Flush (poker)

Readers note: If your web browser does not display the card suit symbols below, see the section below.

A poker hand such as Q♣ 10♣ 7♣ 6♣ 4♣, which contains five cards of the same suit, not in rank sequence. Ranks above a Straight and below a Full house.

Usually, two flushes are compared as if they were No pair hands. In other words, the highest ranking card of each is compared to determine the winner; if both have the same high card, then the second-highest ranking card is compared, etc. The suits have no value: two flushes with the same five ranks of cards are tied.

Examples:

A♥ Q♥ 10♥ 5♥ 3♥ ("ace-high flush") defeats K♠ Q♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ ("king-high flush")
A♦ K♦ 7♦ 6♦ 2♦ ("flush, ace-king high") defeats A♥ Q♥ 10♥ 5♥ 3♥ ("flush, ace-queen high")
Q♥ 10♥ 9♥ 5♥ 2♥ ("heart flush") ties Q♠ 10♠ 9♠ 5♠ 2♠ ("spade flush")

Tie-breaking of flushes, or "flush-breaking", is a matter of controversy, especially in communal-card games such as Texas hold 'em. Some tables compare only the highest cards of the flush (if these are the same, the pot is split). This is known as top-only, as opposed to top-down, flush-breaking. The disadvantage of top-down flush-breaking is unanticipated kicker-screw. For example, a player with two low hole spades, when three out of four table cards are spades, may bet aggressively knowing he or she has the flush. If a fourth spade comes on the river, this player's hand is degraded from powerful to effectively useless. As the essential idea of poker is to bet on improving (or, at least, no worse than stagnating) hands, this is considered an undesirable situation. Top-only flush-breaking reduces the frequency with which such scenarios occur.

When Wild cardss are used, a wild card contained in a flush is considered to be of the highest rank not already present in the hand. For example, in the hand (Wild) 10♥ 8♥ 5♥ 4♥, the wild card plays as the A♥, but in the hand A♣ K♣ (Wild) 9♣ 6♣, it plays as the Q♣.

Some home games and some casinos play the Double-ace flush rule, in which a wild card in a flush always plays as an ace, even if one is already present. In such a game, the hand A♠ (Wild) 9♠ 5♠ 2♠ would defeat A♦ K♦ Q♦ 10♦ 8♦ (the wild card playing as an imaginary second A♠), whereas by the standard rules it would lose (because even with the wild card playing as a K♠, the latter hand's Q♦ outranks the former's 9♠). This rule is rare, and is an exception to standard practice, so it should be announced clearly if you intend to use it.

Some poker games are played with a deck that has been stripped of certain cards, usually low-ranking ones. For example, the Australian game of Manila uses a 32-card deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed, and Mexican stud removes the 8s, 9s, and 10s. In both of these games, a flush ranks above a full house, because having fewer cards of each suit available makes flushes rarer.

See also : Poker

Readers note: This section uses the letters c, d, h, and s to indicate card suits.

A poker hand such as Qc 10c 7c 6c 4c, which contains five cards of the same suit, not in rank sequence. Ranks above a Straight and below a Full house.

Two flushes are compared as if they were No pair hands. In other words, the highest ranking card of each is compared to determine the winner; if both have the same high card, then the second-highest ranking card is compared, etc. The suits have no value: two flushes with the same five ranks of cards are tied.

Examples:

Ah Qh 10h 5h 3h ("ace-high flush") defeats Ks Qs Js 9s 6s ("king-high flush")
Ad Kd 7d 6d 2d ("flush, ace-king high") defeats Ah Qh 10h 5h 3h ("flush, ace-queen high")
Qh 10h 9h 5h 2h ("heart flush") ties Qs 10s 9s 5s 2s ("spade flush")

When Wild cardss are used, a wild card contained in a flush is considered to be of the highest rank not already present in the hand. For example, in the hand (Wild) 10h 8h 5h 4h, the wild card plays as the Ah, but in the hand Ac Kc (Wild) 9c 6c, it plays as the Qc.

Some home games and some casinos play the Double-ace flush rule, in which a wild card in a flush always plays as an ace, even if one is already present. In such a game, the hand As (Wild) 9s 5s 2s would defeat Ad Kd Qd 10d 8d (the wild card playing as an imaginary second As), whereas by the standard rules it would lose (because even with the wild card playing as a Ks, the latter hand's Qd outranks the former's 9s). This rule is rare, and is an exception to standard practice, so it should be announced clearly if you intend to use it.

See also : Poker