Flush in Poker: Hand Ranking

Flush is a poker hand that puts a big smile on your face whenever you get it. When all your 5 cards (2 hole cards + 3 community cards) are of the same suit, it is known as a flush.

This combination of cards gets its name from the Latin word “Fluxus”, which means “flowing”. It’s a flow of a single suit. You would usually use this word when it comes to deploying the flush in your toilet, but if you think of it, you are letting the water flow in that instance. We know it’s a weird example to explain, but we’re sure that now you’re going to remember it.

An important point to keep in mind is that in flush, the suits don’t matter. Whether it’s hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades, a flush is a flush.

What is Flush in Poker?

You have an ace of hearts and a ten of hearts as the hole cards, there are four cards open on the table of which two are of hearts, the river card opens up, and it’s a heart again, that’s a flush. Getting a flush is always a great feeling but you have to keep your emotions in control. Don’t let the opponent know you have it. A flush is 5th on the table when it comes to poker hand rankings and it gives you a very high chance of winning a hand.

How Does a Flush Hand Rank?

The hands in poker game are based on the probability of getting them, the lower the probability, the higher the rank of that combination. There are a total of 1,277 combinations of flush for a single suit. This makes it 1,277 x 4 (suits) = 5,108 combinations in total. Since there are a total of 2,598,960 combinations that you can create in poker, the probability of you getting a flush is 5,108/2,598,960, or simply 0.002. Remember this is the probability and not the percentage, because that would be 0.002x 100 = 0.2%.

Here are a few examples of flush:

K♥️J♥️9♥️7♥️4♥️

A♠️3♠️5♠️9♠️J♠️

Q♣10♣8♣6♣3♣️

10♦️9♦️8♦️5♦️4♦️

Note: Do not confuse a flush with a straight flush. A straight flush is essentially a flush but with consecutive cards. Ex. K♥️Q♥️J♥️10♥️9♥️. Remember straight + flush = straight flush, which is a higher-ranking poker combination.

Flush Poker Hand Rules and Ranking

While flush is a great combination to have, you need to remember that there are 4 poker hands that still beat it.

Royal flush

A-K-Q-J-10 of any suit is known as a royal flush. Technically it is the highest straight flush. It is the highest-ranking poker hand and the probability of getting this is the lowest.

Straight flush

When you get a straight of the same suit, it is known as a straight flush. For example, K-Q-J-10-9 of any suit will be considered a straight flush.

Four of a kind

Four of a kind also known as “Quads” is when you have 4 cards of the same rank but different suits. For example, A♥️A♠️A♣A♦️.

Full house

A combination of a three-of-a-kind and a pair is known as a full house. For example,

A-A-A-K-K of any suit will be considered a full house.

Apart from these 4, all other poker hands rank below flush. And those are:

Straight

When you have 5 consecutive cards of at least 2 different suits, it is known as a straight. For example, 10♥️9♥️8♠️7♦️6♣.

Three of a kind

This hand has three of a kind in different suits and two unrelated cards. In a tie, the highest three-of-a-kind wins, followed by the highest side card, then the second-highest if needed. Example: (8♣ 8♦ 8♠ 7♣ k♦)

Two pair

As the name suggests two pair, when you have a combination of 2 cards of one rank and another set of 2 cards of the same rank. For example, A♥️A♠️K♥️K♠️.

One Pair

When you have 2 cards of the same rank, it is known as one pair. For example, A♥️A♠️ or K♥️K♠️or 10♥️10♠️.

High card

When your hand does not fall in any of the aforementioned combinations, then the highest card you have will be considered your best bet. This is known as a high card.

How Does a Flush Hand Match Up?

Flush is the 5th best possible hand that you can get in poker. It is a very strong hand when it comes to Texas Hold’em, however in Omaha, it is not as strong. It is because in Omaha you get 4 hole cards, which means that the possibility of creating a strong hand is higher. That’s why you need to be careful with a flush in the latter because your opponent might have a better hand.

Flush in Different Poker Variants

Though the definition of a flush remains the same in all variants of poker, you need to change your strategy based on the variant that you are playing.

Tiebreaking Rules For Flush in Poker:

In poker, when two players have ‘Flushes’ (five cards of the same suit), the tie is broken by using the highest value card in each Flush. The player with the higher ranked card wins. If the highest ranked cards are the same, then the next highest value card is compared to break the tie.

Examples:

• Player 1: A♠, J♠, 9♠, 5♠, 3♠

  Player 2: K♠, J♠, 9♠, 5♠, 3♠

  In this case, Player 1 wins because the Ace of Spades outranks the King of Spades.

• Player 1: Q♦, 10♦, 8♦, 7♦, 4♦

  Player 2: Q♦, 10♦, 8♦, 6♦, 4♦

  Even though four cards are identical in this one, Player 1 still wins as the Seven of Diamonds beats the Six of Diamonds.

How to achieve flush in poker?

When you get 2 hole cards of the same suit

The best hole cards you can get to complete a flush are 2 cards of the same suit. Now, you only need 3 of the 5 community cards to complete a flush. The most favourable scenario for you here is getting the cards of the same suit on the flop (first 3 of 5 community cards).

When you get 2 hole cards of different suits

This is a tricky situation. Imagine you have a heart as one of your hole cards, and you get 3 hearts on the flop. Now the probability of you completing your flush is high but your opponents might also be holding a heart. In this case, you will need to be careful and get aggressive only if you have a high-card of hearts, i.e. Ace or King.

What hands lose to a Flush?

‘Flush’ is the fifth strongest hand in poker, basically five cards of the same suit form this hand. There are five other hands, which lose to the Flush:

• Straight: Five cards in consecutive order, but of different suits. Example: 7♠ 8♠ 9♦ 10♦ J♣ loses to 3♥ 6♥ 9♥ J♥ K♥.
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank, but different suits. Example: 7♠ 7♣ 7♦ 2♠ 5♣ loses to 2♠ 5♠ 8♠ J♠ K♠.
• Two Pair: Two cards of the same rank, with another two cards of a different rank. Example: 9♣ 9♦ 4♠ 4♣ J♦ loses to 3♠ 6♠ 9♠ Q♠ K♠.
• One Pair: Two cards of the same rank. Example: 8♣ 8♦ 5♠ 6♠ J♥ loses to 2♠ 5♠ 9♠ 10♠ Q♠.
• High Card: Just the highest ranked card in a five card hand, with no consecutive cards or suits. Example: A♣ 9♦ 6♠ 3♣ Q♥ loses to 3♦ 5♦ 7♦ 9♦ J♦.

Poker hands that can beat a Flush

There are four poker hands that outrank the Flush, as described below:

• Royal Flush: 10 through to Ace of the same suit. This is the strongest poker hand. Example: 10♣ J♣ Q♣ K♣ A♣.
• Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit. Second strongest hand in poker. Example: 5♦ 6♦ 7♦ 8♦ 9♦.
• Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank. Example: A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣ 7♠.
• Full House: Three of a Kind, put together with a pair. Example: 3♠ 3♥ 3♣ 9♦ 9♥.

Flush Poker Probabilities

As mentioned in one of the sections above, the probability of getting a flush is pretty low. It is around 0.2%, but once the cards are dealt and if you have 2 hole cards of the same suit, then the probability increases.

Let’s understand this with an example:

FAQs on Flush in Poker