AK v pairs - the higher the pair, the better- why??

[Mr.WeakTight]

I was messing with poker stove. I put AK vs. pairs, one pair at a time starting with 22 and going up to QQ. the higher the pair, the more equity it had against AK. Can someone explain why?

[Merton0806]

the lower the pair the more they can get counterfeited.

[jay_shark]

Take two examples .

1)You have 2h2c and your opponent has AdKs .
The flop is: 5s 8d 10c

2)You have 6h6c and your opponent has AdKs .
The flop is : 5s 8d 10c .

It should be clear that pocket 6's has a better chance of winning over pocket 2's since the 2's have three overcards to the pair which would give your opponent the lead . In other words , the higher the pair , the less likely there will be overpairs to it .

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
I was messing with poker stove. I put AK vs. pairs, one pair at a time starting with 22 and going up to QQ. the higher the pair, the more equity it had against AK. Can someone explain why?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not exactly true. Here are the values against AKo.

22: 52.649%
33: 53.375
44: 54.031
55: 54.617
66: 54.989
77: 54.984
88: 55.161
99: 55.271
TT: 56.877
JJ: 56.851
QQ: 56.758

Note the exceptions at 66->77, TT->JJ, and JJ->QQ.

Middle pairs do significantly better than low pairs primarily because they are counterfeited less frequently. They also win slightly more frequently when the board is a straight or a flush. I believe 66 does better than 77 by ruining the wheel for AK.

High pairs do better than middle pairs because they have more chances to make a straight when AK hits a pair or two, and they block AK from making a straight or have a chance to fill up. However, QQ is no better for this than TT, and TT can win with a few more low straights, which is more important than boards like QQJJx and AAQQT.

[TEKEE]

i love data like this great post.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]

High pairs do better than middle pairs because they have more chances to make a straight when AK hits a pair or two, and they block AK from making a straight or have a chance to fill up. However, QQ is no better for this than TT, and TT can win with a few more low straights, which is more important than boards like QQJJx and AAQQT.

[/ QUOTE ]
I was trying to produce examples of boards where TT loses to AK, but switching all queens for tens produces a board where QQ beats AK. The full house example should have been AJJJT -> AQJJJ, rather than one where aces full wins against either.