Some players ask, “What is a straight flush in poker?” A straight flush is the second-best hand combination in poker and can only be beaten by a royal flush. It’s made by having five consecutive cards that all have matching suits, like 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ or 9♥ 10♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥. It’s basically a straight and a flush (two very strong hand combinations) mixed into one hand.
Any combination of five consecutive cards with matching suits, except for the highest straight (10-J-Q-K-A), is a straight flush. When the straight runs from ten-to-ace with matching suits, that’s a royal flush; the best hand in poker.
When a player makes a straight flush, they usually have an unbeatable hand (the “nuts”).
Here’s a guide to making straight flushes just like James Bond in Casino Royale (including the odds), plus strategy tips, and information on winning bad beat jackpots with this rare poker hand.
How to Make a Straight Flush in Poker
The probability of making a straight flush is extremely slim. With any combination of hole cards, you have a 0.0279% chance of making a straight flush in Texas hold ‘em poker. Playing suited connectors such as 6♥ 7♥ or 10♥ J♥ improves your odds of making a straight flush.
The highest straight flush wins; for example, a straight flush from 6 to 10 beats a straight flush from 3 to 7.
Examples of straight flush combinations:
- 9♣ 10♣ J♣ Q♣ K♣
- 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥
- A♠ 2♠ 3♠ 4♠ 5♠
- 3♦ 4♦ 5♦ 6♦ 7♦
If you have a straight flush, congratulations! It’s easier to get value from straight flushes than other strong hand combinations in poker (like four-of-a-kind or full houses) since your opponent can have lots of hands that want to call your bets (straights and other flushes).
If your opponent has the “nut flush”, which is the highest possible flush containing the ace, then you will be able to get lots of value from your straight flush.
Since a straight flush is so rare, your opponents usually won’t expect you to have it.
Win Huge Bad Beat Jackpots With a Straight Flush
In casinos and online poker sites, there’s something called a bad beat jackpot. The concept is simple; if you make a rare and extremely strong hand that gets beaten, you’ve had a “bad beat”. The probability of this happening is so slim that organizations like GGPoker run massive progressive jackpots. When you win, you’ll split thousands of dollars among the other players at the table.
You’ve got to use two of your hole cards to qualify for the jackpot.
In this Bad Beat Jackpot, both players had a draw to a straight flush on the turn and needed a six of clubs to complete their hand.
GGPoker is one of the last online poker sites to hold a Bad Beat Jackpot, and as you can see in this image, huge prizes are waiting for lucky players. The player who wins the hand receives less than the player who gets the “bad beat” and loses.
If you lose with a straight flush, you’ll win the jackpot and split it with the rest of the players at the table.
The minimum qualifying hand you need to lose with is much more common than a straight flush. At GGPoker, a full house of A-A-A-10-10 is the minimum hand you need to lose with in Texas hold ‘em.
The progressive Bad Beat Jackpot can be won on Texas hold ‘em, Omaha, 5-card Omaha, and short deck tables (but we’re not saying it’s easy).
If you want to know more about GGPoker, like the stakes of the games, software features, or the welcome promotions for new players, then check out our full GGPoker guide.
Unfortunately, many online poker sites that used to offer bad beat jackpots have stopped, probably because it’s not profitable for them.
How to Play a Straight Flush Draw in Poker
It’s rare to complete a straight flush, but poker players often get straight flush draws in both Texas hold ‘em and Omaha poker. This means you can either make a straight flush, or a straight, or a flush. Even if you don’t complete the straight flush, either of the other draws can still give you a very strong hand.
Having suited connectors (like Vanessa Selbst at this PokerStars live tournament) means that you have more possibilities to make either a straight, flush, or a straight flush.
This also means you’ll have lots of “outs”, which is a poker term for the cards you need to complete your hand combination. With a straight flush draw on the flop, you’ll make a strong hand on many turn and river cards. Even without a made hand, you’ll have more equity to win than many of your opponent's hands, like top pair.
- Open-ended straight flush draw: Using the community cards and your hole cards, you have four consecutive cards or the same suit. For example, you hold 9♥ 10♥ and the flop is 2♥ 8♥ J♥. If the Queen or 7 of hearts comes on the turn or river, you’ve made a straight flush. You can make a flush on any heart and a straight on any Queen or 7.
- Gut-shot straight flush draw: This means that you do not have 4 consecutive cards and there’s a gap, such as 5♠ 6♠ __ 8♠ 9♠. Only one card can give you the straight flush, which is a 7♠ in this example. You still have outs to straights and flushes, so this is still a strong drawing poker hand.
Many players choose to build the pot when they have straight flush draws since they have strong equity to make a winning hand combination. You’ll either grow the size of the pot while your equity is strong or force opponents to fold before you’ve made a hand combination.
