A flush hand in poker is not one of the strongest, but it can certainly beat a good number of other hands. It can be achieved with any five cards of the same suit, completely disregarding the order or value in them.
You need to learn how to play with a flush hand, especially if it is good enough to be played at all. Depending on the cards that compose it, you need to know how to read your opponents and make the best decision possible. This article precisely aims at making you a better poker player!
Flush Poker Types
When we talk about flush in poker, we usually refer to the “Flush” hand and not to other hands that contain that word in the name. Still, to make sure you do not get confused with them, these are the hands that have that word and their meaning:
- Flush: A combination of five cards of the same suit.
- Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit in the right order.
- Royal Flush: A straight flush with the five highest cards in the game.
- Nut Flush: The best possible Flush hand in poker without becoming a Straight Flush.
Flush Vs Straight Flush in Poker
The highest flush hand can not even touch the weakest straight flush hand. While they seem similar, a straight flush is the second-best possible hand in poker, losing only to the royal flush that is built of a single possible combination. Between them, even all full-house and four-of-a-kind hands are better than the best flush. Therefore, there is not even room for comparison!
What Beats a Flush?
You are now more familiar with how a poker flush hand acts in the game, but it is important to know the weaknesses and strengths of it by heart. Our table highlights its exact position compared to all other poker hands and makes it easy for you to understand what can beat a flush hand:
| Rank | Name | Example | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | 10♣, J♣, Q♣, K♣, A♣ | The sequence 10, J, Q, K, and A of the same suit. |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 4♥, 5♥, 6♥, 7♥, 8♥ | Five cards of the same suit in the right order. |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | 4♥, 4♦, 4♣, 4♠, 7♠ | The same value in four cards. |
| 4 | Full House | Q♠, Q♥, Q♣, J♠, J♥ | A combination of a Three of a Kind and a Pair hand. |
| 5 | Flush | 4♣, 5♣, 7♣, 9♣, 10♣ | Five cards of the same suit, not in the right order. |
| 6 | Straight | 4♦, 5♣, 6♦, 7♥, 8♥ | Any sequence of five cards of any suit. |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 5♥, 5♦, 5♣ | Three cards of the same number or letter |
| 8 | Two Pair | 5♥, 5♦, Q♥, Q♦ | Two pairs of cards. |
| 9 | Pair | J♦, J♣ | Two cards of the same number or letter. |
| 10 | High Card | K♣ | The highest card in your hand, easy to beat. |
How to Get a Flush in Poker?
According to poker rules, the cards that you receive and that are added to the table as community cards are entirely random. Therefore, even though there is room to consider poker a game of skill, that characteristic determines it is also a game of chance.
As a result, the only way to get a flush in poker is to patiently wait until it can be formed with your cards and those on the table.
Poker Flush Odds
Knowing the probability of the occurrence of a poker flush hand cannot help you build one, but it can allow you to compare it with other hands. That way, you can figure out if you should wait for that chance or simply fold.
First, these are the probability for forming an online poker flush hand in a Texas Hold’em variation:
| Stage | Probability | How Does It Occur? |
|---|---|---|
| Preflop | 0,1965% | All initial five cards are of the same suit. |
| Flop | 0,84% | You have at least two suited cards, and the other three appear in the community cards. |
| Turn | 19,15% | The extra necessary card appears in this stage. |
| River | 19,56% | The final stage shows up the last suited card you need. |
The probabilities are a bit different in the Omaha poker version:
| Stage | Probability | How Does It Occur? |
|---|---|---|
| Preflop | 0,1965% | All initial five cards are of the same suit. |
| Flop | 1,90% | The remaining cards of the same suit are drawn. |
| Turn | 20% | The extra necessary card is shown. |
| River | 20-40% | The last card is the card of the same suit you need. |
