You slide your straight forward, sure it's good — then your opponent quietly turns over a flush and the dealer pushes the pot the other way. If you've felt that exact sting, you're in good company: "does a flush beat a straight" is one of the most-searched poker questions on the planet.
The short answer is yes, every time. The interesting part is why — and the three board spots where players still get it wrong live at the table.
Quick answer
A flush always beats a straight in Texas Hold'em — no exceptions in the standard game. A flush is five cards of one suit; a straight is five cards in sequence. The flush wins because it's statistically harder to make: about 5,108 ways to make a flush versus 10,200 ways to make a straight.
A Flush Beats a Straight — Where They Sit
Here's the hierarchy around the two hands people confuse most. The flush sits one rung above the straight, and that never changes in standard Hold'em.
| Rank | Hand | Example |
| 1 | Royal Flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Straight Flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | K♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ 7♠ |
| 4 | Full House | J♠ J♥ J♦ 8♠ 8♥ |
| 5 | Flush | A♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 2♠ |
| 6 | Straight | 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ 6♣ 5♠ |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ 7♠ 3♣ |
| 8 | Two Pair | K♠ K♦ 8♥ 8♣ A♠ |
| 9 | One Pair | A♠ A♦ K♥ 9♣ 3♠ |
| 10 | High Card | A♠ K♦ J♥ 7♣ 2♠ |
Why a Flush Wins — Proven With the Math
Hand strength in poker is decided by one thing: how hard the hand is to make. The rarer it is, the higher it ranks. Nothing about the ranking is arbitrary — it's pure frequency.
Count the five-card combinations possible from a 52-card deck and the order falls out on its own:
| Hand | Combinations | Probability |
| Four of a Kind | 624 | 0.024% |
|---|---|---|
| Full House | 3,744 | 0.144% |
| Flush | 5,108 | 0.197% |
| Straight | 10,200 | 0.392% |
| Three of a Kind | 54,912 | 2.11% |
Why this feels backwards
A straight only needs five ranks in a row, and the suits don't matter. That freedom creates a huge number of combinations. A flush is the opposite: every one of the five cards has to share the same suit, and only one of four suits can do it at a time. Far fewer ways to get there means the flush is rarer — and rarer always wins.
At the table: if you hold a flush draw and your opponent is drawing to a straight, you're in great shape. Even when both draws complete, your flush beats their straight at showdown.
3 Board Spots That Still Fool Players
Knowing the rule isn't the same as reading it live. These are the three spots where the mistake actually happens.
Spot 1 — You make a straight, but the board is three of a suit
You hold 9♠ 10♠ for a clean 6-7-8-9-10 straight. Feels strong — but the board shows three hearts. If your opponent holds two hearts, they have a flush, and flush beats straight. Any time three or more of one suit are on the board, a flush is live; price your bets and calls accordingly.
Spot 2 — Drawing to both a straight and a flush
You hold 9♥ 5♥. You've already got the 5-6-7-8-9 straight — so why keep eyeing the hearts? Because if another heart lands, your hand becomes a straight flush (#2), which crushes everything. When you can draw to the bigger hand for free, play with that upgrade in mind.
Spot 3 — You have the flush, they table a straight
You hold A♠ 6♠ → A♠ J♠ 9♠ 7♠ 6♠, an ace-high flush. Your opponent shows 10♥ 8♦ for a 7-8-9-10-J straight and announces it confidently. Don't blink: your flush is higher. Flush over straight, always.
Flush vs Flush — How the Tie Breaks
Two flushes? Suits are irrelevant. Compare the five cards from the top down, highest first.
| Player | Flush | Result |
| A | A♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 2♠ | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| B | K♥ Q♥ 10♥ 8♥ 3♥ | Loses |
Straight vs Straight — How the Tie Breaks
Straights are compared by the highest card only — there's no kicker.
- •A-K-Q-J-10 (ace high, "Broadway") is the strongest straight.
- •A-2-3-4-5 (the "wheel," ace plays low) is the weakest.
| Player | Straight | Result |
| A | Q-J-10-9-8 | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| B | J-10-9-8-7 | Loses |
When Both Happen at Once: the Straight Flush
If your five cards are both suited and in sequence, you don't have "a flush plus a straight" — you have a straight flush (#2), beaten only by a royal flush. So the moment your flush cards are also connected (like 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥), you're holding one of the rarest hands in the game.
The One Real Exception: Short Deck
In Short Deck (6+) Hold'em, the 2s through 5s are removed from the deck. With fewer cards, a flush becomes harder to make than a full house — so in that format the ranking shifts and a flush beats a full house. The principle never changes: the rarer hand wins. Only the deck changed. In standard Texas Hold'em with a full 52-card deck, a flush beats a straight and loses to a full house, every time.
FAQ
Q. Does a flush beat a straight in poker?
A. Yes. A flush is the #5 hand and a straight is #6, so a flush always wins in standard Texas Hold'em because five cards of one suit are harder to make than five in sequence.
Q. Why does a flush beat a straight if a straight looks harder?
A. A straight ignores suits, so there are about 10,200 ways to make one, versus only 5,108 ways to make a flush — the flush is roughly twice as rare, so it ranks higher.
Q. Does the suit of a flush matter?
A. No. In Texas Hold'em there is no suit ranking, so a spade flush and a heart flush of the same ranks are equal — two identical flushes split the pot.
Q. What beats a flush?
A. A full house, four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush all beat a flush; everything below it (straight, trips, two pair, one pair, high card) loses to it.
Q. Can a flush and a straight ever tie or split the pot?
A. No. One is always ranked above the other, so the flush simply wins — a split only happens between two hands of the exact same rank and cards.
The Takeaways
1. Flush (#5) beats straight (#6) — no exceptions in standard Hold'em. 2. It wins because it's about twice as rare: 5,108 flush combos vs 10,200 straight combos. 3. Watch the board: three of one suit means a flush is live, and a suited and connected hand is a straight flush.
Lock in the order with the complete hand rankings, learn how close hands are decided in the tie-breaker and kicker guide, and if you're brand new, the beginner's guide to Texas Hold'em rules ties it all together.