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The royal flush is the highest hand in poker. You need an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Jack and a 10. All the cards which make up the hand must be of the same suit. The order (from the highest to the lowest) of poker rankings is Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card. The royal flush tops the poker hand rankings chart, as it beats all other hands in a showdown. With only four total ways to make a royal flush, this hand represents the rarest possible made hand in poker. If you draw five cards randomly from a 52-card deck, the probability of making a royal flush is 0.000154%.
Poker rules can be confusing at times. You might think you know them all, but then during your play with friends, you come upon a situation, and you are unsure of the rule. One such scenario that might confuse you is when you see two players having a flush. So who wins? The answer is pretty clear to an experienced player like myself, and after reading this article, it will be simple for you to know next time also.
A player with the highest flush rank wins. If both players have the flush of the same rank, then the pot would get split between them. This, of course, holds true only if no one else has a card combination higher than a flush.
Flush is a very powerful hand in poker. You are expected to dominate your opponents very often once you hit it. Therefore it is no surprise it doesn't usually happen that you get to hit one. You will hit a flush only 0.2% percent of the time. There is a common misconception that a flush is easier to hit, but in fact, you will hit flush half as often as you hit a straight (0.4% chance to hit a straight). And because a flush is harder to hit, your winrate with flush will be higher than with a straight.
It is very crucial to play the right hands to maximize your chances of hitting a flush.
Best cards to hit a flush are high suited hands. AK suited is, of course, the best one to have, followed by AQ suited. Your winrate will still be high with all of the suited broadway hands (JTs, QTs, KTs, ATs, QJs, KJs, AJs, KQs, AQs, and AKs).
Of course, you can hit a flush with a non-suited hand also, but having a suited hand with increase your chances to hit a flush by a lot.
Bigger cards are better for hitting a flush
Why is a high double suited hand a lot better than the lower double suited hand? If you play AKs, AQs, or AJs, you will always have the nut flush (ace-high flush) when you hit a flush compared to 98s. A flush is a very strong hand, no matter how high your flush is. It is tough to lay down a flush, even to strong bets.
If you hit the nut flush on 5hKcThJh7s board with AhQh and your opponent has 8h9h, it will be very tough of him to fold his flush (AQTJ5 high flush wins against JT895 high flush because it has higher ranking cards). It will also be very tough for you to hold a low flush when you are facing bets, after all, you beat many hands that are willing to bet – all sets, two pairs, some smaller flushes, and bluffs.
Therefore you must be on the winning side of a flush as often as possible. And big suited cards do exactly that.
Please note, due to the little chance of having a straight flush of 0.0014%, I just assume that Ace-high flush is the nut flush, and an opponent doesn't have a straight flush, which would beat our ace-high flush.
One exception – When the bigger cards are not always better
There is one situation where having AKs is not optimal. It only matters when you hit a flush. In such a scenario, I would rather have any other ace-high flush but the AK high flush. That way, I can know that someoneelse might be holding a 2nd nut flush (K high flush) as I don't hold the K myself. Some players might be folding lower flushes, but almost no one folds 2nd nut K high flush. And nobody can beat me anyway if I hold the A high flush in my hand.
The chance to hit a flush is already low, and it happens even less often that someone has second nut flush. In all the other scenarios, it is better to have AK than AQ or lower, as our kicker is very valuable. This is also the reason that my winrate with AKs is still a lot higher than with AJs. Most of the time, when we hit a flush, our opponent will not have a flush.
But the times when you see two players showing a flush do happen and it is important to distinguish from 3 possible scenarios: Virtual poker online.
- One person has a lower flush, and another person has a higher flush
- Both players have a flush of the same rank
- One player has a straight flush (with lower cards), and another player has a higher flush, but just a flush.
Higher vs. Lower Flush
The rules of poker are simple. A player that has a higher flush will win the hand. It doesn't matter if both players have a flush; it only matters who has the highest flush.
The value of the flush goes from lowest possible flush 23457 of the same suit, and not 23456 as this would also give us a straight flush, which is better than a normal flush. The value of flush goes all the way up to AKQJ9 of the same suit, and this is the biggest flush possible without having the strongest hand in poker – royal flush (AKQJT of the same suit).
The highest flush beats not only all the lower flushes that will not be folding to our huge bets, but it also beats all sets (trips), two pairs, and pairs.
If you don't have the nut flush yourself (highest possible flush, depending on the board), then chances are someone else can have it. Scenarios where you have 2nd nut flush, and someone else holds the nut flush will happen, and you will pay him off. This will reduce your winrate. But all the other times you are up against worse hands you will make a lot of money. Any flush is a great hand to have as it beats so many other worse hands.
Who wins if both players have a flush of the same rank
In the case when both players have the same flush at showdown, and no one else has a better hand than this flush, then the pot would get split between them. First, the rake would get deducted from the pot, and afterward, the pot gets equally split.
Who wins if there is a flush on the table?
Scenario, where both players have the flush of the same rank, is only possible if a flush is present on the table. There is no other option, as that is the only way that both players have all 5 cards of the same rank and same suit.
In my poker career (more than 5 million hands played online), I have seen quite some flushes on the board. A few scenarios are possible:
- Nobody has a stronger hand than the flush on the board: When nobody has a higher card of the same suit in the hole cards (in their hand) at showdown, then the pot would get equally split among the players that are still involved in the hand at showdown. Of course, if you fold before the showdown, then you give up on your hand and can't win the pot (get equal share in this scenario).
- Someone has a better hand: If there isn't a royal flush on the board, then chances are some player can have a bigger flush. Remember, in poker, the player that has the best 5 card combination wins. So on a 5689T all hearts, any player having J of hearts or higher still beats 5689T flush. But if someone has 7 of hearts, then that player will have the better nuts. As 6789T of hearts will give him a straight flush and the better hand combination. If someone would hold QhJh they would have the absolute nuts (QJT98 high straight flush).
Straight flush vs. Ace-high flush
If, by any chance, you come upon a situation where one player has a straight flush, and another player has an ace-high flush, then the rules are simple here also. A straight flush is a better hand and wins against any other non-straight flush and against all lower straight flushes (if both players have a straight flush, then the one with higher straight flush wins).
You will hit a straight flush once roughly every 72,000 hands. When on the other hand, you will hit a flush once every 508 hands. So it makes sense that a straight flush wins.
Related Articles:
- Why is flush worth more than a straight?
- Is a flush or a straight more likely to hit?
- A flush beats 3 of a kind. Here is why
Conclusion
Now you know of all the possible scenarios where two players might have the flush. You know correctly who wins and when the pots get split. I am sure there will be no more confusion next time when you see two players have hit a flush.
The ins and outs of that most elusive of hands
By Henry Tamburin
I get many questions about a royal flush in video poker. That's not too surprising since the royal flush is the premier hand that all video poker players dream (and hope) of getting. Here's a sample of questions and my responses.
Q: I've been playing video poker several times a week for over a year. You keep saying that a royal flush occurs once in every 40,000 hands yet I still haven't gotten a royal. What gives?
Firstly, I never wrote that you could expect one royal flush after playing 40,000 hands (or one cycle). What I wrote was, 'On average, you will hit a royal flush once in every 40,000 hands.' The word 'average' means a whole bunch of sets of 40,000 hands. In other words, in any given set of 40,000 hands, you could hit more than one royal flush or, heaven forbid, possibly no royals. In fact, you have a 36.8% chance that you won't get a royal in one cycle (40,000 hands), and a 13.5% chance after two cycles (80,000 hands). Ouch! Shove fold chart. Therefore, the fact that you went over a year without a royal is statistically possible.
Q: How come every time I need one card for a royal flush, it never shows up, but that exact card that I needed always seems to show up on the very next hand?
That's because you have 'selective memory.' The computer program in the video poker machine that randomly selects the cards for each hand doesn't use the information from previous hands to determine which cards it will deal. Every hand is a random deal regardless of what cards appeared (or didn't appear) on the previous hand.
Q: Over three years, I hit seven royal flushes in the same casino and none in two other casinos that I play regularly. I'm beginning to believe those casinos somehow tighten their video poker machines so players can't get a royal.
You will average one royal flush per roughly every 40,000 hands at any casino. Casinos can't change the odds of hitting a royal flush. (What they can do is change the payout … some casinos will pay less than 4,000 coins for a royal flush; therefore, always check to be sure that the payout for a five-coin royal flush is 4000 coins.) The bottom line is as long as the pay schedule is the same for a particular video poker game, the odds of getting a royal flush will be the same no matter where the machine is located (assuming a random deal).
Q: I've been dealt many three- and four-card royal flushes lately. What are the odds of this happening?
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Playing Jacks or Better, you'll experience the thrill of being dealt a four-card royal flush once in every 2,777 hands (roughly once every four hours on average). Once in every 92 hands, on average, you'll be dealt a three-card royal flush (about 7-8 per hour). This is what makes video poker exciting; namely, that you'll have several opportunities to draw for a royal flush even if the odds are somewhat long (see next question).
Q: When you hold three cards to the royal flush, what is the chance of getting the two cards that you need on the draw for a royal flush?
You have a one in 1,081 chance of getting the two cards you need for the royal flush. The following table shows the chance of hitting the royal flush on the draw when you hold x cards to the royal flush.
RF Cards in Initial Five-Card Hand | Chance of Hitting the Royal Flush |
0 | 1 in 383,484 |
1 | 1 in 178,365 |
2 | 1 in 16,215 |
3 | 1 in 1,081 |
4 | 1 in 47 |
Q: If I'm dealt a three-card royal flush and a high pair in the same hand, why does the strategy say to hold the high pair when the royal flush pays so much more?
You need to analyze all the possible winning hands that you could get when you hold a three-card royal flush vs. when you hold a high pair in the same hand. These calculations have already been done for you. For example, suppose your initial hand contains 10-J-Q of diamonds along with a queen of clubs. The expected return (ER) for holding the pair of queens is 7.6827 vs. 7.4098 for holding the three-card royal flush (this is for 9/6 Jacks or Better). In dollars and cents, you'd earn 27 cents more on average for a max coin wager on a dollar denomination machine by holding the high pair vs. the three-card royal flush in this example.
Q: My wife plays Jacks or Better. The other day she was a dealt a hand that contained a four-card straight flush with a gap and a three-card royal flush. She held the three-card royal flush. Was that the correct play?
I'm sorry to say it wasn't. The correct play was to hold the four-card straight flush—even with a gap—over the three-card royal flush. (Tip: If your wife had a strategy card with her, she would have made the right play.)
Q: What are the odds of being dealt a royal flush in the initial hand?
The odds are one in 649,740 hands. You might think that's close to impossible but it could happen. (This happened to me once while I was showing my father-in-law how to play a Triple Line video poker game in a Las Vegas casino, resulting in a royal flush on each line. How's that for luck?)
Q: How much does the royal flush contribute to the 99.54% return for 9/6 Jacks or Better?
The royal flush contributes 1.9807% toward the overall 99.64% return. The following table summarizes the contribution of each winning hand toward the overall 99.54% return (for 9/6 Jacks or Better). When you don't hit the royal or straight flush, the best return you can expect, even playing perfectly, is about 97%.
Hand | Contribution to Return |
Royal Flush | 1.9807% |
Straight Flush | 0.5465% |
Four of a Kind | 5.9064% |
Full House | 10.3610% |
Flush | 6.6087% |
Straight | 4.4917% |
Three of a Kind | 22.3346% |
Two Pair | 25.8558% |
High Pair | 21.4585% |
Total | 99.5439% |
Got a video poker question? Send it to HTamburin@aol.com.
Tamburin's Tip of the Month
You are playing NSU Deuces Wild. How would you play these hands that don't contain a deuce?
Is A Royal Flush The Best Hand In Poker Games
- One person has a lower flush, and another person has a higher flush
- Both players have a flush of the same rank
- One player has a straight flush (with lower cards), and another player has a higher flush, but just a flush.
Higher vs. Lower Flush
The rules of poker are simple. A player that has a higher flush will win the hand. It doesn't matter if both players have a flush; it only matters who has the highest flush.
The value of the flush goes from lowest possible flush 23457 of the same suit, and not 23456 as this would also give us a straight flush, which is better than a normal flush. The value of flush goes all the way up to AKQJ9 of the same suit, and this is the biggest flush possible without having the strongest hand in poker – royal flush (AKQJT of the same suit).
The highest flush beats not only all the lower flushes that will not be folding to our huge bets, but it also beats all sets (trips), two pairs, and pairs.
If you don't have the nut flush yourself (highest possible flush, depending on the board), then chances are someone else can have it. Scenarios where you have 2nd nut flush, and someone else holds the nut flush will happen, and you will pay him off. This will reduce your winrate. But all the other times you are up against worse hands you will make a lot of money. Any flush is a great hand to have as it beats so many other worse hands.
Who wins if both players have a flush of the same rank
In the case when both players have the same flush at showdown, and no one else has a better hand than this flush, then the pot would get split between them. First, the rake would get deducted from the pot, and afterward, the pot gets equally split.
Who wins if there is a flush on the table?
Scenario, where both players have the flush of the same rank, is only possible if a flush is present on the table. There is no other option, as that is the only way that both players have all 5 cards of the same rank and same suit.
In my poker career (more than 5 million hands played online), I have seen quite some flushes on the board. A few scenarios are possible:
- Nobody has a stronger hand than the flush on the board: When nobody has a higher card of the same suit in the hole cards (in their hand) at showdown, then the pot would get equally split among the players that are still involved in the hand at showdown. Of course, if you fold before the showdown, then you give up on your hand and can't win the pot (get equal share in this scenario).
- Someone has a better hand: If there isn't a royal flush on the board, then chances are some player can have a bigger flush. Remember, in poker, the player that has the best 5 card combination wins. So on a 5689T all hearts, any player having J of hearts or higher still beats 5689T flush. But if someone has 7 of hearts, then that player will have the better nuts. As 6789T of hearts will give him a straight flush and the better hand combination. If someone would hold QhJh they would have the absolute nuts (QJT98 high straight flush).
Straight flush vs. Ace-high flush
If, by any chance, you come upon a situation where one player has a straight flush, and another player has an ace-high flush, then the rules are simple here also. A straight flush is a better hand and wins against any other non-straight flush and against all lower straight flushes (if both players have a straight flush, then the one with higher straight flush wins).
You will hit a straight flush once roughly every 72,000 hands. When on the other hand, you will hit a flush once every 508 hands. So it makes sense that a straight flush wins.
Related Articles:
- Why is flush worth more than a straight?
- Is a flush or a straight more likely to hit?
- A flush beats 3 of a kind. Here is why
Conclusion
Now you know of all the possible scenarios where two players might have the flush. You know correctly who wins and when the pots get split. I am sure there will be no more confusion next time when you see two players have hit a flush.
The ins and outs of that most elusive of hands
By Henry Tamburin
I get many questions about a royal flush in video poker. That's not too surprising since the royal flush is the premier hand that all video poker players dream (and hope) of getting. Here's a sample of questions and my responses.
Q: I've been playing video poker several times a week for over a year. You keep saying that a royal flush occurs once in every 40,000 hands yet I still haven't gotten a royal. What gives?
Firstly, I never wrote that you could expect one royal flush after playing 40,000 hands (or one cycle). What I wrote was, 'On average, you will hit a royal flush once in every 40,000 hands.' The word 'average' means a whole bunch of sets of 40,000 hands. In other words, in any given set of 40,000 hands, you could hit more than one royal flush or, heaven forbid, possibly no royals. In fact, you have a 36.8% chance that you won't get a royal in one cycle (40,000 hands), and a 13.5% chance after two cycles (80,000 hands). Ouch! Shove fold chart. Therefore, the fact that you went over a year without a royal is statistically possible.
Q: How come every time I need one card for a royal flush, it never shows up, but that exact card that I needed always seems to show up on the very next hand?
That's because you have 'selective memory.' The computer program in the video poker machine that randomly selects the cards for each hand doesn't use the information from previous hands to determine which cards it will deal. Every hand is a random deal regardless of what cards appeared (or didn't appear) on the previous hand.
Q: Over three years, I hit seven royal flushes in the same casino and none in two other casinos that I play regularly. I'm beginning to believe those casinos somehow tighten their video poker machines so players can't get a royal.
You will average one royal flush per roughly every 40,000 hands at any casino. Casinos can't change the odds of hitting a royal flush. (What they can do is change the payout … some casinos will pay less than 4,000 coins for a royal flush; therefore, always check to be sure that the payout for a five-coin royal flush is 4000 coins.) The bottom line is as long as the pay schedule is the same for a particular video poker game, the odds of getting a royal flush will be the same no matter where the machine is located (assuming a random deal).
Q: I've been dealt many three- and four-card royal flushes lately. What are the odds of this happening?
At Ignition Casino, you'll get your adrenaline pumping as you dive into the thrill of competition - it's high-intensity at its finest. Casino Games PLAY NOW. Online Specialty Games: Tiki Treasure, Sudoku Box Game, Beach Bums. Online Bingo: A Variety of Games and Ways to Win Real Money. Ignition Casino's Online Card Games. Best Online Blackjack Games and Variations. Why Live Dealer Blackjack Offers New Perks to Players. Best Online Casinos in the US. Ignition Casino's Online Card Games. Best Online Blackjack Games and Variations. Ignition casino delete account. Ignition Casino's Player Commitment How do I update my profile? Why can't I sign in to my account? How can I disable my account? How do I deposit with a cryptocurrency? (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc.) How do I make a deposit? How do I request a withdrawal? When will my funds be available? (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc.). Ignition Casino is the hottest new online casino and poker room where you go to rev up the action. Gambling should be entertaining. Remember that you always risk losing the money you bet, so do not spend more than you can afford to lose. If you think you may have a.
Playing Jacks or Better, you'll experience the thrill of being dealt a four-card royal flush once in every 2,777 hands (roughly once every four hours on average). Once in every 92 hands, on average, you'll be dealt a three-card royal flush (about 7-8 per hour). This is what makes video poker exciting; namely, that you'll have several opportunities to draw for a royal flush even if the odds are somewhat long (see next question).
Q: When you hold three cards to the royal flush, what is the chance of getting the two cards that you need on the draw for a royal flush?
You have a one in 1,081 chance of getting the two cards you need for the royal flush. The following table shows the chance of hitting the royal flush on the draw when you hold x cards to the royal flush.
RF Cards in Initial Five-Card Hand | Chance of Hitting the Royal Flush |
0 | 1 in 383,484 |
1 | 1 in 178,365 |
2 | 1 in 16,215 |
3 | 1 in 1,081 |
4 | 1 in 47 |
Q: If I'm dealt a three-card royal flush and a high pair in the same hand, why does the strategy say to hold the high pair when the royal flush pays so much more?
You need to analyze all the possible winning hands that you could get when you hold a three-card royal flush vs. when you hold a high pair in the same hand. These calculations have already been done for you. For example, suppose your initial hand contains 10-J-Q of diamonds along with a queen of clubs. The expected return (ER) for holding the pair of queens is 7.6827 vs. 7.4098 for holding the three-card royal flush (this is for 9/6 Jacks or Better). In dollars and cents, you'd earn 27 cents more on average for a max coin wager on a dollar denomination machine by holding the high pair vs. the three-card royal flush in this example.
Q: My wife plays Jacks or Better. The other day she was a dealt a hand that contained a four-card straight flush with a gap and a three-card royal flush. She held the three-card royal flush. Was that the correct play?
I'm sorry to say it wasn't. The correct play was to hold the four-card straight flush—even with a gap—over the three-card royal flush. (Tip: If your wife had a strategy card with her, she would have made the right play.)
Q: What are the odds of being dealt a royal flush in the initial hand?
The odds are one in 649,740 hands. You might think that's close to impossible but it could happen. (This happened to me once while I was showing my father-in-law how to play a Triple Line video poker game in a Las Vegas casino, resulting in a royal flush on each line. How's that for luck?)
Q: How much does the royal flush contribute to the 99.54% return for 9/6 Jacks or Better?
The royal flush contributes 1.9807% toward the overall 99.64% return. The following table summarizes the contribution of each winning hand toward the overall 99.54% return (for 9/6 Jacks or Better). When you don't hit the royal or straight flush, the best return you can expect, even playing perfectly, is about 97%.
Hand | Contribution to Return |
Royal Flush | 1.9807% |
Straight Flush | 0.5465% |
Four of a Kind | 5.9064% |
Full House | 10.3610% |
Flush | 6.6087% |
Straight | 4.4917% |
Three of a Kind | 22.3346% |
Two Pair | 25.8558% |
High Pair | 21.4585% |
Total | 99.5439% |
Got a video poker question? Send it to HTamburin@aol.com.
Tamburin's Tip of the Month
You are playing NSU Deuces Wild. How would you play these hands that don't contain a deuce?
Is A Royal Flush The Best Hand In Poker Games
In the top hand, your best play is to hold the consecutive three-card straight flush 6-7-8 (2.77 ER) over the four card straight 5-6-7-8 (2.55 ER). In the bottom hand, because the three-card straight flush has a gap (2.47 ER) your best play is to hold the consecutive four-card straight 4-5-6-7. When you play NSU Deuces Wild and your initial hand doesn't contain a deuce, you should hold a consecutive three-card straight flush (5-6-7 through 9-10-J) over a consecutive four-card straight (from 4-5-6-7 to 10-J-Q-K), but the latter over a three-card straight flush with one or two gaps.
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Is A Royal Flush The Best Hand In Poker 2
Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. He is the host of the smartgaming.com website and the editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter (for a free three-month subscription, visit www.bjinsider.com/freetrial). For a free copy of his Casino Gambling Catalog, which contains books, strategy cards, and software for video poker players, call toll free 1-888-353-3234, or visit the web store at smartgaming.com.