Is A9s a good poker hand?

A9s (Ace-Nine suited) ranks 18 of 169 by heads-up equity and 21 of 169 against five opponents. Our simple opening guide puts it in the "Strong" group: Raise from any position at most tables. Slow down against early re-raises.

How often are you dealt A9s?

There are 4 ways to be dealt A9s out of 1,326 possible starting hands, so it comes about 0.30% of the time, or 1 in 332 hands.

What are the odds of A9s against Aces?

All-in before the flop, A9s wins about 11.4% against AA (equity including split pots).

A9s Poker Hand: Ace-Nine suited Odds and Strategy

A9s Ace-Nine suited

Wins vs 1 random hand: 62.8%
Wins vs 5 random hands: 24.1%
Dealt: 1 in 332
Opening guide: Strong

How to play it. Raise from any position at most tables. Slow down against early re-raises.

A9s pairs at least one of its cards on the flop 32.4% of the time and makes two pair or better 6.6% of the time.

Because both cards share a suit, it flops a flush or a four-card flush draw 11.8% of the time. Compare A9o at 60.8% heads-up.

When you pair your Ace, a weak kicker is the danger: an opponent with a better Ace will often win the big pots.

Against nine opponents it still wins 15.4%, 1.5 times its fair share of 10.0%.

A9s against common hands

Opponent	A9s equity	Verdict
AA Pocket Aces	11.4%	Big underdog
KK Pocket Kings	31.6%	Underdog
QQ Pocket Queens	31.7%	Underdog
JJ Pocket Jacks	31.4%	Underdog
TT Pocket Tens	31.6%	Underdog
77 Pocket Sevens	46.7%	Coin flip
22 Pocket Twos	49.8%	Coin flip
AKs Ace-King suited	29.2%	Big underdog
AKo Ace-King offsuit	30.3%	Underdog
AQo Ace-Queen offsuit	30.9%	Underdog
KQs King-Queen suited	57.6%	Favourite
JTs Jack-Ten suited	55.4%	Favourite
76s Seven-Six suited	60.8%	Favourite
72o Seven-Two offsuit	69.4%	Favourite

All-in before the flop, averaged over every suit combination. 40,000 simulated boards per matchup.

A9s on the flop

Pair one of your hole cards	32.4%
Two pair or better	6.6%
Three of a kind or better	2.5%
Straight or better	0.9%
Flush draw or better (four or more of a suit)	11.8%

Exact, counted over all 19,600 possible flops.

Questions players ask

Is A9s a good poker hand?: A9s (Ace-Nine suited) ranks 18 of 169 by heads-up equity and 21 of 169 against five opponents. Our simple opening guide puts it in the "Strong" group: Raise from any position at most tables. Slow down against early re-raises.
How often are you dealt A9s?: There are 4 ways to be dealt A9s out of 1,326 possible starting hands, so it comes about 0.30% of the time, or 1 in 332 hands.
What are the odds of A9s against Aces?: All-in before the flop, A9s wins about 11.4% against AA (equity including split pots).

A9s Ace-Nine suited

Win percentage by number of opponents

A9s against common hands

A9s on the flop

Questions players ask