JJ vs AK: who is ahead?

Everyone hates jacks, but this is the matchup they were built for. Against ace-king the jacks sit a shade over 56%, marginally better than queens manage, because ace-king cannot use a jack for its Broadway straight while the jacks occasionally make straights of their own. The hand only becomes miserable postflop, when an ace or king arrives on the board and turns the pair into a guessing game. Getting jacks in preflop against the big-card hands is not reckless. It converts the hardest pair to play into a simple race you are winning.

Quick tip: The famous line that there are three ways to play jacks and all of them are wrong is a joke about flops. Preflop, jacks are simply strong.

All numbers are all-in preflop equity vs one opponent, computed by the Poker Shark equity engine from the full 169 by 169 hand matrix, weighted across suited and offsuit combos.