ITH Poker Forum

[jeffnc]

PokerStove tells me that if you have AA, you're better off if your opponent has 22 than if he has KK. Can anyone tell me why this would be so? It would seem to me that each hand would be blocking the opponent equally in both directions with respect to making a straight. Other than making a straight, I don't know what the advantage would be.

AA does better against KK than it does against QQ. I was assuming that was because KK and QQ both block AA from making a straight equally, but AA does not block QQ as badly from making a straight as it does KK, because QQ has 2 ways to make a straight without the A while KK only has one way. But given the result in the first paragraph, I'm not so sure.

[Misunderstud]

It would seem to me that each hand would be blocking the opponent equally in both directions with respect to making a straight.

Is it equally? If the board is 23456 vs 22, the pot is split; if it's 9TJQK vs KK, AA wins.

[jeffnc]

Oh that's a good point. I meant using the hole cards to make a straight, I didn't think of that scenario.