JTs vs AKo vs 22 - which do you pick?

The answer may surprise you. Don't get hustled by this old school pro trick.

Over the weekend Bryan Paris (great guy to follow on Twitter btw) posted this question to his followers. Have a think about your own answer. 

A POKER MATH QUIZ

You have to pick one of these hands, then your opponent gets to pick one of them after you, then you both go all-in preflop. Which one do you choose?

— Bryan Paris (@bparispoker) September 28, 2024

It's a trick question, the answer is you should refuse the game. This is part of an old-school Las Vegas pro hustle. 

Let's see why using our free tool Equilab to get the equities of each match-up, but first, let's look at which hand wins if all three hands go at it in a multiway pot. 

Now let's look at how each hand fairs against each other:

The informational edge

This is very much a Rock/Paper/Scissors scenario, and you would never let your opponent pick in that game after declaring what you have picked. In this situation AKo beats JTs, JTs beats 22, and 22 beats AKo. 

AKo is ahead of JTs and can easily pick up a pair if JTs takes the lead, it also blocks some of the JTs straights. 22 is ahead of AKo because it does not have to improve. JTs, however, beats 22 because in addition to the overcards, it has more opportunities to make a straight or flush than AKo did. 

So if somebody offers to let you pick first in this game, they can always play perfectly against you. It's an informational edge that will crush you in the long run. 

All things being equal, the biggest edge is AKo against JTs, so if somebody puts a gun to your head and makes you pick a hand without knowing theirs, that is your best bet if they don't know the game.

Which hand would you have picked? Let us know in the comments: