Straight in Poker
What is a Straight?
A straight is five cards in numerical order and not all the same suit. The rank of the cards must be consecutive, but the suits do not need to match. The full poker hand rankings chart shows where a straight sits in order of rank among the 10 poker hands.
Where a Straight Ranks
A straight ranks as the sixth-strongest hand. A flush sits directly above it. Five hands rank higher than a straight, including a flush. Three of a kind sits directly below a straight.
Example Hands
A straight is five cards in numerical order made up of at least two suits. The highest straight is a “broadway” straight, running from Ace to 10. The lowest straight is a “wheel” straight, running from five to Ace.
- А♠ K♦ Q♣ J♥ 10♠ (a broadway straight where the Ace plays high)
- 5♠ 4♦ 3♣ 2♥ A♠ (a wheel straight where the Ace plays low)
- The Ace must start or end a straight and can’t “wrap-around” (King-Ace-two-three-four isn’t a straight)
- A straight has no kicker
A middle straight sits in-between a broadway and a wheel straight. Here’s an example:
- 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ 5♦
If two straights clash, the highest straight wins.
What a Straight Beats and Loses To
A straight beats three of a kind down to high card. This includes three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. A straight loses to a flush up to a royal flush. This includes a flush, a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush.
Ties and Kickers
A straight is ranked by its highest card only. A kicker doesn’t apply. The straight with the greater top card wins when two straights clash.
- A nine-high straight beats an eight-high straight as nine is greater than eight
- 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ 5♦ > 8♣ 7♦ 6♠ 5♥ 4♣
Straights with the same high card are equal and split the pot at showdown. Suits don’t outrank each other. An example of a split pot is a jack-high straight of J♠ 10♦ 9♣ 8♥ 7♠ that ties a jack-high straight of J♥ 10♠ 9♦ 8♣ 7♥.
Straight Probability
The chance of making a straight is 4.62% in Texas Hold’em. This includes the hole cards and all five community cards being dealt. A straight is the sixth least frequent hand on the hand rankings. It’s rarer than three of a kind and more common than a flush.
Straight Across Variants
A straight ranks the same across most poker variants. It’s the sixth strongest hand, with a flush ranking above it and three of a kind ranking below it. In some poker formats, like 2-7 Triple Draw and 2-7 Single Draw where the aim is to get the best low poker hand, a straight can count against the hand value.
Frequently Asked Questions
A straight is five consecutive cards in numerical order made up of two or more suits. The suits do not count towards the hand's rank if straights clash. The Ace sits at the top of the highest possible straight, from the Ace down to the ten, or at the bottom of the lowest straight, from five down to the Ace. The sequence does not wrap from King through Ace to two, so King, Ace, two, three, four is not a straight.
A straight beats three of a kind and below: three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. A straight loses to a flush and above: a flush, a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush.
The straight with the greater high card wins because a kicker isn’t applied. A nine-high straight beats an eight-high straight. When two straights share the same top card, the hands are equal and the pot is split as suits carry no value.
A straight is made 4.62% of the time in Texas Hold’em when players use their hole cards and the five community cards. A flush is rarer than a straight, but three of a kind is more common than a straight.