocker bluffs — A5s and A4s, which remove combos of AA and AK from the opponent's continuing range and still flop wheel and nut-flush draws when called. About 3% of hands.

4-bet — 42 combos, 3.2% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, AKs, A5s, A4s, AKo

After card removal, 37 of those 42 combos are still available (5 are blocked by the cards QQ holds). QQ is ahead of 24 and behind 13.

Hardest parts of the range for QQ

Easiest parts of the range for QQ

Put QQ up against a 4-betting range — 42 combos, 3.2% of all hands — and the exact answer is 46.0% equity: 44.5% outright wins, 52.5% losses and 3.0% chops. Your own two cards remove 5 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 24 of the 37 combos still live (65%) — 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. Four-betting is the tightest voluntary action in preflop poker. The standard construction is QQ+ and AK for value plus a token pair of blocker bluffs — A5s and A4s, which remove combos of AA and AK from the opponent's continuing range and still flop wheel and nut-flush draws when called. About 3% of hands. QQ's worst spots in it are KK (18.1%), AA (18.5%) and QQ (50.0%) — and its best are A4s (67.1%), A5s (66.7%) and AKo (56.8%). Across the whole range QQ's equity swings from 18.1% at the bottom to 67.1% at the top — the single 46.0% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.

A 4-bet is the tightest action in preflop poker, and 46.0% reflects that: QQ is behind, and against a range this narrow the only sane options are 5-bet-jam with the right blockers or fold. There is no flat-and-outplay-them line against 3.2% of hands with the stacks a 4-bet creates.

QQ vs 4-bet FAQ

What is QQ's equity against a 4-betting range?

QQ has 46.0% equity all-in preflop against a 4-betting range — it wins 44.5% of runouts outright, loses 52.5% and chops 3.0%. The range holds 42 combos (3.2% of all hands); QQ blocks 5 of them, leaving 37 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.

Which hands in a 4-betting range beat QQ?

QQ is behind 13 of the 37 live combos and ahead of the other 24. The worst matchups are KK (18.1%), AA (18.5%) and QQ (50.0%); its best are A4s (67.1%), A5s (66.7%) and AKo (56.8%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.

What hands are in a 4-betting range?

7 hand classes and 42 combos — 3.2% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 43% pocket pairs (3 pairs, 18 combos), 29% suited hands (3 classes, 12 combos) and 29% offsuit hands (1 classes, 12 combos). That shape is why QQ runs at 46.0% 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 4bet-range · kk vs 4bet-range · jj vs 4bet-range