The Straight in Texas Hold'em: Rules & Odds
The straight in Texas Hold'em: five cards in sequence. How the ace plays high and low, why it can't wrap around, plus straight draw odds and outs.
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A straight is five cards of consecutive rank — like 6-7-8-9-10 — in any mix of suits. It sits in the middle of the hand rankings: above three of a kind, below a flush. You build it from any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards. The one rule that trips people up is the ace: it can anchor the top of a straight (10-J-Q-K-A) or the bottom (A-2-3-4-5), but it can never wrap around the corner.
What counts as a straight
Five ranks in unbroken sequence, suits irrelevant. A few quick examples:
| Cards | Straight? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5-6-7-8 | Yes | Eight-high straight |
| 10-J-Q-K-A | Yes | ”Broadway,” the highest straight |
| A-2-3-4-5 | Yes | ”The wheel,” the lowest straight (5-high) |
| Q-K-A-2-3 | No | The ace can’t wrap around |
| 5-6-7-8-8 | No | A pair breaks the sequence |
If your five cards share a suit and run in sequence, that’s a straight flush — a separate, much higher hand, not a plain straight. For the full ladder from high card to royal flush, see the poker hand rankings.
The ace: high, low, but never both
The ace is the only card that plays at both ends. At the top it makes the best possible straight, Broadway (10-J-Q-K-A). At the bottom it makes the worst, the wheel (A-2-3-4-5), which is only five-high. What it cannot do is bridge the two — there is no K-A-2 sequence. This is why K-Q is such a strong straight-drawing hand and why the wheel loses to every other straight.
Straight draws and their outs
Most straights start as draws on the flop or turn. The two you’ll see constantly:
- Open-ended straight draw (OESD): four cards in a row, needing a card on either end. Example: you hold 8-9 on a 6-7-K board — a 5 or a 10 makes your straight. That’s eight outs (four 5s and four 10s).
- Gutshot (inside draw): four to a straight with a gap, needing one specific rank. Example: you hold 8-9 on a 6-J board — only a 10 completes it. That’s four outs.
An open-ended draw is roughly twice as likely to complete as a gutshot, which is why you play them very differently.
Worked example: the odds of hitting
You flop an open-ended straight draw with eight outs and want the chance of completing by the river (two cards to come). A reliable shortcut is the “rule of 4 and 2”: on the flop, multiply outs by 4 for your approximate percentage to hit by the river.
- Open-ended (8 outs): 8 x 4 = ~32% to complete by the river.
- Gutshot (4 outs): 4 x 4 = ~17% to complete by the river.
On the turn with one card to come, switch to multiplying by 2:
- Open-ended (8 outs): 8 x 2 = ~16% on the river.
- Gutshot (4 outs): 4 x 2 = ~8% on the river.
These estimates are close to the exact figures and are all you need at the table. To turn them into calling decisions, compare them against your pot odds — the price the pot is offering. The full breakdown of draw math lives in the odds and probabilities guide.
Where the straight sits in the rankings
Straights are strong but not unbeatable. From just below to just above:
| Hand | Beats a straight? |
|---|---|
| Three of a kind | No — straight beats it |
| Straight | — |
| Flush | Yes — flush beats a straight |
| Full house | Yes |
A common trap: you make a straight on a two-suited board and get raised big. A completed flush is a real danger, so read the board before you commit your stack — a straight is often good, but not always the nuts.
Reading straights on the board
Sometimes the straight is on the board itself and shared by everyone. If the community cards read 9-10-J-Q-K, every player has a king-high straight, and the pot is chopped unless someone holds an ace (for A-high Broadway) or another card that extends it. Watch for these “playing the board” spots — a hand you thought was strong may only be tied.
The other read to master is the one-card vs. two-card straight. Using both your hole cards to make the straight (say 8-9 on a 6-7-10 board) hides your hand far better than using just one, because opponents can’t see the run coming. Two-card straights also tend to be safer from being “counterfeited” by a higher one-card straight that a single overcard completes.
The bottom line
A straight is five ranks in a row, formed from any of your seven available cards, with the ace playing high or low but never wrapping around. Open-ended draws have eight outs and hit about a third of the time by the river; gutshots have four and hit about half as often. Know where the straight sits — above trips, below a flush — and you’ll play these hands profitably as part of a complete Texas Hold’em game.
Frequently asked
What is a straight in Texas Hold'em?
A straight is five cards of consecutive rank, such as 6-7-8-9-10, using any mix of suits. It ranks above three of a kind and below a flush. You form it from any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards.
Can an ace be high or low in a straight?
Yes. The ace can be the top card in a Broadway straight (10-J-Q-K-A) or the bottom card in the wheel (A-2-3-4-5), the lowest straight. But it cannot do both at once — the straight can't wrap around through the ace, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
How many outs does a straight draw have?
An open-ended straight draw, where either end completes the straight, has eight outs. A gutshot, or inside straight draw, needs one specific rank and has just four outs, making it roughly half as likely to hit.
Does a straight beat a flush?
No. A flush beats a straight in Texas Hold'em. The ranking from lowest to highest around the straight is three of a kind, then straight, then flush, then full house.