Straight flush. If you have no pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, etc., then the highest card in your hand is considered to be decisive. The hand above, in which the best card is an ace and there is no other combination of poker hand, is known as “ace high”. Ace high beats king high. King high beats queen high, and so on. Traditional High Poker Hand Ranks. Straight Flush: Five cards in numerical order, all of identical suits. In the event of a tie: Highest rank at the top of the sequence wins. The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit.

• Is A Straight Or A Flush Higher In Poker
• Royal Straight Flush In Poker

A Flush is fourth on the list of poker hand rankings and is made up of 5 cards in the same suit.

Although the word flush doesn’t immediately have you thinking that it consists of five cards all in the same suit, it’s still an easy hand to recognise. A flush is a relatively strong hand in Texas Hold’em with the highest possible flush being ace-high with all 5 cards in the same suit.

The best Flush possible is the ace-high Flush:

A♠J♠10♠3♠2♠

When it comes to flushes, the suits don’t matter. However, not every ace-high flush is ranked equally. When it comes to rating one ace-high flush over the next, it’s the hand rank or denomination that’s important.

*Note that a straight to the Ace in any suit, counts as a Royal Flush and neither ranks better than the other in the hand ranking system.

How Does a Flush Hand Rank?

In a 52-card deck, there are 5,108 possible Flush hand combinations and 1,277 distinct ranks of Flushes. Each flush is ranked by its highest card, then by the rank of its second-highest card and so on.

Here are some examples of a few flushes:

A♠J♠10♠3♠2♠

K♥10♥7♥5♥2♥

A♣K♣Q♣8♣2♣

Q♦J♦10♦9♦3♦

Can you tell which Flush ranks the best?

Is A Straight Or A Flush Higher In Poker

Keep in mind that the ranking of a Flush is determined by the highest straight card – not the suit. If more than one player has a Flush, then the winner is determined by the player with the highest straight. So, for example, a King-high Flush – in any suit - beats a Queen-high Flush – in any suit, and so forth.

Also, a K-J-10-5-3 flush would beat a K-J-9-8-3 flush. Notice that in the first hand the third card 10 is higher than the 9 in the second hand. That’s what makes it rank higher.

How Does a Flush Hand Match Up?

A Flush is the fourth best possible hand in the poker hand ranking system. A Full House ranks directly above it. Although 4^th on the list, it is still a very strong hand in Hold’em and is rarely beat on the river.

That said, there are still quite a few hands that rank under it. The next best hand down on the list is called a Straight.

The best Straight is the ace-high straight – also known as “Broadway”.

Flush Poker Probabilities

Now, we’ll look at the pre-flop, flop, turn and river probabilities of making a Flush in both Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha.

Visit our Flush Poker Odds article for more information.

Flush – FAQ

Question 1: What is a “flush” in poker?

In poker, a flush is made when holding 5 cards all of the same suit. If the cards are also in consecutive rank order, this is referred to instead as a “straight flush”.

Question 2: Which flush wins in poker?

Assuming two players both have a flush, the winner is determined by the player with the highest ranked flush card (Aces are high). Assuming both players share the same high card, the second highest card is consulted and so on.

Question 3: Is a flush a strong hand in poker?

The strength of a flush often depends on the poker variant in question. For example, flushes are typically very strong holdings in Hold’em, but less so in Omaha since players start with additional hole-cards. Flushes with big cards are also naturally a lot stronger than flushes made with small cards.

Question 4: Does a flush beat a straight?

In the vast majority of poker variants (including Hold’em, Omaha and Stud), the answer is yes, a flush always beats a straight.

Question 5: Does a flush beat a full house?

In the vast majority of poker variants (including Hold’em, Omaha and Stud), the answer is no, a flush always loses against a full house.

Now that you’ve got the Flush down pat, we’ll move on to the next hand on the list. It’s called the Full House.

Most video poker players can improve their chances by following the few simple rules for holding or discarding the first five cards that they have been dealt:

Always hold a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, or two pair. However, with three of a kind, discard the remaining two cards for a chance at four of a kind while leaving full house opportunities open, and with two pair, discard the fifth card for a chance at a full house.

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Break up a flush or a straight only when you have four cards to a royal flush. That is, if you have ace-king-queen-jack-9, all of clubs, discard the 9 to take a chance at the big payoff for the 10 of clubs. That still leaves open the possibility of a flush with any other club, a straight with any other 10, and a pair of jacks or better with any ace, king, queen, or jack.

Break up a pair of jacks or better if you have four cards to a royal flush or four cards to a lower straight flush.

Keep a low pair instead of a single high card (jack, queen, king, or ace).

Do not draw to a four-card inside straight -- one in which the missing card is in the middle rather than on either end -- unless it includes at least three high cards. A four-card open straight is one that has space open at either end to complete the hand; for example, a hand of 4-5-6-7 can use either a 3 at one end or an 8 at the other to complete the straight. An inside straight has space in the middle that must be filled to complete the hand; 4-6-7-8 needs a 5 to become a straight. Open straights give the player a better chance, with twice as many cards available to fill the straight.

Royal Straight Flush In Poker

Optimal Strategy

Once you're used to the quick strategy, you may want to move on to a version that is more complex, but more accurate. Following is a strategy that is optimal for the common 8-5 and 7-5 Jacks or Better machines. It also varies only about a tenth of a percent from optimal on 9-6 Jacks or Better and for Bonus Poker machines.

Just as in the quick version, a few hands are never broken up. Obviously, if you're fortunate enough to be dealt a royal flush, you hold all five cards and wait for your payoff. (On payoffs this large, the machine will flash 'Jackpot!' or 'Winner!' In these cases the winnings will be paid by an attendant rather than by the machine. Do not put more coins in the machine or attempt to play another hand before you are paid for the royal flush.)

Also hold all five cards on a straight flush or a full house. Hold all four matching cards on four of a kind. Hold three of a kind while discarding the other two cards for a chance at either four of a kind or a full house. Hold both pairs in a two-pair hand, but discard the fifth card for a chance at a full house.

In the right circumstances, however, the player sometimes will break up a flush, a straight, or a pair of jacks or better. If you do not have one of the 'always keep' hands, use the following list. Possible predraw hands are listed in order. Find the highest listing that fits your predraw hand, and discard any cards that do not fit the hand. For example, if your hand includes jack of spades, jack of diamonds, 10 of diamonds, 9 of diamonds, and 8 of diamonds, you have four cards to an open straight flush in diamonds, and you also have a pair of jacks or better. The four-card open straight flush is higher on the list than the pair of jacks or better, so you would discard the jack of spades and draw to the four-card straight flush. You are giving up the certain 1-for-1 payoff for a pair of jacks, but you have a chance at a straight flush with either a queen or 7 of diamonds, could draw a flush with any other diamond, or still could finish with a pair of jacks by drawing the jack of either clubs or hearts.

This strategy distinguishes between inside straights or straight flushes and open straights or straight flushes.

Remember, keep a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, or two pair. Here is how other predraw hands rank:

In any hand that does not fit one of the above categories, draw five new cards.

That's a pretty lengthy list for a beginner, but it can be shortened considerably by taking all those three card straight flushes -- open, inside, double inside, with high cards, without high cards -- and lumping them together just below four high cards. That'll cost you a few tenths of a percent, but when you're comfortable with the rest of the strategy, you can start breaking down the categories for more expert play.

Money Management

Two important points to remember: Don't overbet your bankroll, and if a machine is available at which you feel comfortable playing the maximum number of coins, do so. If you are sitting down to play with $20, you don't belong at a $1 machine that will take up to $5 at a time. It is better to play five quarters at a time than one dollar at a time. Though video poker machines pay back a high percentage of the money put into them, the payouts are volatile. It is not unusual to go five or ten or more consecutive hands with no payout. Don't play at a level at which you do not have the funds to ride out a streak.

While the saying, 'The house always wins,' is true for almost any casino game, video poker is one of the few exceptions. If you have patience and can follow the simple rules in this article, you may come out ahead for once.

For more information on video poker and general poker tips, try the following links:

• To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
• Whether you're playing a machine or eight guys with cigars, you'll be glad to know some Poker Basics.
• If you like your card games on a screen, you might enjoy learning How to Play Poker Online.
• There are other machines happy to take your money on the gambling floor. Be smarter than they are with some Casino Gambling Basics.