Poker
Flush poker
A flush is a poker hand where all five cards belong to the same suit but do not form a consecutive sequence, which would instead make it a straight flush.
Key points
- A flush requires five suited cards that are not consecutive; if they were consecutive it would be a straight flush.1
- In standard poker hand rankings the flush sits below a full house and above a straight.1
- When two flushes compete, the hand with the highest top card wins; if those match, the next highest card is used, and so on through all five cards.1
- The term 'flush' is standard across poker and other card games that score by suit; no alternative name is commonly used.12
Example flush hands
| Hand | Suit | High card |
|---|---|---|
| A♠ K♠ 10♠ 7♠ 3♠ | Spades | Ace |
| Q♥ J♥ 9♥ 6♥ 2♥ | Hearts | Queen |
| K♣ 9♣ 8♣ 5♣ 4♣ | Clubs | King |
How a flush works in play
- A player makes a flush when their hand contains five cards of the same suit and those cards are not in sequence.1
- If two players each have a flush, compare the highest card; the player with the higher top card wins.1
- If the top cards are equal, compare the second-highest, then the third, fourth, and fifth cards in order.1
Flush in broader card games
Beyond poker, the term flush appears in other card games that score hands by suit. For example, in the game Loo, a flush is a hand of five cards of the same suit and ranks above a sequence.3 In Chinese poker, a flush is one of the standard hand types used to compare players' hands.4 The concept also appears in the Indian game teen patti, where a flush is called a 'colour' and ranks below a straight flush but above a straight.5
Common questions
What is a straight flush poker?
A straight flush is a poker hand of five cards of the same suit in consecutive rank, such as 5♠ 6♠ 7♠ 8♠ 9♠. It ranks above a flush and is the second-strongest hand in standard poker, behind a royal flush.1
Where this term is used
Related terms
Sources
- List of poker hands en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition, ranking position, and tiebreaker rules for a flush.
- Poker Rules - Pagat pagat.com Confirms the standard term 'flush' and its use in poker hand rankings.
- Loo - card game rules pagat.com Describes flush in the game Loo, showing broader usage.
- Chinese poker en.wikipedia.org Mentions flush as a hand type in Chinese poker.
- Teen patti - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Explains flush (called 'colour') in teen patti.
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.