Texas holdem what is a flush

So who wins? The answer is pretty clear to an experienced player like myself, and after reading this article, it will be simple for you to know next time also.

A player with the highest flush rank wins. If both players have the flush of the same rank, then the pot would get split between them. This, of course, holds true only if no one else has a card combination higher than a flush. Flush is a very powerful hand in poker. You are expected to dominate your opponents very often once you hit it. You will hit a flush only 0. There is a common misconception that a flush is easier to hit , but in fact, you will hit flush half as often as you hit a straight 0.

And because a flush is harder to hit, your winrate with flush will be higher than with a straight. Best cards to hit a flush are high suited hands. AK suited is, of course, the best one to have, followed by AQ suited. Of course, you can hit a flush with a non-suited hand also, but having a suited hand with increase your chances to hit a flush by a lot.

Why is a high double suited hand a lot better than the lower double suited hand? A flush is a very strong hand , no matter how high your flush is. It is tough to lay down a flush, even to strong bets. If you hit the nut flush on 5hKcThJh7s board with AhQh and your opponent has 8h9h , it will be very tough of him to fold his flush AQTJ5 high flush wins against JT high flush because it has higher ranking cards.

It will also be very tough for you to hold a low flush when you are facing bets, after all, you beat many hands that are willing to bet — all sets, two pairs, some smaller flushes, and bluffs. Therefore you must be on the winning side of a flush as often as possible.

And big suited cards do exactly that. Please note, due to the little chance of having a straight flush of 0. There is one situation where having AKs is not optimal. It only matters when you hit a flush. In such a scenario, I would rather have any other ace-high flush but the AK high flush. Some players might be folding lower flushes, but almost no one folds 2nd nut K high flush.

And nobody can beat me anyway if I hold the A high flush in my hand. The chance to hit a flush is already low, and it happens even less often that someone has second nut flush. In all the other scenarios, it is better to have AK than AQ or lower, as our kicker is very valuable. This is also the reason that my winrate with AKs is still a lot higher than with AJs. Most of the time , when we hit a flush , our opponent will not have a flush. But the times when you see two players showing a flush do happen and it is important to distinguish from 3 possible scenarios :.

The rules of poker are simple. A player that has a higher flush will win the hand. The value of the flush goes from lowest possible flush of the same suit , and not as this would also give us a straight flush, which is better than a normal flush. The value of flush goes all the way up to AKQJ9 of the same suit , and this is the biggest flush possible without having the strongest hand in poker — royal flush AKQJT of the same suit.

The highest flush beats not only all the lower flushes that will not be folding to our huge bets, but it also beats all sets trips , two pairs, and pairs. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand. In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same four of a kind, the highest fifth side card 'kicker' wins. Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.

In the event of a tie: Highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two matching cards wins. In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split.

The suit itself is never used to break a tie in poker. Note: The Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card which can act in this manner. Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind, the highest side card, and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.

Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card. In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have two identical pairs, highest side card wins. One pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.

High card: Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above. In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.

Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there. In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6,4,3,2,A defeats 6,5,4,2,A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

In practice, an ace always plays as a high card in Deuce to Seven so A,5,4,3,2 is an ace high, not a straight.

Straights and flushes count against your hand in Deuce to Seven. Seven Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a seven. In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. Eight Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being an eight. Nine Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a nine.

Ten Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a ten. The above are just examples of hands that may come up in play — the lowest hand will always win the pot in Deuce to Seven, even if it is a pair or worse!