Flush vs Straight Flush: What's the Difference?

A flush is five cards of one suit in any order. A straight flush is five cards of one suit that also run in sequence. That second requirement is the entire difference, and it decides the matchup: a straight flush beats a plain flush every time.

Put the two side by side and the extra condition is easy to see:

• Flush: K♦ J♦ 9♦ 6♦ 3♦ — all diamonds, ranks scattered.
• Straight flush: 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ — all hearts, ranks in an unbroken run.

The flush asks one thing of you, matching suits. The straight flush asks for two at once, matching suits and consecutive ranks. Every straight flush is therefore also a flush, but almost no flush clears the higher bar.

Why one word moves the hand so far

Poker orders hands by rarity, and the two counts are not close. In a 52-card deck there are 5,108 plain flushes but only 40 straight flushes (the 4 royals included). A plain flush is roughly 128 times more common, which is exactly why it sits at #5 while the straight flush sits at #2, behind only the royal.

You can feel that gap at the table. A flush turns up often enough that most sessions produce one; a straight flush can be years apart.

Same board, two different hands

Say the board comes 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ K♦ 2♣ and two players both make hearts.

• Holding A♥ 3♥, you play A♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ 3♥ — an ace-high flush. Strong on almost any other day.
• Holding 9♥ 8♥, your opponent plays 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ — a nine-high straight flush.

Both hands are five hearts. But your opponent’s hearts also form a run, and a #2 hand beats a #5 hand no matter the top card. The straight flush takes it, ahead of even the nut flush.

Where a straight flush can start

Any five suited cards in a row qualify, from the bottom of the deck to the top:

• 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ 2♠ A♠ — the wheel, or five-high straight flush, using the ace as the low card.
• J♣ 10♣ 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ — a jack-high straight flush.
• A♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦ — the royal flush, the ace-high straight flush and the best hand in the game.

The ace can anchor the low end or the high end, but it cannot wrap the corner: Q♠ K♠ A♠ 2♠ 3♠ is not a straight flush.

Breaking ties in each hand

Two plain flushes are compared card by card from the top down, and suits never break the tie — an ace-high flush beats a king-high flush. The full walkthrough lives in poker flush rules. Two straight flushes are settled the same simple way: the higher top card wins, so a king-high straight flush beats a nine-high one, and the royal beats them all. The straight flush’s only superior is four of a kind’s absence — it ranks one rung above quads, a matchup covered in straight flush vs four of a kind.

Add “straight” to a flush and a good hand becomes a great one. The name changes by a single word; the strength changes by three rungs. The rest of the order is laid out at the hand rankings hub.