How do you play pocket queens?

Pocket queens is a premium hand you raise for value, but it is the first big pair that gets genuinely awkward when the action gets heavy before the flop.

Pocket Queens

Premium

79.9%

Equity vs a random hand

6

Combos (of 1,326)

5/5

Seats that open it

Open it and re-raise it freely. The hard spot is facing a re-raise and then a four-bet. Against ace king, queens are a small favorite, about 54 to 57 percent; against aces or kings they win only about 18 percent; and jacks and the other smaller pairs are the hands queens crush, about 82 percent. Against most opponents you still get the money in, but against a player who only ever four-bets aces and kings, queens can become a fold. After the flop, an ace or king overcard arrives often, so a single bet of pressure does not mean you are beat.

This hand opens for a raise from every position, including under the gun.

Common mistake: Treating queens like aces against a tight player who has put in a third raise. The deeper the action, the more queens shrink toward a bluff-catcher.

Quick tip: An overcard (an ace or a king) appears on about two flops in five. Plan for it instead of panicking.