Flush in Poker
What is a Flush?
A flush is any five cards of the same suit. The cards don’t need to be in rank order as only the suit must match. A flush’s rank is set out in the poker hand rankings guide.
Where a Flush Ranks
A flush is the fifth-strongest hand in Texas Hold’em. A flush ranks above a straight and below a full house. The full rank order from high card up to a royal flush, including a flush, is available on the hub.
Example Hands
A flush is any five cards of the same suit. A flush can vary in strength depending on the five cards. For example, A♠ Q♠ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠ is stronger than K♥ J♥ 8♥ 5♥ 2♥ because a king does not outrank an ace.
Flushes are settled by their high cards when they go up against one another. The flush with the best high card wins, as in the example above. The suits don’t impact the rank of a flush.
A flush draw is a hand that needs one or more cards to make it complete.
- Hole cards of Q♠ J♠ on a flop of 10♠ 9♠ 2♦
- Hitting a spade on the turn or river “draws” a flush
- The draw also has straight flush outs with 8♠ or K♠
What a Flush Beats and Loses To
A flush beats a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. A flush loses to a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush.
Ties and Kickers
When flushes clash, the highest cards are compared first, with the best top card determining the winner. If the top cards match, the next best card is compared. This continues down to the fifth card, if necessary.
- A flush of A♣ 10♣ 8♣ 6♣ 4♣ goes up against a flush of A♦ 10♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦
- A♣ 10♣ 8♣ 6♣ 4♣ wins because four outranks two
Two flushes that contain the same rank of five cards are equal. Equal flushes at showdown result in a split pot because the suit never breaks a tie.
Flush Probability
The probability of making a flush in Texas Hold’em is around 3.03%. The probability is based on using the two hole cards and five community cards to make the best five card hand. A flush is rare as only a full house and higher ranks occur less frequently.
Flush Across Variants
A flush keeps the same ranking in standard Hold’em and Omaha games. The ranking of a flush changes in Short Deck poker, like 6+ Hold’em, as it uses a 36-card deck without twos, threes, fours and fives. This makes it statistically harder to make a flush than a full house, so they switch places in the rankings, with a flush outranking a full house.
Frequently Asked Questions
A flush is any five cards of the same suit. The cards don’t need to be in ranking order as long as the suits match, such as A♠ Q♠ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠. A flush sits below a full house and above a straight in Texas Hold’em, making it the fifth-strongest hand in the poker hand rankings.
Yes, a flush beats a straight because a flush ranks as the fifth-strongest hand in most high-hand poker games. A flush is statistically harder to make than a straight as it is any five cards of the same suit, whereas a straight is five cards in rank order regardless of the suit.
The flush with the best top card wins when two flushes go up against each other. If the top cards are the same, the next cards are compared in rank order until the tie is broken. An ace-high flush such as A♠ Q♠ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠ beats a king-high flush such as K♥ J♥ 8♥ 5♥ 2♥. Equal flushes with matching card ranks result in a split pot because suits never break a tie.
A flush in Texas Hold’em is rare as it is made around 3.03% of the time. A flush is more common than a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush, so these hands rank higher.