What Is a Straight in Poker?

A straight is five cards in consecutive rank order of mixed suits — for example 9♠ 8♦ 7♥ 6♣ 5♠. It sits sixth on poker’s ten-hand ladder: better than three of a kind, but beaten by a flush and everything above it. The one rule that trips people up is how the ace behaves, so we’ll nail that down below.

The definition, precisely

To make a straight you need five cards whose ranks form an unbroken run. Suits are irrelevant except that they must not all match — five suited sequential cards would be a straight flush, a completely different (and higher) hand.

Valid straights include:

• J♠ 10♦ 9♥ 8♣ 7♠ — jack-high straight
• 6♥ 5♠ 4♦ 3♣ 2♥ — six-high straight
• 10♣ 9♣ 8♦ 7♠ 6♥ — ten-high (note: two clubs is fine; not all one suit)

Not a straight:

• K♠ Q♦ J♥ 9♣ 8♠ — the 10 is missing, so the run is broken
• Q♠ Q♦ J♥ 10♣ 9♠ — a pair breaks the sequence

How the ace works — the part people get wrong

The ace is the only card that plays at both ends of a straight:

• Ace high: A♠ K♦ Q♥ J♣ 10♠ — this is the highest possible straight, sometimes called “Broadway.”
• Ace low: 5♦ 4♠ 3♥ 2♣ A♦ — the lowest possible straight, called “the wheel.” Here the ace counts as a 1.

The hard rule: the ace cannot wrap around the corner. Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight, because the ace can’t be both high and low in the same run. Remember: ace-low tops out at the five; ace-high bottoms out at the ten.

Where a straight ranks

Here’s the full ladder with the straight highlighted by position. It beats the four hands beneath it and loses to the five above.

When two players both hold a straight, the higher top card wins. A queen-high straight beats a jack-high straight. If the top cards match, the straights are identical and the pot is split — kickers never come into play, because all five cards are used to form the sequence.

Straight vs. flush: the key difference

These two hands look similar to beginners and are constantly confused. The distinction is simple:

	Straight	Flush
What it is	Five ranks in a row	Five cards of one suit
Suits	Must be mixed	Must all match
Order	Must be sequential	Any order
Rank	#6	#5 (higher)

A flush beats a straight because flushes are rarer. If you want the probability behind that rule spelled out, see the full breakdown of why a flush outranks a straight.

A worked example

You hold Q♠ J♦. The board comes 10♥ 9♣ 8♠ 3♦ 2♣.

Your best five cards are Q♠ J♦ 10♥ 9♣ 8♠ — a queen-high straight. Strong, but read the board carefully:

• If an opponent holds K♦ J♠, they make K-Q-J-10-9, a king-high straight that beats you.
• If two of the board cards were the same suit as a third and someone held two more, a flush could be lurking — and a flush would beat your straight outright.

That’s the lesson: a straight is a genuinely good hand, but it’s a middle hand. Always scan the board for a higher straight or a possible flush before committing your stack. Knowing the full order of what beats what keeps you from overplaying it.

Bottom line

A straight is five sequential cards of mixed suits, ranked sixth of ten. The ace stretches it at both ends but never wraps the corner, higher top card wins a straight-vs-straight showdown, and a flush always beats it. Solidify the rest of the ladder in the hand rankings hub, and dig into draw probabilities over in the odds and math section.