Every poker player wants to make a Royal Flush, but how do you win the most money when you do? To answer that question, I need to explain how to make a Royal Flush and what poker hands it beats. So, with this in mind, here’s how to play poker’s most desirable hand.
What is a Royal Flush?
A Royal Flush poker hand consists of five suited broadway cards (i.e., the five highest-value cards in a standard deck). Technically, it’s an ace-high Straight Flush, and it looks like this: 10♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥ A♥
It’s known as a Straight Flush because the cards are in sequential order (a Straight), and they’re all the same suit (a Flush). We call it a Royal Flush because it contains the royal cards (Jack, Queen, and King).
Where Does Royal Flush Rank in Poker?
A Royal Flush in poker, as its name suggests, rules the rankings. It’s the proverbial king and queen of all possible five-card poker hands.
OK, so does a Royal Flush beat a Full House in poker? What about Straight Flushes, Sets, and Straights? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes.
If you make a Royal Flush in poker, you’ll win a showdown against any other hand. I’ll talk more about the odds of hitting a Royal Flush in the next section. Before that, here are hand rankings for Texas Hold’em and other high-hand variants:
Rank
Hand
Example
01
Royal Flush
02
Straight Flush
03
Four-of-a-Kind (Quads)
04
Full House (Full Boat)
05
Flush
06
Straight
07
Three-of-a-Kind (Set/Trips)
08
Two Pair
09
One Pair
10
High Card
Before I talk about the odds of making Royal Flushes in poker, I need to pick up on a previous point. The poker hand rankings listed above, and outlined in detail here, are for high-hand variants.
As the name suggests, high-hand variants, such as Texas Hold’em, give more weight to hands with five high-value cards. That’s why Royal Flushes trump all other hands. However, high-hand variants aren’t the only games in town.
Lowball variants, such as Razz, give more weight to low-value cards. That means the ranking of poker hands is different in these variants. However, for the majority of variants, high-value cards are best.
What Are the Odds of Making a Royal Flush?
The odds of hitting a Royal Flush in poker are 649,739 to 1, which is 0.000154% as a percentage. Those figures are based on five random cards from a standard 52-card deck. The chances of making a Royal Flush change based on the variant you’re playing and what stage of a hand you’re at. However, from a general perspective, the probability of making a Royal Flush with five cards is 0.000154%.
The Math Explained
We know there are four ways to make a Royal Flush hand because there are four suits. Therefore, because you need 10-J-Q-K-A to be the same suit, it means there are four ways to make the best-ranked hand in poker.
We get the probability of making a Royal Flush in poker by dividing the number of ways we can make this hand (four) by the total number of possible hand combinations 2,598,960, i.e., 4 / 2,598,960= 0.00000154 x 100 = 0.000154%.
How to Make the Odds Work for You
The odds of hitting a Royal Flush poker hand aren’t great. By that, I mean you’re extremely unlikely to flop the best hand in poker. Naturally, you need to have at least one high-value suited card, and preferably two, in your hand if you’re going to make a Royal Flush.
The upside to playing high-value suited cards is that you can make plenty of strong hands that aren’t Royal Flushes. Therefore, even though you won’t make a Royal Flush very often, the hands you can make with high-value suited cards can still win showdowns.
How to Play a Royal Flush: 3 Basic Strategy Tips
Why would I need poker strategy tips for playing a Royal Flush when it’s the best hand? If I’m honest, you don’t. As long as someone is willing to call your bets and raises, playing a Royal Flush is easy.
However, getting people to call your bets and raises isn’t always easy. What’s more, you shouldn’t allow the allure of Royal Flushes to cloud your judgment. Even though it’s a great hand to chase, you shouldn’t abandon basic poker strategy.
The following tips explain what I mean:
Mistakes to Avoid with a Royal Flush Hand
The biggest mistake I’ve made with Royal Flush draws (and when I’ve made a Royal Flush) is playing them too passively. It’s an easy mistake to make because you don’t want to scare off opponents.
In reality, though, it pays to be aggressive. How aggressive you are depends on the table dynamics and opponents you’re facing. My point, though, is that you shouldn’t take a super passive line in the hope that someone will build the pot for you.
Take the lead whenever possible, and don’t be scared of raising. Remember that there needs to be three or four broadway cards on the board for you to make a Royal Flush. Moreover, there will also be suited cards out there.
This means the community cards are likely to give at least one of your opponents a strong draw or made hand. Indeed, it’s entirely possible for someone to have a Flush or Straight when you’ve got a Royal Flush. These hands are strong enough to win showdowns, so opponents will call bets and raises. So, the lesson here is simple: don’t be too passive with Royal Flushes.
Conclusion: How to Play a Royal Flush in Poker
That’s all you need to know about poker’s best hand. You now know that a Royal Flush beats a Full House. Why? Because it beats all hands in poker. Keep this in mind as you play, and you’ll be on your way to winning more pots in tournaments and cash games.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, a Royal Flush is the best hand in poker. This means it’s better than a Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, and all other poker hands. The only times a Royal Flush won’t win a showdown is in lowball poker variants, such as Razz, where hands with the lowest value cards win.
There is no limit to the amount you can win with a Royal Flush poker hand. The size of the pot depends on how you play the hand and the amount of chips your opponents have. Played correctly, you can win an opponent’s entire stack with a Royal Flush.
Yes, it’s possible to make a Royal Flush in poker with hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. As long as your five broadway cards (10-J-Q-K-A) are suited, i.e., are all the same suit, you have a Royal Flush.
Nothing beats a Royal Flush hand in poker. It’s the best-ranked hand because the probability of making a suited Broadway Straight is incredibly low. Therefore, you will always win a showdown if you make a Royal Flush.
