The Straight Flush is number one on the list of poker hand rankings and consists of five consecutive cards in the same suit.
The best straight flush possible is called the Royal Flush and is made up of A-K-Q-J-10 all in the same suit:
A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥
A♣K♣Q♣J♣10♣
A♦K♦Q♦J♦10♦
Now the suits are irrelevant here. It’s the hand rank or denomination that’s important. Note that a straight to the Ace in any suit, counts as a Royal Flush and neither ranks better than the other in the hand ranking system.
Here’s an example of a regular Straight Flush:
9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠
The ranking of a Straight Flush is determined by the highest straight card – not the suit. If more than one player has a Straight Flush then the winner is determined by the player with the highest straight. In that vein, a 10-high Straight Flush – in any suit - beats a 9-high Straight Flush – in any suit, and so on.
How Does a Straight Flush Hand Rank?
In a 52-card deck, there are 40 possible straight flush hand combinations. As discussed earlier, this poker hand ranks top of the hand ranking list. It beats all other hands in most poker games.
In certain games, like 2 to 7 Low, the ace-high flush is what is called the Steel Wheel.
5♠4♠3♠2♠A♠
How Does a Straight Flush Hand Match Up?
The Straight Flush is the best possible hand in the poker hand ranking system. No other hand ranks above it.
However, there are many hands that rank under it. The next best hand on the list is called Four-of-a-Kind.
In poker, this hand is also known as Quads and is made up of 4 cards of the same rank.
The best Four-of-a-Kind hand is Quad Aces:
A♠A♦A♣A♥
Straight Flush Poker Probabilities
Now, we’ll look at the pre-flop, flop, turn and river probabilities of making a Straight Flush in both Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha.
| Hold'em Probabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop: | ||
| Straight Flush: | 0.00139% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| RoyalFlush | 0.000154% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| Flop: | 0.0012% | (when holding 2 suited cards) |
| Turn: | 4.25% | (from a flop with 2 suited cards) |
| River: | 4.35% | (on a board with 2 suited cards) |
| Pot Limit Omaha Probabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop: | ||
| Straight Flush: | 0.00139% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| Royal Flush | 0.000154% | (based on 5 cards randomly drawn from a full 52-card deck) |
| Flop: | 0.04625% | (when holding 2 suited connectors) |
| Flop: | 0.00578% | (when holding 2 suited cards) |
| Turn: | 4.44% | (from a flop with 2 suited cards) |
| River: | 4.54% | (on a board with 2 suited cards) |
Visit our Straight Flush Odds article for more information.
Now that you’ve got the Straight Flush down pat, we’ll move onto the next hand on the list. It’s called Royal Flush.