A flush poker hand is widely considered to be highly favorable. However, there are different types of ‘flush’, with a standard iteration ranked as the fifth-best poker hand overall.
But does a flush beat a straight in poker? We’ll look at precisely where it sits in the pantheon of poker hands, while also addressing your odds of being dealt a flush in the first place.
A poker flush is a hand that comprises five cards of the same suit, in any numerical order. There are four suits in a standard 52-card deck: namely hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. The strength of a flush is determined by its highest card. A flush poker hand is the fifth-best overall. Below you can see a king flush poker hand.
In poker, there are odds that reveal the implied probability of you being dealt a flush poker hand. This means odds of exactly 507.8019/1 imply a 0.00197% probability of receiving this hand. Of all the cards, there are 1,277 distinct hands that can form a flush.
As we’ve touched on, hitting a flush in poker means that you have been dealt the fifth-best poker hand. This means that it beats a straight, three-of-a-kind, two pairs, one-pair, and a high card.
However, it sits immediately below a full house and four-of-a-kind. It’s also beaten by the two other types of flush, including a ‘straight’ flush (where the cards are of the same suit and in sequential order) and a ‘royal’ flush. The latter comprises 10 through Ace of the same suit.
What does a flush beat in poker? is a question we are asked all the time on our community channels, so we decided to make this table to answer that exact question. In popular poker games like Omaha and Texas Hold ‘em, a flush sits just above the middle of all ranked hands. Here’s an at-a-glance look at precisely what a poker hand flush can beat.
Flush beats a Royal Flush | ❌ |
Flush beats a Straight Flush | ❌ |
Flush beats Four Of A Kind | ❌ |
Flush beats a Full House | ❌ |
Flush beats a Straight | ✔️ |
Flush beats Three Of A Kind | ✔️ |
Flush beats Two Pairs | ✔️ |
Flush beats One Pair | ✔️ |
Flush beats a High Card | ✔️ |
A royal flush poker hand comprises the best cards you can be dealt. Although it beats even a high flush poker hand, the chances of hitting it are extremely rare. In fact, the odds of being dealt a royal flush are 649,739/1, implying just a 0.00000154% probability of this outcome occurring.
There are three flush poker hands, with the second best being a straight flush. This also beats a flush Poker hand, but once again, the chances of being dealt a straight flush are low. The odds of hitting this hand are just 72,192/1, implying a low probability of 0.00139% overall.
Four-of-a-kind is the third-highest poker hand, so it also beats a flush. Despite there being 156 iterations of this hand, the odds of being dealt four-of-a-kind are just 4,164/1. These odds are prohibitive and imply just a 0.02401% probability of the hand being dealt.
A flush hand in poker won’t beat a full house either, with this being the fourth-highest-ranked hand. This combines three-of-a-kind with a pair, while there are 156 full house iterations that can be drawn. The odds of hitting a full house are 693.1667/1, which implies a 0.1441% probability of the outcome occurring.
A straight is the sixth-best poker hand, and it’s the first on our list that is beaten by a flush. This features five cards of any suit in sequential order. The odds of hitting a straight are slightly less prohibitive at 253.8/1, so there’s a 0.3925% chance of being dealt this hand.
OK, we hear you ask, but what else does a flush beat in poker? There are four additional hands in total, including three-of-a-kind, two pairs, one pair, and a high card. But what does each of these hands look like?
You may also be wondering “Does high card matter in a flush”? The short answer is that it does, as it’s key to determining who wins if two people have a flush during the same hand. So, if you’re unsure whether a flush is good in poker, much will depend on the highest-value card included in your hand.
So if player A has an ace flush and the player B has a king flush, it’s player A that wins
In poker, suited connectors describe pocket cards that are both suited and connected (such as the Jack of Hearts and the Queen of Hearts). Interestingly, the odds of forming a flush (or better) with suited connectors is 0.94%. However, these odds increase to 1.22% when you’re initially dealt a pocket pair. Here’s a summary of how the odds of landing a flush poker hand can vary after each round of community cards are dealt.
Flush Probability | A-K suited | Any other Suited Connectors | Any other suited non-connectors |
---|---|---|---|
Pre Flop Odds | 0.82% | 0.94% | 1.22% |
Post Flop Odds | 10.9% | 10.94% | 10.45% |
After The Turn Odds | 19.2% | 19.2% | 19.2% |
After The River Odds | 19.6% | 19.6% | 19.6% |
As you can see from our extensive poker hands chart and guide, a flush ranks as the fifth-best hand overall. This resource also details each available poker hand and how they rank in different game iterations such as Omaha and Texas Hold ’em. So, wherever you play flush poker online, you can measure the quality of your hand and make genuinely informed decisions.
In addition to answering what is a flush in poker, this guide also aims to discuss the key strategies when playing this hand. Each of our tips below relates to playing a flush from three different poker positions, position plays a pivotal role in your decision-making, and which of the strategies is best.
If you want to learn flush rules in poker, CoinPoker has a number of tutorials that may be of interest. These include detailed guides on how to play Texas Hold’Em, Omaha Hold’em and
5-card Omaha, alongside a Texas Hold ‘em poker hand chart and information pertaining to stakes.
You can also read any of our informational guides on the ReadWrite website. These include information on how to play poker which is ideal if you’re new to the game or learning about a flush poker or similar hand.
Sign up To Claim 150% Deposit Bonus Up To $2,000
By now, you should have a clear understanding of a flush meaning in poker and where this stands in the full list of poker deck hands. You should also have learned several basic factors about the standard flush poker hand, including the following:
Of course, this particular flush poker guide is aimed at beginners. If you’d like to learn how to win at poker then read our more advanced information and strategies, we can recommend the following guides:
However you play your flush poker hand, it’s crucial that you wager responsibly and within your means at all times. So, be sure to set a conservative bankroll to cover a finite period of time, while using customizable deposit limits that help you manage this successfully.
However, if you become concerned about your gambling behavior or spending, we urge you to check out our responsible gambling resource. There are also other resources that can provide practice advice and guidance, especially if you’re already showcasing signs of problem gambling.
The post What is a Flush Poker Hand? – Beginner Poker Players Guide appeared first on ReadWrite.