Straight Flush Vs Royal Flush

Straight Flush hands are extremely strong as they only can be beaten by Royal Flush or a higher Straight flush. The hand beats all other hand rankings. New poker players are often a bit in doubt which hand is the best when they see Straight Flush vs 4 aces or other quads. Straight Flush beats all quads, Full houses, ordinary flushes, any straight, trips or sets, 2 pair, 1 pair and high cards.

Consists of 5 cards

The hand consists of 5 cards in the same suit and in a sequence as seen on the picture above.

It is often tempting to play suited connector hands like 65 because such holding can develop to Straight Flush, Flush, Straights or 2 pairs. However it can be a big blunder if this hand is played out of position to often. These types of hands should be played for a relative small amount preflop and only in late position.

High connecting cards in the same suit has increased value. It is a lot better to flop the top pair with KQs than 65s. A pair of kings might win the pot which a pair of 6s seldom will. Even the high connected cards should be played cautiously. KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, JT, T9 are all dangerous holdings in raised pots. Playing these hands in late position in unraised pots is a profitable play. If no one else has entered the pot all these hands can be raised with in mid and late position

Always remember that cards in the same suit have increased value because of the Flush possibilities 65s is a stronger hand than 65 but being suited is NEVER a reason to play a hand.

Playing the small straight flush hole cards makes sense on Bad Beat Jackpot poker tables if played correctly in position. However they should never be played for a lot of money preflop.

Playing the Bad Beat Jackpot

On the other hand it can be extremely profitable to play against players on Bad Beat Jackpot tables that are willingly to pay a lot to see a flop with these mediocre holdings. The hope for the jackpot often sees inexperienced players make serious mistakes which should be exploited increasing the bet size.

It rarely happens that a Straight flush is flopped directly. There are only 36 different straight flush combinations in poker (excluding Royal Flushes). Being dealt to cards of the same suit happens extremely often which will be further explained in the Flush section of this hand ranking guide for new players.