Does a Straight Beat a Flush?

A flush is five cards of one suit, ranked #5, like A♦ J♦ 8♦ 5♦ 2♦. A straight is five cards in sequence of mixed suits, ranked #6, like 9♠ 8♦ 7♥ 6♣ 5♠. Number 5 outranks number 6, so a straight does not beat a flush — the flush wins the showdown every time. This is the same question people ask in reverse as does a flush beat a straight, and the answer never flips: flush over straight, in Hold’em and every other standard high game.

The rarer hand ranks higher

Poker orders hands by how difficult they are to make. Count the five-card combinations and the flush comes out scarcer:

There are almost exactly twice as many straights as flushes. Because the flush is harder to hit, it earns the higher spot. No house rule, no regional twist — just the math.

The confusion is almost always the straight flush

Nearly every “but doesn’t a straight beat a flush?” argument is really about the straight flush, which is a different animal:

• A straight is five cards in a row, mixed suits. It loses to a flush.
• A straight flush is five cards in a row all one suit, like 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥. It ranks #2 and crushes a flush.

The only hand with “straight” in its name that tops a flush is the straight flush — rarer than either a plain straight or a plain flush. Don’t let the shared word fool you.

No, the format doesn’t change it

Hold’em, Omaha, and seven-card stud all use the same standard rankings, so the flush beats the straight in each. The only games that shift this are exotic lowball and wild-card variants, which announce their special rules up front — and most even of those keep the standard high order here. Whatever you’re playing, the full order of hands applies.

Seeing it at showdown

The board reads K♥ 9♥ 4♥ 8♠ 2♣. You hold Q♥ 6♥, making K♥ Q♥ 9♥ 6♥ 4♥, a king-high flush. Your opponent holds J♣ 10♦ for K-Q-J-10-9, a well-made king-high straight. The straight looks premium, and that’s exactly the trap: it takes second place. Your flush scoops the pot. Whenever three or more cards of one suit sit on the board, treat it as a flush alarm — if you only have a straight and the betting turns aggressive, your hand may already be behind.

Everything above a straight is: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, and the flush itself. Anything at three of a kind or lower loses to your straight. Get the whole ladder down cold at the hand rankings hub before your next session at the Texas Hold’em tables.