Win me 20 bucks!!!

[rjaziri]

A friend and I got into a huge argument the other day. Here was the situation - say there is a heads up match. One player is dealt 7-2 offsuit while the other is dealt 3-2 offsuit. Although I know that statistically 7-2 is the worst starting hand in poker, wouldn't it be favored in this situation? What are the percentages of each hand winning the pot pre-flop?

[Dat_Dude]

equity (%) win (%) tie (%)
Hand 1: 65.1923 % 55.99% 09.20% { 72o }
Hand 2: 34.8077 % 25.61% 09.20% { 32o }


Yes, 72o is favored in this situation, 65% to 35%.

[Muck]

Also bare in mind 32o also takes a hit because the 2 is shared.

E.g.
Hand 1 : 63.6% {74o}
Hand 2 : 36.4% {32o}

Despite now having 2 overcards hand 1 has lost 2% of its edge.

[supafrey]

"72 is the worst hand in poker" is just a catch phrase that tv shows like to use. While it's true in multi-way pots (There's very little chance you're hitting any kind of "nut" hand or even "very strong" hand with it), in SH situations the high card is king. The higher, the better.

[tame_deuces]

First one to raise 4xBB preflop wins.

[TheSalche]

you're friend is an idiot ... ask him to count to 10 and then ask him which number is higher, 3 or 7

[Sean_in_NJ]

you're friend is an idiot ... ask him to count to 10 and then ask him which number is higher, 3 or 7

Better yet, give him the 32, you take the 72, and play showdown poker for $1 a hand. To hell with the $20 bet.

[Adamm]

Ran a mix of 27 vs 23 questions into the calculator...
Here's 3 of the 10, picked for extremeness of values...

27o VS. 23s (27's suits no not match 23's suit)
like 2:spade:7:heart: VS 2:diamond:3:diamond:
- 27 wins 52.3%
- 23 wins 30.3%
- Split Pot 17.4%

27s VS. 23s (23 of a different suit)
like 2:spade:7:spade: VS 2:heart:3:heart:
- 27 wins 54.8%
- 23 wins 28.6%
- Split Pot 16.6%

27s VS. 23o (neither of 23's suits match 27's suit)
like 2:spade:7:spade: VS 2:heart:3:club:
- 27 wins 58.3%
- 23 wins 24.3%
- Split Pot 17.4%

...Interesting that the suits can cause a 6% swing. Also neat that the chance of a split pot is so high because we're dealing with such low cards.

EDIT: Crap, just noticed that it's specifically 72o vs 23o
Here's that one with all four suits ...

27o VS. 23o (mixed suits)
like 2:spade:7:heart: VS 2:diamond:3:club:
- 27 wins 55.87%
- 23 wins 25.97%
- Split Pot 18.15%