Straight Flush Definition – How Strong Is This Poker Hand?

What Is a Straight Flush?

Straight flush is one of the strongest possible hands in high poker variations like Texas Hold’em, consisting of a five consecutive cards in the same suit.

For example a hand like 5s 6s 7s 8s 9s is a straight flush, as is 2h 3h 4h 5h 6h.

In a situation where two or more players have a straight flush, the winner is the player with the highest card in their hand, i.e. a straight flush to a Queen beats a straight flush to an eight, regardless of the suits.

One question that many players new to the game have is does straight flush beat four of a kind. While this confusion was caused in part by poker movies and the game lore, any straight flush in poker always beats any four of a kind hand.

This is to say, if you have a straight flush, the only hands you need to worry about are other, higher straight flushes, if they’re possible.

Straight Flush Odds

A straight flush is one of the strongest poker hands you can have in games like Hold’em and Omaha, second only to a royal flush, which is technically a straight flush, just the best one possible. So, with that knowledge, what are the actual odds of a straight flush, i.e. how likely are you to get this hand?

To start with, you need to be dealt a hand that can actually make a straight flush, i.e. it needs to be suited and connected. After that, the odds of flopping a straight flush depend on the type of hand as that dictates the number of possible combinations:

With a hand like A2s that can make the straight flush just one way, odds of flopping a straight flush are just 0.005%.
With the best of suited connectors, like 89s, the odds of flopping a straight flush are 0.02%
Gapped suited connectors like 79s or T8s are about 0.015% to make a straight flush

Beyond this, if you have a straight flush draw on the flop, you can calculate your odds based on the number of outs.

For example, an open-ended straight flush draw can be completed with two cards, so from flop to river, you have about 8.4% to make your hand, which isn’t that bad at all. With a gutshot draw (i.e. needing just one specific card), your odds are about 4.3%.

While odds of a straight flush in poker aren’t very high, this is a type of hand that pretty much never loses, so it’s no surprise players chase after it, even when they aren’t supposed to do so.

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Ivan Potocki

Ivan played poker professionally for over five years but finally decided to merge his passion for writing with gambling and became one of the leading writers in this industry. Now he covers sports betting, casino & poker world and enjoys playing card games with his friends.

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