What is a Flush Poker Hand? – Beginner Poker Players Guide

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.

What Does a Flush Look Like in Poker?

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.

What are the Odds and Probability of Hitting Flush Poker Hands?

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.

How Are Flush Poker Hands Ranked?

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?

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.

Does a Flush Beat A Royal Flush in Poker?

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.

Does a Flush Beat a Straight Flush?

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.

Does a Flush Beat Four Of A Kind?

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.

Does a Flush Beat a Full House?

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.

Does a Flush Beat a Straight?

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.

What Other Poker Hands Does a Flush Beat?

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?

• Three Of A Kind – A three-of-a-kind comprises three numerically identical cards of any suit. The odds of being dealt this are 46.32955/1, so the hand has an implied probability of 2.1128%.
• Two Pairs – A flush Poker hand also beats two pairs. Two pairs can include matching numbers from different suits, and there’s a 20.03535/1 chance of this hand being dealt. This implies a 4.7539% probability of the outcome occurring.
• One Pair – You can also land a single pair when playing poker. This is an incredibly common hand, and the odds against this being drawn are just 1.366477/1. So, you have a 42.2569% chance of being drawn this hand.
• High Card – Theoretically, every poker hand that you are drawn will have a high card. This is simply the highest-value card in your hand where no pairs are drawn. As a result, the cumulative probability of this particular outcome occurring is 100%.

Who Wins if Both Players Have a Flush Hand in Poker?

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

What Are The Odds Of Hitting a Flush With Suited Connectors?

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.

Where Does a Flush Rank in the Poker Hand Ratings Chart?

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.

What Strategies Can You Use When Playing a Flush Poker Hand?

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.

• How to Play from the Dealer Position – The dealer (or button) position is the best in the game of poker, as you get to see the first three positions and are the last to act after the flop. So, you’ll have every opportunity to play aggressively and adjust your strategy as required, both in terms of betting and exactly how you utilize your hand. This position has the widest raise first in (RFI) range of 48%, so you’re able to leverage a flush to its fullest potential here.
• How to Play a Flush from the Big Blind Position – This position comes after the small blind and requires you to submit a big blind (which means you have to double the money wagered). This is the worst position to play any hand, as you can’t see your cards and have to commit double the ante (small blind) upfront. You’re also the second player to act after the flop, so you may need to play this position conservatively and even fold without a sizable bankroll.
• How to Play a Flush from ‘Under the Gun – This position comes after the Big Blind in most poker iterations. It’s also an unfavorable position and arguably the worst pre-flop because you’ll only be able to act and make decisions based on your hand, So, you’ll have to decide whether to call the big blind amount, raise, or fold with very limited information, creating significant pressure and risk. This demands a simple ‘fold or raise’ strategy, with your decision depending on the size of your bankroll and initial hand.

What is the Best Site to Learn Poker Hands?

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.

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Conclusion

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:

1. Flush Poker Rules – You should have learned the basic flush poker rules and how this particular hand can be played.
2. The Composition of a Flush Poker Hand – This guide answers the question “What does a flush look like in poker”? by appraising how it can be composed and its 1,277 variations.
3. The Value of a Flush Hand  – You’ll know now where the flush sits in the poker hands chart for most games and variations. For example, you can see what a flush means in Texas Hold ‘em and specific Omaha games.
4. The Flush Hierarchy – We’ve also touched on who wins if two players have a flush, with the round decided by who has the highest value card.
5. The Odds of Being Dealt a Flush – Our guide also details the flush cards in poker and the precise odds of being dealt this hand. From here, you can determine the implied probability of this outcome occurring.

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:

Related Poker Guides

• Poker Bankroll Management
• Poker Strategy
• Types of Poker Games
• Poker Terminology

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