What Is A Flush In Poker – Odds, Probabilities, and Rankings
3 minutes
Last Updated: January 6, 2024
A Flush poker hand is made of five non-consecutive cards of the same suit. While you might think that Flush is not that great since it only ranks 5th in poker hand rankings, it is actually a very strong hand in Texas Holdem.
Poker flush examples:
- A♥ Q♥ 9♥ 5♥ 3♥
- Q♠ T♠ 7♠ 4♠ 2♠
- J♦ 9♦ 6♦ 3♦ 2♦
- 8♣ 7♣ 5♣ 4♣ 2♣
If two players have a poker hand containing a Flush, the one who is holding the highest card in his hand will win the pot.
For example, A♣ 9♣ 7♣ 3♣ 2♣ is a better hand than K♥ Q♥ J♥ 9♥ 7♥ because of the Ace in the hand. If the highest card is the same, then the second-highest card is compared to announce the winner, and so on. Following this logic, A♣ 9♣ 7♣ 3♣ 2♣ beats A♦ 8♦ 7♦ 3♦ 2♦ because the nine is higher than an eight.
It is also worth mentioning that suits do not play any role in poker Flush rankings, so it does not matter if you have a Flush of spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs, and only the card ranks are compared to determine the winner.
Flush Odds and Probabilities
Here are the most important odds and probabilities for poker Flush hands:
- The odds of hitting a Flush on the flop is 0.1965% with any random hand.
- The odds of flopping a Flush is 0.82% when you have a suited starting hand.
- The probability of flopping a Flush draw with any suited hand is 10.9%.
- When you have a Flush Draw on the flop, you have a 19.2% chance to complete it on the Turn.
- You have even better odds of around 35% to make a Flush by the River when you flop a Flush draw.
So while you will not flop the made Flush very often, you have an almost 11% chance to hit a Flush draw with your starting suited hand on the flop, which is great odds. Moreover, when you have a Flush draw, you will improve to a Flush more than 1 out of 3 times by the river, so you can play this hand very aggressively.
Even if you get called, you still have a lot of chances to make your Flush, so you are rarely in a bad spot.
What beats a Flush In Poker?
While Flush can be beaten by Royal Flush, Straight Flushe, Four of a Kind, and Full House, all those hands are quite rare, so a Flush in poker is actually considered a very strong holding. The best possible Flush you can have is an Ace High Flush – A K Q J 9.
While other cards that come after an ace are also important when deciding your Flush's value, it is safe to say that you will win most of your pots whine you are holding any Ace-high Flush in Texas Hold’em.
What can a Flush beat?
A Flush beats many common hands such as a Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, One Pair, and of course, any High Card poker hands.
Does a Flush beat a Full House?
No, a Flush does not beat a Full House in Texas Holdem and most other games. However, this question can have more merit than you might think at the beginning.
There are some variations where a Flush actually beats a Full House, mainly in Short Deck Poker, where you have less chance to get a Flush because this game is played with a smaller deck containing only 36 cards.
Does a Flush beat a Straight?
If you are playing Texas Holdem, then Flush will win every single time when up against a Straight. As easy as that.
Which Flush is the strongest?
Suits do not influence poker Flush strength, so your Flush's strength only depends on card ranks.
Ace-High Flush is the strongest of all Flushes in poker, followed by King-High flush, and so on. In case several players have a Flush with the same highest card, then the second-highest card is compared to decide the winner. If those are also the same, then you have to compare 3rd card and so on if needed.
For example, A J 9 3 2 is Stronger than A J 8 7 6.
