A flush in poker is a hand in which all five cards are of the same suit. They don’t need to be in order, just all of the same suit, whether that’s diamonds, spades, clubs or hearts.
An example would be 
.
This is applicable to any game in which a poker hand is made of the best five cards, which is actually most games including Texas hold’em, Omaha, 5-card draw or 7-card stud.
It doesn’t matter which suit is used to make a flush, as all flushes are ranked by the highest card in the hand (with aces counting as high). Therefore 
beats 
as a queen is a higher card than a jack.
When five cards are of the same suit and also in sequence, such as 
, it is a much stronger hand, known as a straight flush.
When a straight flush goes all the way to the ace, for example 
, it is called a royal flush — and is the strongest hand in poker.
Does a flush beat a straight?
A flush is a strong hand in poker and beats a straight, as well as many other hands. Here’s where the flush sits in the ranking of all poker hands, with the strongest hand at the top and the worst at the bottom.
Full hand ranking list
- Royal flush, e.g.
- Straight flush, e.g.
- Four-of-a-kind, e.g.
- Full house, e.g.
- Flush, e.g.
- Straight, e.g.
- Three-of-a-kind, e.g.
- Two pair, e.g.
- One pair, e.g.
- High card, e.g.
Why does a flush beat a straight, but not a full house?
The easier it is to make a hand, the lower it places on the list of all poker hand rankings. Consider how easy and common it is to make a single pair, versus how difficult and rare it is to make four-of-a-kind. This is why one pair is towards the bottom of the rankings, and four-of-a-kind is towards the top.
It’s exactly the same logic when it comes to those hands that a flush can beat, and those to which it will lose.
Rarer and more difficult hands to make, such as a full house, will beat a flush, while hands that are more common, such as a straight, will lose to a flush.
It all boils down to the probability of making each type of poker hand: the higher the probability, the weaker the hand.
| Hand | Beats | Loses to |
|---|---|---|
| Flush | Straight | Royal flush |
| Three-of-a-kind | Straight flush | |
| Two pair | Four-of-a-kind | |
| One pair | Full house | |
| High card |
Flush tie-breakers & suits (who wins when both have a flush?)
How do you decide who has the best hand if more than one player has a flush? The answer is very simple.
The tie rule
When comparing more than one flush to determine which is better, start with the highest card of the five; if one has an ace and the other has a king, for example, the flush with the ace would win — we call that an ‘ace-high flush’.
But what if both hands have the same highest card? Simple, move down to the next highest card, and whoever has the highest rank wins. If those are also the same, move to the next highest card, and so on.
Same five-card flush
But what if each player has an identical flush? This might seem highly unlikely, but remember that in flop games such as Texas hold’em players will have cards in common that they can both use.
So let’s say two players are in a hand and neither has a spade among their hole cards, but the five community cards are all spades. Who would win then, if all the flush cards in their hands are identical?
In this case, with nothing to separate the two hands the pot would be evenly split between the two winning players. If more than two players are in the hand, and none of them have a spade higher than the ones showing on the board, the pot would be split between as many players as are still in the hand at showdown.
Suits don’t break ties
The suit which makes up your flush has no bearing on whether it wins or not.
Some other card games may have a ranking for suits, but poker is not one of them: no suit is ‘better’ than any other, and suits are not used to settle ties.
Examples
Let’s take a look at a few examples — can you tell which hand is the winner?
Example 1
Player A:
Player B:
Winner: Player A wins this pot with an ace-high flush, which is better than Player B’s queen-high flush.
Example 2
Player A:
Player B:
Winner: Player B is the winner, because while they both have a king-high flush their is higher than the .
Example 3
Player A: 
Player B:
Player C:
Winner: Player C wins as, while each player has the same four highest flush cards, their fifth card is higher than their opponents’.
Example 4
Player A:
Player B:
Player C:
Winner: Player B wins, because while the other two players have strong flushes, Player B has made a straight flush as all their cards are the same suit, but also in sequence.
Flush draws: What are the odds?
Because flushes are a fairly strong hand in poker, we know that the probability of making this hand is lower than making any of the hands below it in the poker hand rankings, but higher than the probability of making a stronger hand.
So what are the probabilities of making a flush, and how do they change at different points in a hand?
Preflop suited starting hands
Let’s say you start off with two hole cards of the same suit. The probability that the flop immediately brings three more cards of the same suit, and therefore you flop a flush, are approximately 117-to-1, meaning it should happen around 0.8% of the time.
This is obviously a long shot, but how might these odds change as a hand develops?
The rule of 4 and 2
When you have a flush draw on the flop or river — that is, you have four suited cards and need one more to make your flush — something useful to remember is ‘the rule of 4 and 2’.
What this means is, when you have a flush draw on the flop, you multiply your outs by 4 to estimate the probability percentage of hitting your flush.
For example, let’s say you have two hearts in your hand and you see another two on the flop — meaning 9 of the 13 hearts in the deck can be hit — you have 9 outs. Multiply 9 by 4 and you have an approximately 36% chance of making your flush by the end of the hand.
Now let’s say the turn comes down and it’s not a heart. You still have 9 outs, but now you multiply by 2, giving you rough odds of 18% to hit a fifth heart on the river.
The backdoor flush
A backdoor flush is one you make when you only have three suited cards at the flop. To make your flush, you’ll need both the turn and the river cards to be of the suit you need.
The odds of this happening are around 4%.
Strategy considerations
A flush can be a very strong hand, but isn’t always invincible. Here are some pointers to bear in mind.
Is there a pair on the board?
If so, the flush can never be the best possible hand, as a pair on the board means it is possible to make a full house.
Are there at least three cards of the same suit on the board?
A flush is only possible using five cards, so if the community cards do not have at least three of the same suit, there is no flush possible.
Do you have the best flush?
With no pairs on the board and three suited cards, a flush is the best possible hand. But that doesn’t mean your flush is necessarily the best one. Unless you have the highest possible flush, you could be beaten by a stronger one, and on rare occasions you could even lose to a straight flush.
Protecting your hand
Flopping a flush is a great feeling and puts you in a very strong position, but have you considered what may happen as the hand plays out?
Perhaps you have two very low suited cards, in which case a fourth card of the same suit on the turn or river could give you a low flush and someone else a stronger one? Or the board may pair, giving an opponent a full house?
Playing a made flush can be profitable, but not without risk; you want others to call your bets with worse hands, but you don’t want them to improve to a stronger hand. It can be a delicate balancing act, and sometimes you may want to bet larger to protect your hand.
Do you have the right pot odds to draw?
Let’s say you have four suited cards on the flop, so know your odds of making your flush by the river are around 36%, or around 2-to-1. You are heads-up, and your opponent goes all-in for $50 into a pot that contains only $25.
You will have to pay $50 to try and win $75, meaning you are getting pot odds of 1.5-to-1. When your pot odds are shorter than your winning odds, it’s not a profitable play.
As a basic illustration of this point, imagine tossing a coin; each time it lands heads, you win $0.75, but when it lands on tails you lose $1. The pot odds, or payout, is shorter than your odds of winning (which in this case would be even-money). That's not a good bet.
See our pot odds page for more.
Flush vs other hands
Need a quick guide to see who wins what in a hand of poker? Here’s all you need when it comes to what hands a flush will beat, and which ones it will lose to.
Flush vs straight flush
A straight flush is the strongetst hand in poker — it will beat a regular flush every time (as well as anything else, barring a higher straight flush).
Flush vs four-of-a-kind
Four-of-a-kind is a rare poker hand because it is one of the more improbable hands you can make. The greater the improbability, the stronger the hand, so quads will always beat a flush.
Flush vs full house
From a statistical point of view it is harder to make three-of-a-kind plus a pair, which together constitutes a full house, which is why this hand is considered stronger than a flush.
Flush vs straight
Compared with a flush, a straight is a more common hand, which means a straight loses to a flush in the ranking of poker hands.
Flush vs three-of-a-kind
Three-of-a-kind is a weaker hand than a flush because it is easier to make, so will always lose to a flush.
Flush vs two pair/one pair/high card
These hands make up the three weakest poker hands. While they can win some pots against other weak hands, they will not beat a flush.
More examples and edge cases
Here are some common scenarios involving flushes which you should bear in mind.
Monotone boards
This term describes the situation when the community cards are all of the same suit.
If all five board cards are the same suit in a game such as Texas hold’em, every player has a flush. But that doesn’t mean the pot will necessarily be split.
Let’s say the following hand occurs:
Player A:
Player B:
Board:
While each player has an ace-high flush, Player A has the best hand. This is because a flush is made up of your five highest cards of the same suit, so while each player has a flush with an ace, queen, jack and ten, the of Player A is higher than the of Player B.
Split pots
If no player has a hole card which can beat the flush on a monotone board, the pot would be split.
Here’s an example of what that might look like:
Player A: 
Player B: 
Player C:
Board:
Because the five cards on the board make up the highest possible flush, this pot would be split three ways.
Board-paired flushes
A flush is a strong hand and will often be the nuts, but that will never be the case if there is a pair showing on the board.
This is because whenever a pair is present, there is the possibility that someone has a full house.
Here’s an example:
Player A:
Player B:
Player C:
Board:
Player B has a good flush, but not as good as Player A who has the nut flush. However, both lose to Player C, who uses the pair on the board to make a full house.
Suit conflicts
Remember: Suits never break a tie in poker. No one suit is better than another.
When judging the strength of more than one flush, it is always down to whichever hand contains the highest card, then the next, then the next, and so on. If all card ranks in each hand are identical, the pot is split.
Variants: Hold’em vs Omaha vs draw/stud/short deck
Depending on the variant of poker you are playing, there may be a few other things to watch out for.
Texas hold’em
The information above is a good guide to flushes in hold’em, but the two main things you should always remember are:
- A flush is only possible if there are three or more suited cards on the board
- If the board shows a pair, a flush can never be the nuts
Omaha
Omaha — also known as Omaha hold’em, or PLO (short for ‘pot-limit Omaha’, as this variant is often played pot-limit as opposed to no-limit) — has a few subtle differences to consider:
- You always have to use exactly two of your hole cards, so even if the board runs out five cards of the same suit that doesn’t mean everyone has a flush; you will still need to play two suited cards from your hole cards
- Double-suited hole cards — four cards which contain two spades and two diamonds, for example — give you more options to make a flush
- Having four suited cards in your hand actually decreases your chances of making a flush, as only two of those cards can be used
- With each player having double the amount of hole cards as they do in hold’em, the average winning hand will be stronger. This means if your flush is not the nut flush, it is more likely that someone else has a stronger hand
Stud, draw and short deck
Hold’em and Omaha are flop games, meaning players share certain cards. With other variants, that’s not always the case.
Stud poker
In stud games like 7-card stud, there are no communal cards, but you should pay attention to the up-cards your opponents are showing.
Remember, they only need to have two suited up-cards by the end of the hand for a flush to be possible, as they will have three hole cards, all of which can be used to make their hand. The only way you can be sure they don’t have a flush is if all four up-cards are of different suits.
Draw poker
Draw poker is a game of very limited information, as you will not see any other players’ cards until the showdown. As such it can be more psychological than mathematical, but be sure to pay attention to how many cards a player draws: drawing one card could be an indication they are chasing a flush, while drawing three cards makes it much less likely.
Short deck
The important thing to remember about short deck — hold’em with all cards under a 6 removed — is that in most games a flush actually beats a full house.
This is because, due to the cards removed from the deck, there are only 9 cards of each suit available, making a flush harder to complete. The card removal also means it is generally easier to make pairs and trips, so for these reasons a flush is considered a stronger hand than a full house in most short deck games.
Some places may stick to the traditional poker hand rankings for short deck poker, to make it easier for new players to adjust, so be sure to check before you play.
FAQs
Q. What is a flush in poker?
A. A flush in poker is a hand containing five cards of the same suit. It is one of the stronger poker hands, but not the strongest.
Q. Does a flush beat a straight?
A. Yes, a flush beats a straight, as well as three-of-a-kind, two pair, one pair and a high card. A flush loses to a full house, four-of-a-kind and a straight flush (including a royal flush).
Q. How are flush ties broken?
A. If two or more players have a flush at showdown, the tie is broken by comparing the highest card in each players’ hands, with the highest rank winning the pot (aces are considered the highest possible rank, and 2 the lowest).
If more than one player has the same highest card, the next highest card is used to break the tie. If this is also the same, the next highest card is used, and so on. When players have five suited cards of exactly the same rank, the pot is split between them equally.
Q. Do suits ever break ties?
A. No, the specific suit of a flush is irrelevant, and never considered as a factor when it comes to comparing flushes.
Q. How many outs does a flush draw have?
A. There are 13 cards of each suit in a deck, so if you have 4 suited cards you have 9 outs that will give you a flush. If you have only 3 suited cards on the flop, you will need to hit 1 of 10 outs on the turn, then one of 9 outs on the river, making it far less likely.
Q. What are the odds of making a flush from the flop?
A. With four suited cards on the flop, you have approximately an 18% chance of another suited card coming on the turn, but around a 36% chance of the card you need coming on either the turn or the river.
Q. What’s the difference between a flush and a straight flush?
A. A flush is five cards of the same suit, in no particular order or sequence. A straight flush comprises five cards of the same suit, in sequence (therefore it is both a straight and a flush), making it a very rare occurence and so the strongest hand in all of poker. With straight flushes, ties are broken by whoever has the highest card, which means an ace-high straight flush — known as a royal flush — is unbeatable.
Q. Can you have a flush using only the board?
A. Yes, but not in Omaha games, where you have to use two of your hole cards.
Q. How does a flush work in Omaha?
A. In Omaha, because you must use two of your hole cards, to make a flush a player has to use three board cards in order to have five cards of the same suit. Therefore, tied flushes are not possible in Omaha as players cannot share hole cards.
Q. What’s the best way to play a flush draw?
A. The best way to play any poker hand is always dependent on the situation, but some things to bear in mind with a flush draw include:
- If you hit your flush, is it likely to be the best hand?
- Are you getting the correct pot odds to call a bet, given your probabilities of making your flush?
- Bluffing with a draw — also known as semi-bluffing — could win you the pot without a showdown, but you may still hit the winning hand even if your bluff is called. This extra chance of winning the pot is known as ‘fold equity’.
