In poker, a flush will always beat a straight. If you compare the two hands, a flush is a higher-ranking hand than a straight by any standard poker hand ranking chart. The question becomes different, however, when it is about a straight draw against a flush draw what will win. The value of the hand depends on various factors, including the specific draw you have and the environment you are in.
Sometimes, the straight draw can give you better chances than the flush, and sometimes, a flush draw can become a stronger hand than a straight, so it can be more powerful than you first assumed.
This post will take a look at the odds of hitting a flush against a straight, along with the insightful information to help your online poker game at Taj777 become better.
Poker Hand Probability: Odds of a Straight
A straight is a holding that contains five cards in a sequence, for instance, 10-J-Q-K-A or 2-3-4-5-6, and the suit is not important. In poker hand rankings, a straight is just a bit lower than a flush; however, it is still higher than lower hands like three-of-a-kind, two pairs, and a pair.
The chances of a straight are limited by your hole cards and the community cards on the board. Here are the odds of a straight on the flop if you have connected hole cards:
• Premium connectors (4-5 to J-10): +7652
• Any connectors: +9515
• One-gap connectors (5-3 to Q-10): +10317
• Other one-gappers: +11665
• Two-gappers (2-K to 10): +15525
• Other two-gappers: +16293
It is quite interesting that you cannot flop a straight with a pocket pair or unconnected cards—those hands are out of luck.
Drawing to a Straight
If you don’t flop a straight immediately, you’re still in the game if you’re drawing to one. While the odds of flopping a straight outright are low, drawing to a straight is quite common, and there’s plenty of value in that.
There are two types of straight draws in poker:
- Gutshot straight draw (inside straight): This is when you’re missing one card in the middle of the sequence, like 2-3-5-6, where the 4 is missing.
- Open-ended straight draw: This draw lets you complete your hand on either end of the sequence. For example, 5-6-7-8 can be completed with either a 4 or a 9.
Here are the odds of flopping a straight draw:
- Any straight draw with premium connectors: +282
- Open-ended straight draw with premium connectors: +942
- Gutshot with premium connectors: +502
- Any straight draw with 5-3 to Q-10 one-gappers: +357
- Open-ended with 5-3 to Q-10 one-gappers: +1277
- Gutshot with 5-3 to Q-10 one-gappers: +585
- Straight draw with 6-3 to K-10 two-gappers: +459
- Open-ended with 6-3 to K-10 two-gappers: +2137
- Gutshot with 6-3 to K-10 two-gappers: +641
Even with a pocket pair, there’s a +2327 chance of flopping a straight draw.
If you’re drawing to a straight on the turn or river, your chances of hitting a gutshot are around +277, while the odds of completing an open-ended straight draw increase to about +217.
Poker Hand Probability: Odds of a Flush
A flush consists of five cards in the same suit, irrespective of their numerical sequence. A flush beats a straight, so the odds of completing a flush can often give you a better hand than drawing to a straight.
You can’t flop a flush if your hole cards are unsuited. However, if you’re holding suited cards, here are the odds of flopping a flush or better:
- Any suited starting hand: +26927
- Suited connectors: +10538
- Pocket pair: +8097
Drawing to a Flush
Flopping a flush outright is rare, but flopping a flush draw is much more common, with a roughly 11% chance (or +809 odds) when you hold suited hole cards.
There are two primary types of flush draws:
- One-card flush draw: When you have one card towards a flush and need one more to complete the hand.
- Two-card flush draw: When you already have two suited cards, you only need three more to complete your flush.
Here are the odds of flopping a two-card flush draw:
- Any starting hand: +3776
- Two suited cards: +817
When holding a one-card flush draw, you’re generally best letting it go unless you’re drawing to the nuts. The odds of flopping a one-card nut flush draw are:
- Any starting hand: +58724
- Ace-x suited: +8829
Your odds of hitting a flush by the river are around +186.
Straight vs. Flush Odds
So how do the odds of flopping a straight compare to those of a flush? At a glance, the odds of flopping a straight or flush outright are almost the same—very low, and mostly driven by luck or variance. But the real difference lies in the draw odds.
The chances of flopping a straight draw are significantly better than a flush draw. This is why a flush ranks higher than a straight in the poker hand rankings. The odds of hitting your flush by the river are generally better than completing a straight, making a flush the stronger hand in most situations.
Moreover, flushes have the potential to improve even further. Take, for example, a hand like J-10 of hearts. If the flop comes 8-9 of hearts, you’re one card away from completing a flush. But if the turn or the river brings a 7 or a queen of hearts, your flush turns into a straight flush, which is even stronger.
This is why premium suited connectors like J-10 suited are considered some of the best starting hands in Texas Hold ’em.
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