KEY TAKEAWAYS
In standard poker, four hands beat a flush: a full house, four of a kind, a straight flush and a royal flush. Any other hand loses to it, including a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. A flush is five cards of the same suit that are not in sequence, and it sits fifth from the top in the ranking of the ten poker hands. Two flushes can also meet at a showdown, and then the higher cards in the flush decide the winner.
The question comes up constantly with beginners, because a flush feels strong, especially when it looks like a “sure thing” on the board. This guide shows exactly which hands are above it, which are below it, how two flushes are compared and which mistakes cause arguments at the table. Real card examples are used throughout, so the rule can be checked card by card.
What a Flush Is and Where It Ranks
A flush is five cards of the same suit, such as five hearts, in any order. If the five cards are also in sequence, the hand is not a plain flush but a straight flush, which is a higher hand. A flush does not need matching ranks, and it does not need to include a pair.
In the ranking of poker hands, the flush sits in fifth place from the top. The order, from best to worst, is royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. The whole list, with examples, is in poker hands ranked from best to worst.
The order is based on how rarely each five-card hand appears from a standard 52-card deck. Rarer hands rank higher, which is why a full house, which is harder to make, beats a flush. The table below sums up how a flush compares with every other hand, and the sections after it explain each case.
| Hand | Result against a flush |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | Beats a flush |
| Straight flush | Beats a flush |
| Four of a kind | Beats a flush |
| Full house | Beats a flush |
| Another flush | Higher cards win; identical flushes split |
| Straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card | Loses to a flush |
In short, anything above a flush in the table wins, and anything below it loses.
The Hands Above and Below a Flush
The four hands that beat a flush
A full house is three cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank, such as three nines and two fives. A four of a kind is four cards of the same rank. A straight flush is five consecutive cards of one suit, and a royal flush is the highest straight flush, ace through ten of the same suit. Each of these four hands ranks above a flush.
The hands a flush beats
A flush beats every hand below it. That means a straight (five consecutive cards of mixed suits), three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. A flush beats a straight, even a straight to the ace, because five suited cards are a rarer hand than five cards in sequence.
The royal flush and the straight flush
Nothing beats a royal flush. A straight flush is beaten only by a higher straight flush or by a royal flush, so a straight flush from nine down to five of hearts loses to a straight flush from ten down to six of hearts. Both are far above an ordinary flush.
Example: Flushes and What Beats Them
Suppose the board in Texas Hold’em is 9♥ 9♣ 5♥ 2♥ K♥. Player A holds A♥ 4♠. That gives Player A the A♥ K♥ 9♥ 5♥ 2♥, which is an ace-high flush.
In one version, Player B holds 9♠ 5♠. Combined with the board, that is three nines and two fives, a full house, so Player B wins. In another version, Player B holds 9♦ 9♠. That makes four nines, four of a kind, so Player B wins again. In both cases, a hand above the flush beats it.
Now take a different board: 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 2♣ K♦. Player A holds A♥ 3♥, an ace-high flush in hearts. Player B holds 6♥ 5♥, which makes 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts, a straight flush. Player B wins, because a straight flush outranks a flush even when both are in the same suit.
A late card can change a hand in exactly this way, as shown in what the turn and river are, so the final board matters until the last card is dealt.
How to Compare Two Flushes
When two players both have a flush, compare their five cards from the top down. First look at the highest card in each flush. If those are different, the higher one wins. If they match, compare the second-highest cards, then the third, the fourth and the fifth, until a difference appears.
For example, suppose the board is K♠ 10♠ 7♠ 4♠ 2♦. Player A holds A♠ 3♥, so the flush is A-K-10-7-4. Player B holds Q♠ J♥, so the flush is K-Q-10-7-4. Player A wins, because an ace beats a king in the highest position. Unlike a pair, a flush uses no outside tie-breaker card, since all five cards are already in the hand. Kickers, explained in what a kicker is, matter for pairs and similar hands, but not for a flush.
Suits never break a tie in Texas Hold’em. A heart flush and a spade flush with the same five ranks are equal, and the pot is split. This also happens when the board itself holds five suited cards, such as A♥ K♥ 8♥ 6♥ 3♥. If no player holds a heart higher than the 3♥, every player plays the board and the pot is shared.
Common Beginner Mistakes About Flushes
The most frequent mistake is thinking a straight beats a flush. It does not. Beginners often mix up the two because both involve five cards, but the flush ranks higher.
Another mistake is believing that a higher suit wins a tie between two flushes, such as spades over hearts. Suits have no rank for deciding the pot in Texas Hold’em, so only the card ranks count.
A third mistake is assuming both hole cards must be the flush suit. In Hold’em, the flush can use zero, one or two hole cards, as long as five cards of a suit are available among the seven. In Omaha, a player must use exactly two hole cards and three board cards, which changes how flushes are made. The difference is covered in Omaha vs. Texas Hold’em.
Finally, some players stop reading their hand after finding a flush. Always check the board for a pair, because a paired board could give someone a full house or four of a kind.
What This Means When You Sit Down to Play
At a live table, the dealer compares the hands at showdown, and players can ask the dealer to read the cards if there is confusion. Saying the hand out loud, such as “ace-high flush,” helps everyone follow. Showing all five cards is the safest habit, because the dealer needs the cards, not just the announcement, to decide the winner.
Online, the software ranks the hands automatically and shows the winner. It is still worth learning the order, because a beginner who understands why a full house beats a flush can follow every hand without help. Poker involves real financial risk and short-term luck, so a budget set before playing is a sensible habit, and the legal age and rules for real-money poker vary by state and venue.
What to Learn After Flushes
The flush is one step in the ladder of hands, and the next step is the full ladder. The full ranking guide shows all ten hands side by side, and how to play Texas Hold’em shows how the board and the hole cards combine into these hands. Learning the order once makes every showdown easy to read.
Frequently Asked Questions
