777JILI Flush Meaning in Poker: Where Five Suited Cards Rank

A flush is five cards of the same suit.

Key facts and contents
777JILI Domino Game Rules
A domino game deals tiles from a set (28 in the double-six set), players add tiles to either end of one line, and the round ends when one player plays out or nobody can move.
777JILI How to Shuffle Cards
To shuffle cards by hand, cut the deck about in half, riffle the halves together, square the deck and repeat.
777JILI Poker Chips
A chip is worth the number printed on it or the value the table sets.
777JILI Poker Table Layout
A poker table is read from the dealer seat clockwise: the blinds sit immediately to its left, the first round of betting starts left of the big blind, and the dealer button moves one place each hand.
777JILI Push Meaning in Blackjack, Baccarat and Casino War
A push is a tie between your hand and the dealer's: the wager is returned, neither lost nor paid. pagat.com uses the word for blackjack and baccarat ties; the Massachusetts rules call a returned Casino War initial wager a push.
777JILI Split in Blackjack
A split in blackjack turns a starting pair of equal value into two hands, each needing a wager equal to the original.
777JILI Straight Poker Explained
A straight is five cards of mixed suits in sequence.
777JILI War Card Game
In the war card game each side turns a card and the higher rank wins; equal ranks make a war.
  1. Flush meaning: five cards, one suit
  2. Flush poker: where the hand ranks
  3. When two flushes meet
  4. How often a flush is dealt
  5. Finding a flush in the game you play

Flush meaning in poker is simple to state: five cards, all of one suit, in any order. This 777JILI page sits under poker games and the rules they share, and it answers three questions in turn: what a flush is, where it ranks, and how often it appears.

Flush meaning: five cards, one suit

pagat.com defines a flush as five cards of the same suit, with no need for the ranks to follow each other.

Five cardsCategory
Hearts K-J-9-3-2Flush
Clubs 8-7-5-4-2Flush
Clubs Q-J-10-9-8Straight flush, the higher category
Four hearts and one spadeNot a flush, however high the cards

Two neighbours share the idea and differ in one detail. A straight is five cards in sequence in mixed suits, and a straight flush is five in sequence and in one suit, which makes it a higher category. Read how a straight ranks for the sequence side of that pair.

Flush poker: where the hand ranks

In flush poker, as in every standard high game, pagat.com lists nine hand categories from highest to lowest, and any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower one. The flush holds fourth place.

PlaceCategoryBeats
1Straight flushEverything below
2Four of a kindFull house and lower
3Full houseFlush and lower
4FlushStraight and lower
5StraightThree of a kind and lower
6Three of a kindTwo pairs and lower
7Two pairsPair and lower
8PairNothing
9NothingNo other category

pagat.com adds that with no wild cards the straight flush is the top hand, and that a wild card changes the picture, because five of a kind then outranks a royal flush.

When two flushes meet

Two flushes in one showdown are compared card by card, highest first. pagat.com gives this example: K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5, because the nine beats the seven.

  1. Compare the highest card in each flush.
  2. If those match, compare the second highest card.
  3. Keep going down the hand until one card differs.
  4. If all five match, the flushes are equal and the pot splits.

Suits never break a tie in standard poker. pagat.com states that there is no ranking between the suits for comparing hands, so a flush in spades and a flush in hearts with the same ranks are equal.

In a game with shared cards, the five-card rule still holds. pagat.com says poker hands are always based on five cards only, and unused cards play no part in the ranking.

How often a flush is dealt

Wizard of Odds counts 5,108 flushes among all five-card hands, which is a probability of 0.00196540. Its table assumes a fresh 52-card deck with no wild cards, and it excludes straight flushes and royal flushes from the flush row.

The arithmetic ties together. Add the straight flush row (36) and the royal flush row (4) to 5,108 and you reach 5,148, which is every five-card hand in one suit. Dividing the full 2,598,960 hands by 5,108 gives about 509, so roughly one hand in 509 is a flush.

FigureCount (Wizard of Odds)
Flush5,108
Straight10,200
Pair1,098,240

A joker or other wild card changes these counts, and Wizard of Odds’ five-card table does not cover those games. For a game with wild cards, open its rules screen and read how it ranks hands before relying on any frequency.

Finding a flush in the game you play

A flush is a ranking, so the practical step is to know which deck and rule set the table uses. These checks take a minute at a table you already hold a seat at.

  1. Open the game’s rules or help screen and look for the hand ranking list.
  2. Note whether a joker or wild card is in the deck.
  3. Check how a tie is settled, since an exact tie splits the pot.

The chips that make a showdown worth contesting have a language of their own, covered under how poker chips are valued. This page explains a word and does not offer a table, and 21+ applies to any play.

FAQ

What is the flush meaning in poker?

pagat.com defines a flush as five cards of the same suit. The cards need not be in sequence, which is what separates it from a straight flush.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. pagat.com ranks the flush fourth and the straight fifth among poker hand categories, and any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower one.

How often is a flush dealt?

Wizard of Odds counts 5,108 flushes among the 2,598,960 five-card hands from a fresh 52-card deck with no wild cards. The count leaves out straight flushes and royal flushes.

Which flush wins when two players hold one?

The flush with the higher top card wins, then the second card decides, and so on down the hand, pagat.com says. If all five ranks match, the flushes are equal.

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