What is a flush in poker?
Updated November 2026
A flush is any five cards of the same suit, in any order. It beats a straight and loses to a full house, which makes it the fifth-best hand in poker.
The cards don't have to be connected, so A-J-8-5-2 of clubs is a flush. Five suited cards in a row would be a straight flush.
| Cards | Five of one suit, any order |
|---|---|
| Beats | Straight and below |
| Loses to | Full house and above |
| Dealt five cards | 1 in 509 |
| By the river | 1 in 33 |
Hold'em, two suited cards
How do you make one in Hold'em?
Three or more cards of a suit have to be on the board, because you only hold two cards. So if the board shows no three of a suit, nobody has a flush, and you can stop worrying about it.
You don't need both hole cards either. Four hearts on the board and one in your hand is a flush, and the rank of that heart decides a lot of pots.
On the board
What if two players have a flush?
Compare the highest card, then the next, and so on down all five. The highest flush wins, and if all five ranks match the pot is split. Suits never break a tie.
A sixth card of the suit doesn't add anything, since only five cards play.
How often will you make one?
By the river, about 3 times in 100 if you see every hand through. Starting with two cards of one suit, which happens 23.5 times in 100, the flush comes in 6.4 times in 100 by the river.
Chance of each hand by the river
Every 7-card deal counted
What's a flush draw?
Four cards of a suit with more to come. There are 9 of that suit left, so you hit about 35 times in 100 with two cards still to come, and about 20 times in 100 with one. Our guide on how to play flush draws goes through what to do with one.
Four hearts
Can you tell which hand wins?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask
Does the order of the cards matter?
No. A flush is only about the suit.
Is one suit better than another?
No. Suits have no rank in poker.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. Our page on flush against straight has the count.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
We counted all 2,598,960 possible five-card hands and all 133,784,560 seven-card deals. The totals match the published tables on Wikipedia's poker probability page. "By the river" assumes you stay in until all five community cards are out, and in a real game you fold most hands long before that.
Know someone who thinks the cards have to be in order?
Send them this page.