Gambling terms, explained straight

Poker

4 card straight poker

A 4 card straight poker hand is four cards in consecutive rank order, treated as an incomplete straight or a distinct low-ranked hand in certain poker variants.

Also called
four-straight; four to a straight1
Applies to
Scandinavian stud (Sökö), where it ranks above one pair and below a four-card flush12

Key points

  • A 4 card straight uses four consecutive ranks, one card short of a standard five-card straight.1
  • In Sökö it is an explicit hand rank, placed above one pair and below a four-card flush.12
  • It is a variant hand category, not part of standard five-card poker hand rankings.3

Where this term is used

Not the same as

Poker 4-card Omaha poker A poker variant where each player receives four hole cards. Poker Straight poker A standard five-card straight hand in poker. Poker Straight flush poker A hand that is both a straight and a flush, five consecutive cards of the same suit. Poker Cut card poker A card used to cut the deck before dealing in poker games. Poker High straight poker A straight hand with a high top card, such as ace-high. Poker 5 card poker hands The standard ranking of five-card poker hands.

Sources

  1. Glossary of poker terms - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Defines the term and its use in Sökö.
  2. Stud poker - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Confirms the hand ranking in Scandinavian stud.
  3. Ranking of Poker Hands pagat.com Explains standard poker hand rankings and distinguishes four-card from five-card straights.
  4. List of poker hands - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Clarifies that a standard straight requires five consecutive cards.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.