What is a Royal Flush in Poker?
Written by the CardsChat Editorial Team
A Royal Flush is a poker hand made out of 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all of the same suit. It is the best of all the poker hands that can be made in a standard game of poker and it is also the rarest one.
What Does a Royal Flush Look Like?
There are only four possible combinations to make a Royal Flush when playing poker. These are:
- A
, K, Q, J, 10 - A
, K, Q, J, 10 - A
, K, Q, J, 10 - A
, K, Q, J, 10
How Does a Royal Flush Rank?
The Royal Flush is the strongest of all poker hands. It wins over all other combinations and guarantees success when going to a showdown. It is also known as the “absolute nuts” since it cannot be beaten. Learn more about poker nicknames here.
What Beats a Royal Flush?
| Rank | Hand Names | Example | Hand Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush |  | Hand Description 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace all in the same suit. |
| 2 | Straight Flush |  | |
| 3 | Four of a Kind |  | Hand Description The same card in each of the four suits. |
| 4 | Full House |  | Hand Description A pair plus three of a kind in the same hand. |
| 5 | Flush |  | Hand Description Five cards, all in one suit, but not in numerical order. |
| 6 | Straight |  | Hand Description Five cards in numerical order, but not of the same suit. |
| 7 | Three of a Kind |  | Hand Description Three of one card and two non-paired cards. |
| 8 | Two Pair |  | Hand Description Two different pairings or sets of the same card in one hand. |
| 9 | One Pair |  | Hand Description One pairing of the same card. |
| 10 | High Card |  | Hand Description No matching cards. |
In poker variants without community cards it is possible for more than one Royal Flush to be made in the same hand, in different suits. In this case, the ranking is based on the suit, in alphabetical order. Clubs is the lowest, followed by diamonds, hearts, and then spades. As a result, a Royal Flush of spades is the highest hand in poker.
How Should You Play a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em?
Hitting a Royal Flush is the dream hand of any poker player. If you manage to make one, you know for certain that nobody will have a superior hand to yours. Therefore the trick to playing a Royal Flush well is being able to lure other players in to increase the pot. This will allow you to maximize your winnings from the hand.
Bet for value – that is, make bets you think (and hope) will be called. You’ll need to be careful though, bet too much and you’ll arouse suspicion, causing your opponents to fold. In this instance it would be better to have a small bet called than to bet big and see all others fold.
Royal Flush Probabilities
Given the fact that Texas Hold’em is the most popular variant of poker, we will focus on the probabilities of getting a Royal Flush when playing this type of poker game.
In this instance, we will focus on the odds of being dealt the Royal Flush on the flop. Meaning a player will have five cards – consisting of their two hole cards and the three flop cards.
| Number of ways to make the hand (not including different suits) | Number of ways to make the hand (including different suits) | Odds of getting a Royal Flush | Probability of getting a Royal Flush |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 / 649,739 | 0.000154% |
The odds of being dealt the Royal Flush on the flop is only the tip of the iceberg. For more on odds, including the probability of winning any given hand on the flop, turn, and/or river, have a play with our poker odds calculator.
FAQs
What is a Royal Flush in poker?
A Royal Flush is the highest hand in poker. It is made out of five cards that have the same suit and are in a consecutive order going up to the Ace. In other words, it is an Ace-high Straight Flush.
What are the odds of getting a Royal Flush in poker?
The odds of hitting a Royal Flush on the flop are 649,739 to 1. It is the best hand in poker.
What beats a Royal Flush?
The short answer is nothing. A Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em is guaranteed to win – the worst outcome possible with a Royal Flush would be splitting the pot with another Royal Flush.
What can a Royal Flush beat?
A Royal Flush poker hand beats all other hands.
Can you win with a Royal Flush?
Yes, if you make a Royal Flush, you will win the round, no matter what poker card hands the opponents are holding.
Which Royal Flush is the strongest?
The only Royal Flush hand you can be dealt is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and T suited. In the extremely rare case where more than one Royal Flush is made (not possible in Texas Hold’em, but a distantly remote possibility in non-community card games like 7-Card Stud or Draw poker), Royal Flushes would be ranked by suit. Spades are the strongest suit, followed by hearts, diamonds and finally clubs.