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How to Play Pocket Kings: Preflop, Aces and Ace-High Flops
Pocket kings are the second-best starting hand. How to play KK preflop, when (almost never) to fold it, and what to do when an ace lands on the flop.
By PokerLevelUp Team · · 2 min read
Pocket kings are the second-best starting hand in Texas Hold’em. You’ll get them once every 221 hands, and most of the time the right play is simple: get as much money in as you can before the flop. The two things that go wrong with kings are running into aces and an ace on the flop — and the first is much rarer than it feels.
How strong are pocket kings?
All equities are exact from our odds calculator:
| Opponent’s hand | K♠K♥ equity |
|---|---|
| A random hand | 82% |
| A smaller pair (Q-Q) | 81% |
| A-K offsuit | 70% |
| A-Q suited | 68% |
| A-5 suited | 66% |
| A-A | 19% |
Kings are a big favourite against everything except aces. Even the ace-x hands that scare players are 2-to-1 underdogs.
Like every big pair, kings do better against fewer opponents:
| Opponents (random hands) | K♠K♥ equity |
|---|---|
| 1 | 82% |
| 2 | 69% |
| 3 | 58% |
| 4 | 50% |
Preflop: raise, re-raise, get it in
- Nobody has raised: raise from every seat. Never limp — you want to build the pot and play against one or two opponents, not five.
- Someone has raised: 3-bet. Calling to “trap” lets hands like suited connectors see a cheap flop and costs you value.
- Facing a 3-bet: 4-bet. Against most players, K-K is too strong to just call.
- Facing a 4-bet or all-in: with 100 big blinds, get it in. Folding kings preflop is only right against an opponent who has shown they will only 4-bet or 5-bet with aces — and that’s rare.
How often does someone have aces?
With one opponent left to act, they hold A-A about 0.5% of the time. With five opponents it’s about 2.4%, and at a full table with eight opponents about 3.9%. When you fold kings preflop, you’re folding the winner more than 95 times out of 100 unless you have a very good read.
When an ace flops
An ace flops about 23% of the time when you hold kings. What to do depends on the action and your opponent’s range:
- You raised preflop and they called: their calling range has plenty of A-x (A-Q, A-J, A-T suited). On an A-7-2 board, K-K is well behind A-J (9% equity). Check more often, and fold to strong action like a check-raise or big bets on multiple streets.
- They raised and you 3-bet: their range is stronger and also full of A-x. Same idea — slow down.
- Heads-up and they check twice: you can often bet the river for thin value or check down. Don’t turn kings into a bluff.
The mistake to avoid is betting three streets on an ace-high board hoping they have Q-Q or J-J. Those hands will usually fold by the turn; the hands that call you have you beaten.
Other flops
On boards without an ace, kings are usually an overpair. Bet for value, especially on wet boards where draws will call. Slow down on boards where many hands in their range beat one pair, such as 9-8-7 two-tone after a multiway pot. See continuation betting and pot control.
Related
#strategy#preflop#starting-hands#postflop
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