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Does a Flush Beat a Straight in Texas Hold’em?

Yes. In Texas Hold’em, a flush beats a straight. A flush is five cards of the same suit; a straight is five cards in consecutive rank. When both players make one of these hands, the flush wins—unless a player has an even stronger hand, such as a full house or four of a kind.

That answers the basic question, but real hands can be less obvious. You need to compare each player’s best five-card hand, not just the cards they hold or the hand they hoped to make. This guide covers Texas Hold’em hand rankings, how to use a poker hand rankings chart, and the odds of completing common draws on the flop and turn.

Flush vs. Straight: Which Hand Wins?

Here’s the relevant part of the standard poker hand rankings, from strongest to weakest:

  1. Royal flush
  2. Straight flush
  3. Four of a kind
  4. Full house
  5. Flush
  6. Straight
  7. Three of a kind
  8. Two pair
  9. One pair
  10. High card

So, if one player’s best hand is a flush and the other’s best hand is a straight, the flush wins. A straight flush is different: it is five consecutive cards all in the same suit and ranks above four of a kind.

Example: A Flush Beats a Straight

Suppose the board is 8♠ 9♦ 10♣ J♥ 2♠. One player holds Q♣ K♦, making a king-high straight: 9-10-J-Q-K. Another holds A♠ 5♠, making a flush with five spades: A-8-5-2 plus the board’s 8♠? That combination has only four spades, so it is not a flush. This is exactly why you should count the suits rather than assume a draw or made hand exists.

For a clean flush example, change the board to 8♠ 9♠ 10♠ J♠ 2♦. A player with A♠ 5♠ has a flush, while a player with Q♣ K♦ has a king-high straight using 9-10-J-Q-K. The flush wins.

How to Compare Hands in Texas Hold’em

Each player makes the strongest five-card hand available from their two hole cards and the five community cards. You may use both hole cards, one hole card, or neither. The best five cards count; unused cards do not break a tie.

When comparing two flushes, compare the highest card in each flush. If those are equal, compare the next-highest card, then the next, until the hands differ. For example, an ace-high flush beats a king-high flush. Suits do not have different strengths in Texas Hold’em: spades do not beat hearts, and clubs do not beat diamonds.

Straights are compared by their highest card. A 9-high straight beats an 8-high straight. An ace can be high or low: A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest straight, while A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest. It cannot “wrap around,” so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.

When the Board Makes the Hand

If the five community cards already form a straight or flush, every player can use that board. Players may split the pot if nobody can make a better five-card hand with their hole cards. A hole card only improves the hand if it contributes to a stronger five-card combination.

Kicker check: A kicker matters when comparing hands such as one pair or high card. It does not make a straight beat a flush. If your opponent has a flush and you have a straight, the flush wins regardless of your unused hole card.

Using a Poker Hand Rankings Chart

A poker hand rankings chart is useful when you are learning the order of hands or want a quick reference during practice. Look for a chart that shows both the ranking and examples of each hand. A list alone may not clarify how an ace-low straight works or how to compare two flushes.

Printable cheat sheets can be especially handy for home games, beginner lessons, or reviewing hands away from the table. Keep the ranking chart separate from a draw-odds chart if that makes the information easier to scan. The first tells you which hand wins; the second helps you estimate the chance of improving.

Use the chart as a reference, not a substitute for identifying your best five cards. A common beginner mistake is to count all seven cards as a hand, or to think that having two suited hole cards means you already have a flush. You need five cards of that suit to make one.

Hand Odds and Probabilities: Read the Fine Print

Poker odds depend on what cards are known and how many cards are being dealt. The odds for a final seven-card Texas Hold’em hand are not the same as the odds for a traditional five-card hand. Always check which format a probability describes before using it.

For example, a commonly quoted seven-card figure for four of a kind is 0.0240% (1 in 4,164); you may also see it stated as about 1 in 4,165. These are rounded versions of essentially the same rare event. That figure describes the chance of being dealt a seven-card hand containing four of a kind—not the chance of hitting quads on a particular turn or river.

At the table, draw odds are usually more relevant. They estimate the chance of completing a hand with the unseen cards. They do not guarantee a win: an opponent may already have a stronger hand, or may improve as well.

Draw Odds by Flop and Turn

For a typical flush draw after the flop, you have four cards of one suit among your hole cards and the flop. There are nine remaining cards of that suit, called outs, in the 47 unseen cards. These estimates assume all nine outs are clean—that is, hitting one gives you the winning hand.

Draw after the flop Chance to hit on the turn Chance to hit by the river Flush draw (9 outs) About 19.1% About 35.0% Open-ended straight draw (8 outs) About 17.0% About 31.5% Gutshot straight draw (4 outs) About 8.5% About 16.5%

After the turn, there is only one card to come. With nine flush outs, the chance to hit on the river is 9 out of 46, or about 19.6%. With eight straight outs, it is 8 out of 46, or about 17.4%. With four gutshot outs, it is 4 out of 46, or about 8.7%.

The by-river figures account for two chances to hit, on the turn or river. For example, a nine-out flush draw has about a 35% chance to complete by the river, calculated as the chance of missing on both cards subtracted from 100%. Do not add 19.1% twice: the deck changes after the turn, and the two draws are not independent.

Flush Draw Is Not the Same as a Straight Draw

A flush draw needs one more card of the same suit to complete a five-card flush. A straight draw needs a card of a rank that completes five consecutive ranks. They are different draws, even when the same hand has both. For example, holding 8♠ 9♠ on a flop of 6♠ 7♦ K♠ gives you a flush draw and an open-ended straight draw: a 5 xn--pokerhnds-bcb.com or 10 completes the straight, while another spade may complete the flush. Some cards can improve both draws at once.

Be careful not to count every apparent out as safe. A card may complete your flush but also give an opponent a full house, or a higher flush. If your opponent has A♠ and you hold a lower spade draw, a spade on the river may complete your flush while still leaving you behind. The suit itself has no special rank; the flush is compared by its card ranks.

Which Hand Wins Poker? A Practical Checklist

When you are unsure which hand wins poker, take these steps:

  1. Identify the strongest five-card hand each player can make from the board and hole cards.
  2. Place each hand in the standard ranking order. A flush is above a straight.
  3. If both hands have the same category, compare the relevant ranks and kickers.
  4. Check whether the board alone plays for both players, creating a possible split pot.
  5. Remember that suits have no hierarchy in Texas Hold’em.

For a quick sanity check: if villain has a flush and you have a straight, villain wins. If villain has a straight and you have a flush, you win. If you both have flushes, compare the five flush cards from highest to lowest; the kicker can matter when the top card is shared.

Make the Chart Work for You

Keep printable cheat sheets nearby while you learn the rankings, then practise naming the best five-card hand before looking at the answer. Equity charts can help you compare how often a hand wins against another hand or range in a particular situation. They are not the same as hand rankings: rankings tell you which made hand is stronger, while equity estimates your share of the pot based on the cards and opponents involved.

The key takeaway is simple: a flush beats a straight in Texas Hold’em. Know the order of hands, count only the best five cards, and use draw odds as estimates rather than promises. With those habits, you will make fewer costly calls and spot the winning hand more confidently.