Does a Flush Beat a Full House?
No, a full house beats a flush in standard poker. Here's the probability behind the rule, a board example, and the one variant that flips it.
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No — a full house beats a flush in standard poker, every time. The full house sits at #4 on the ten-hand ladder and the flush right below at #5, so a flush can never top a full house in Texas Hold’em, Omaha, or seven-card stud. There’s exactly one mainstream exception, short-deck, which we’ll get to at the end. Everywhere else, the boat wins.
The two hands, plainly
- Full house = three of a kind plus a pair, e.g.
9♠ 9♥ 9♦ 4♣ 4♠(“nines full of fours”). - Flush = any five cards of one suit, e.g.
A♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 3♦.
The full house takes it. If you’re holding a flush, the hands you actually beat are a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. Every full house, every four of a kind, and every straight flush is ahead of you.
The rarity behind the rule
Poker orders hands by how hard they are to make. Count the five-card combinations in a full deck:
| Hand | Ways to make it | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Full house | 3,744 | #4 |
| Flush | 5,108 | #5 |
A flush is about 36% more common than a full house, so it ranks lower. It’s the same principle that puts a flush above a straight — rarity all the way down. The neighboring rung is covered in does a flush beat a straight.
Where flushes get punished
The board comes Q♥ 9♥ 9♠ 4♥ 2♥. Four hearts showing, so a flush is live — and this texture is exactly where a flush walks into a wall.
- You hold
A♥ 5♣→ best fiveA♥ Q♥ 9♥ 4♥ 2♥= ace-high flush. Feels unbeatable. - Opponent holds
Q♦ 9♦→ best five9♠ 9♥ 9♦ Q♥ Q♦= full house, nines full of queens.
Your ace-high flush is second best. The paired board (9♠ 9♥) gave your opponent the boat, and a full house always tops a flush. When a board is both paired and flushy, your flush is far more fragile than it looks.
How each hand breaks its own ties
When two players land in the same category, you settle it inside that category:
- Flush vs. flush: compare highest card, then next, and so on. Ace-high beats king-high. Suits never break the tie — identical ranks split the pot.
- Full house vs. full house: the three-of-a-kind decides first. Nines full of twos beats sevens full of aces, because the trips outrank the pair. Only if the trips are equal do you compare the pairs.
That second rule catches people out: with full houses, the pair almost never matters. “Aces full” beats every other boat simply because nothing tops trip aces.
The reverse, and the one exception
If you’re the one holding the full house, only three hands beat you — four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush. A flush isn’t among them. The full list above a boat is in what beats a full house.
The lone flip is short-deck (six-plus hold’em), where all 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are stripped out, leaving 36 cards. With sixteen fewer cards, a flush becomes harder to make than a full house, so short-deck reverses the two: there, a flush beats a full house. Playing a full deck? Ignore it — the standard order holds.
For any showdown you can’t call from memory, the complete what-beats-what chart settles it, and the whole ladder lives at the hand rankings hub.
Frequently asked
Does a flush beat a full house?
No. A full house beats a flush in every standard high-poker game. The full house ranks fourth on the ten-hand ladder and the flush ranks fifth, so the full house always wins.
Why does a full house beat a flush?
Because it is rarer. There are 3,744 ways to make a full house and 5,108 ways to make a flush from a 52-card deck, so the harder hand ranks higher.
In what game does a flush beat a full house?
In short-deck (six-plus) hold'em, where the 2s through 5s are removed, a flush beats a full house. Stripping sixteen cards makes flushes harder to hit than full houses, so the order flips.
What beats a full house?
Four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush beat a full house. A flush, a straight, and everything below all lose to it.
When is a flush not safe on the board?
Whenever the board is paired. A full house needs a pair somewhere, so any paired board means a full house is possible and your flush could be second best.