The Straight is fifth on the poker hand rankings list and is made up of five sequential or consecutive cards.
The 🍇 word Straight should immediately have you thinking that it consists of five cards in a row - and that makes 🍇 it a very easy hand to identify.
The highest possible Straight is A-K-Q-J-10 (also called “Broadway”). Straight combinations go all the 🍇 way down to A-2-3-4-5, which is known as the “Wheel” or “Bicycle”, in poker lingo.
A♠K♥Q♣J♥10♠ aka BROADWAY
A♥2♣3♠4♦5♥ aka the WHEEL 🍇 or BICYCLE
When it comes to Straights, the suits aren’t important. However, not every straight is ranked equally.
When rating one straight 🍇 over the next, it’s the hand rank or denomination that’s important.
How Does a Straight Hand Rank?
In a 52-card deck, there 🍇 are 10,200 possible Straight hand combinations and 10 distinct ranks of Straights. Each Straight is ranked by its highest card, 🍇 then by the rank of its second-highest card and so forth.
Here are some examples of Straights:
K♠Q♣J♦10♠9♦
Q♥J♥10♣9♠8♥
J♣10♦9♣8♠7♣
10♦9♠8♦7♦6♦
The best Straights are determined 🍇 by the highest straight card – not the suit. For example, a Queen-high Straight beats a Jack-high Straight – regardless 🍇 of suits, and so forth.
How Does a Straight Hand Match Up?
The Straight is the fifth best possible hand in the 🍇 poker hand ranking system. The Flush ranks directly above it, with the best flush being ace-high. Its fifth-place ranking still 🍇 makes it a formidable hand to beat on the river in Hold’em.
There are a few hands that rank beneath a 🍇 Straight. The hand that ranks directly under a Straight is called Three-of-a-Kind. The best 3-of-a-Kind hand is three Aces also 🍇 known as a set of Aces or trip Aces.
Straight Poker Probabilities
Now, we’ll look at the pre-flop, flop, turn and river 🍇 probabilities of making a Straight in both Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha.
