If you have ever seen any film involving a poker scene, then you are well familiar with the Royal Flush. When playing poker, Royal Flush is the Holy Grail because it’s the best-ranking hand you can ever garner in a game without wild cards.
If you are an avid poker player or enthusiast, however, you know the chances of getting a royal straight flush are very minimal. Unlike in the movies, this hand appears less often, but there are certain tried and true tricks and tactics you can use to improve your odds of forming one.
In this post, we are going to explore the fascinating world of the royal flush in poker. Buckle up for some handy tips and ways to boost your chances of getting one.
What is a Royal Flush?
Royal straight flush or simply royal flush is the most valuable hand in the deck-card game of poker. In fact, it’s the strongest possible hand you can hold in a poker game without wild cards and can land you one of the biggest payouts for a single hand.
Most casinos, online and offline, offer lucrative prizes for players who garner a royal flush, including massive cash jackpots and other flush prizes.
To form a royal straight flush, you must hold in your hand ace (A), king (K), queen (Q), jack (J), and ten (10), ALL of the same suit. For instance, you can have 10 to A straight all of hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades.
You don’t need to be good at math to know that this is the rarest hand to come by. As a matter of fact, mathematically speaking, the probability of being dealt a straight royal flush in a 52-deck card is 0.00015 percent, which is to say otherwise that your chances are slim to none.
In reality, however, royal flushes do appear more often than you think. But the trick is to know when to fold ém and when to hold ’em. Let’s break it down.
Tips on How to Get a Royal Flush in Poker
It Pays to Know your Hand
In poker, it is always crucial to understand what trumps what, especially when it comes to higher-value hands. More importantly, you must know what cards you need to be holding to have a royal flush.
As we’ve noted before, this can be achieved with an ace-high straight. In a five-card game, that would be ten-jack-queen-king-ace of a similar suit.
Remember that there are poker games, particularly those found in online casinos that use wild cards. These are special cards that may be substituted for any of the cards in your hand.
In light of that, a natural royal straight flush is a royal flush in which one or more cards are wild cards.
Know which Poker Games are More Likely to form a Royal Flush
Poker games play out in more or less similar manner. That’s not to say that all of them are created equal. The opposite is true.
You are always better off playing a poker game that’s well-known for delivering royal flushes. Take Omaha poker, for instance. In this game, 2 players can’t get a royal flush at the same time because there are exactly 2 hole-cards.
A 5-card draw poker or 7-card stud, on the other hand, makes it possible for 2 players to both form a royal flush. Unfortunately, that means the two players have to share the spoils. Of course, such a scenario is very rare, and the vast majority of players haven’t seen it happen firsthand.
It’s worth noting that ranking poker hands has to do with their frequency than anything else. The rarer the hand, the higher it’s ranked. That’s why the royal flush is the highest ranked hand because it’s the rarest.
By the same token, four of a kind ranked lower than a straight flush because it’s easier to make, but ranks higher than a full house because it’s harder to make.
When all’s said and done, however, how difficult it’s to form a royal flush usually boils down to the type of poker game you want to play. With that being said, here’s what to keep in mind:
Stud vs drawcard poker: Your odds of landing a royal flush are higher when you are playing a draw poker game than when you are playing stud poker game. The reason is simple: you can get rid of poor or bad cards when playing drawcard poker, but the same is not true for stud games, in which case you have to stick with the cards you are dealt.
5-card poker games may be your enemy when trying to get a royal flush. In a 5-card stud or draw poker game, your probability of making a royal flush are a whopping 1 in about 650,000. Moreso, the royal flushes account for only 1 in 10 straight flushes, so the odds of landing a straight flush in the first place are about 1 in approximately 65,000.
You stand a chance of making a royal flush by playing poker games where you are deal 5+ cards. When you switch from a 5-card draw poker to 7-card Texas Hold ‘em, for instance, you improve your chances from 1 in 649,740 to 1 in 30,940.
Funny enough, you odds of landing a royal flush on the first 3 community cards (or what’s known as a flop in Texas Hold ‘em) are still 1 in about 650,000. However, this comes down to 1 in about 108,000 when you are dealt the 4th card (or what’s called the turn card). By the time you receive the river card, you are chances will have improved by a staggering 5 percent.
This improves even better when you play a 9-card draw poker game like Omaha hold ‘em with five community cards and four hole cards.
Try poker games that use less than a full deck (fewer than 52 cards in a deck): This is especially true for variants like Royal Hold ‘em, in which all other regular playing cards are stripped from the deck except for the tens, jacks, queens, kings and aces. With only 4,845 hands possible, that means your odds of getting a royal flush improves to 1 in around 1,211.
Opt for games with wild cards: in this kind of games, wild cards can replace or substitute for any royal flush card, enhancing your chances of forming one. These wild cards increase your odds of getting a royal flush more than cards like jokers which only bulk up the deck.
Develop a Solid Royal Flush Strategy
The good news is that your probability of making a royal flush goes up every time you are dealt a card that forms a royal flush. Did you know that when you have 4 out of 5 royal flush cards, your odds are in the region of 1 in 47?
Even still, you can still flop a sure royal flush. That’s why you must craft an actionable royal flush strategy. This comes in two fashions: a strategy to help you know when to hold ‘em, and another strategy to help you decide when to fold ‘em.
Strategy for when to hold ‘em
Again, it’s worth keeping in mind that your chances are higher when you have two, three or more cards that form a royal flush. For example, if you already have 3 cards making up a royal flush, your odds of landing a 4th card that’s part of the royal flush are about 2 in 47. Nonetheless, your odds of getting cards that make up a royal flush in both the 4th and 5th deals are 1 in about 1081.
Similarly, your chances go down when you have only 2 cards that are part of a royal flush. In fact, your odds of getting other 3 royal flush cards are 1 in 16,200. If you have only 1 card that makes up the royal flush, then your odds of getting the other 4 cards in subsequent deals are 1 in approximately 178,370
Here are a few examples on when to hold ‘em:
- When you have four of natural cards that make up the royal flush, hold the 4 and get rid of the other one.
- When you have KK or AA, discard 3 cards, and keep one.
- When you have a full house (a pair and 3 of a kind), hold all the cards when the game includes jokers
- When you get any flush, it’s prudent to hold ‘em
- If it is a game with wilds, keep only the wild and discard the other 4 unless they are an ace, kings, queens, jacks or tens.
Strategy to known when to fold ‘em
The type of card that makes up the royal flush that you had in hand can make a huge difference. The question is: should you settle for a lesser hand or attempt to play for the royal straight flush? That’s where your strategy will help you know when to fold ‘em.
Let’s take a look at an example. If you have in a hand the ten, jack, queen and king, you have a higher chance of making a royal flush than if you are dealt the jack, queen, king, and ace. In the former case, you are only waiting for a ten of a similar suit, which has a probability of appearing of 1 in 47. That means if you are dealt a card of a lower value, only four of a kind, full house or straight flush hands will beat you.
In saying that, you can play for a royal flush if you have an ace-high, rather than a king-high.
You should also attempt playing for a royal flush only if you’ve outside straight, such as ten, jack, queen & king of the same suit instead of ten, jack, king and ace (which is what’s called an inside straight). This way, you can draw on the “outside” of the consecutive cards. After all, the chances of getting a queen to fit inside will be much lower than getting an ace.
Other Valuable Hands in Poker
Straight Flush
A straight flush is just a notch lower than a royal flush. If you are holding a straight flush, you have in your hand five consecutive cards, all of the same suit. For example, you may have a 6-7-8-9-10, all of the clubs.
While a straight flush may not trigger the same level of adrenaline as the former, it still pays pretty handsomely. As we’ve said for a royal flush, the best strategy is to know when to fold ‘em and when to hold ’em.
Just like a royal flush, it can be quite hard to land a straight flush.
Four of a Kind
Four of a kind comes right after a straight flush in the ranking of poker hands. It refers to hand where you have 4 of the same card with a different fifth card. For instance, you can have four tens of a kind, with an ace.
That’s not too shabby. In fact, if you are a master of bluffing, some people may think that you have a straight flush or a royal flush and could end up folding.
Full House
It’s not what it sounds like. Some non-poker players often think getting all cards of the same kind will form a full house. Rather, a full house is when your hand includes a set of 3 of a kind, as well as another pair of a kind.
For example, a 9-9-9-4-4 is a full house, and so is Q-Q-7-7-7.
Every poker player knows that a full house is not only feasible but also a decent hand that can deliver a good payout.
Conclusion
Making a royal straight full is every player’s dream when playing poker, but it’s the rarest hand to land. We hope that the tricks and tips we detailed above will help you increase your chances of forming a royal flush.
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FAQs
How rare is it to get a royal flush on video poker? ›
INITIAL DEAL: Your chances of getting a royal on the first five cards are the same as in five-card stud poker games: 1 in 649,740: There are 2,598,960 possible five-card combinations in which card order doesn't matter. Four of those are royal flushes, so the chances of a royal on the deal are 1 in 649,740.
What are the odds of drawing two cards to a royal flush? ›TWO CARDS TO THE ROYAL FLUSH
You can expect to be dealt a two-card royal flush once in every 13 hands on average (or about 46 times per hour). Even though the frequency of being dealt a two-card royal is great, the odds of drawing a royal from it are long: one in 16,215.
The royal flush is a case of the straight flush. It can be formed 4 ways (one for each suit), giving it a probability of 0.000154% and odds of 649,739 : 1.
What are the odds of getting a royal flush on a 5 card draw? ›The odds of making a five-card royal flush out of a 52-card deck are 4/2,598,960. This translates to a 0.000154% chance of making poker's ultimate hand. The odds against making a royal flush are 649,739-to-1.
Has anyone flopped a royal flush? ›Flopping the Royal Flush is virtually impossible. A slightly more likely possibility is that of flopping the Royal Flush straight draw. We'd only need two specific cards to fall for this to be the case.
Is Royal Flush the rarest? ›As far as poker hands go, a Royal Flush is the crème de la crème. It is the most coveted of all the poker hand combinations, and the rarest. Players cannot form a stronger hand in poker than a Royal Flush.
What beats a royal flush? ›As shown in the poker hand rankings chart, the order of poker rankings (from the highest to the lowest) is: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.
How often do you hit a flush with 2 suited cards? ›The odds of flopping a flush when you have two suited cards is 1 in 118, but even when you do flop a flush, you have to be careful that your flush holds up for the rest of the hand.
How rare is a full house? ›The Probabilities of a Full House
The odds of being dealt a full house off the top of a shuffled deck is 0.1441%. This is because in a standard 52-card deck there are 3,744 combinations that make a full house out of a total of 2,598,960 possible hands. This is equivalent to odds of 693-to-1.
The royal flush is the best hand available in poker. It features five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, in order of value from 10 through to ace. Any five cards of successive values in the same suit that's not a royal flush is a straight flush.
What is the strongest royal flush in poker? ›
Which royal flush is the highest? A royal flush of spades is the highest followed by hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
Has there ever been a double royal flush? ›Unbelievable,” said Hopp. Up against a full house, aces over 10s, and a King high flush, Bob Hopp flipped that last card at Tuesday's regular poker game with his friends. To their amazement, Hopp had scored a second royal straight flush.
Why is 5-card draw not popular? ›Five card stud has too much information for the players, so there isn't enough action. Five card draw has too little, and there isn't enough betting. Furthermore, as usually played, a significant number of hands literally cannot be opened, which slows the game down.
Does five aces beat a royal straight flush? ›When playing with wild cards, five of a kind becomes the highest type of hand, beating a royal flush. Between fives of a kind, the higher beats the lower, five aces being highest of all.
Do all 5 cards count in a flush? ›A Flush is made up of 5 cards all in the same suit. It comes in fourth place in the poker hand rankings - below a full house.
What are the odds of hitting a 6 card Royal Flush? ›You have four possible suits and 52-6=46 options for the last card, in total 4*46=184 options. The total number of ways to pick 7 cards out of 52 is (52 choose 7)=133.8 millions. Divide, and the chance to get a "6-card royal flush" is 1 in 727,090.
What are the odds of getting two royal flushes in the same hand? ›If you're talking about 5 card poker, without drawing additional cards, the odds I believe are 2 in 650,000. I'd double that for 2 guys to get it in the same hand.
Why is Royal Flush so rare? ›For any given suit there is only one combination of cards with these cards. Since there are four suits of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades, there are only four possible royal flushes that can be dealt.
Is poker a skill or luck? ›Like all gambling games, luck does play a major role in poker, especially in the short term. Poker is different than any other form of gambling, however. Unlike the other games on a casino floor, poker is a game of skill, and the world's top pros make money because they're the best players in the game.
What is the best Royal straight flush? ›J. 10. , is called a royal flush or royal straight flush and is the best possible hand in ace-high games when wild cards are not used.
What are the 5 cards Royal flush? ›
A ROYAL FLUSH
This consists of the ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of one suit. There are four such hands. The probability is 0.00000153908.
The highest value poker hand is a Royal Flush, while the lowest is a high card. The full ranking order is royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.
Who wins in poker if both have a royal flush? ›The top wins. Royal flush– The only time it is possible for two players to have a royal flush is if it is on the board. Even if it was possible, two royal flushes is always a tie. Contrary to what some people believe, one suit does not beat another suit unless a specific local rule dictates it.
How often should you go all in poker? ›Any time you're sitting with around 15 big blinds or less, it might be time to consider going all in. This situation usually applies to tournaments more than cash games, as cash games allow you to top-up your stack after each hand.
How often should you flop a set in poker? ›How often do you flop a set? Every ambitious poker player should know this number by heart: roughly 12% of the time or once every 9 times you see a flop with your pair. A scenario many poker players are afraid of is the dreaded set over set: you flop a set but one of your opponents flops a better set.
What is backdoor flush draw? ›A backdoor draw, or runner-runner draw, is a drawing hand that needs to catch two outs to win. For example, a hand with three cards of the same suit has a backdoor flush draw because it needs two more cards of the suit.
What are the odds of getting 4 aces in Texas Holdem? ›In standard Texas hold'em card games played with a 52-card deck, the probability of making four-of-a-kind is 0.0256%. And the odds of making quads at some point during a hand is 4,164-to-1. The odds of winning or losing with quads varies greatly.
What are the best hands to bet in poker? ›The best starting hands in Texas Hold'em poker are undoubtedly the pocket pairs with pocket aces on the top, followed by pocket kings and pocket queens. The pocket pairs (Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen) are the best hands to play in the preflop betting round.
When should you fold in poker? ›- When your preflop hand isn't strong after the flop.
- When a player who never bluffs is betting big.
- When you've played a pocket pair preflop, and two or more overcards hit the board.
- When you have no pair or drawing potential with your hand post-flop.
In Omaha the term wrap around straight draws is generally used in reference to a straight draw that has more than 8 outs. However, akin to other popular poker variants we can make a Jack high straight in poker or poker ace2345 in Omaha but we cannot make a JQKA2 straight unless the rules explicitly allow.
Which color is stronger in poker? ›
Alternating colours: diamonds (lowest), followed by clubs, hearts, and spades (highest).
What is the strongest straight in poker? ›The highest possible Straight is A-K-Q-J-10 (also called “Broadway”). Straight combinations go all the way down to A-2-3-4-5, which is known as the “Wheel” or “Bicycle”, in poker lingo. When it comes to Straights, the suits aren't important. However, not every straight is ranked equally.
What's better quads or straight flush? ›Four-of-a-kind, flushes, and straights are all strong hands in most variants of poker. Four-of-a-kind occurs the least out of the three hands, however, making it the winner against a straight or a flush.
What is a royal flush with no deuces? ›There is a distinction between a royal flush that contains a deuce and a natural (no deuce) royal flush. The natural is paid at the standard Jacks or Better rate, where the “wild” royal flush is paid considerably less (4000 vs. 125 respectively). It is possible to get a four of a kind plus a deuce.
Does the suit matter in a royal flush? ›A straight from a ten to an ace and all five cards of the same suit. In poker suit does not matter and pots are split between equally strong hands.
Who wins in poker if both have a pair? ›If two players hold the same Poker pair, who wins? Poker pair rules say that if the pairs are of the same value, the highest kicker card determines the winner. A second and even third kicker can be used if necessary. As per Texas Hold'em high card rules, the pot is shared if all players have the same five cards.
What is the easiest version of poker? ›Five-card draw (also known as Cantrell draw) is a poker variant that is considered the simplest variant of poker, and is the basis for video poker. As a result, it is often the first variant learned by new players. It is commonly played in home games but rarely played in casino and tournament play.
Are jacks better trips to win? ›Jacks and Back
A less popular version of this game states that on the first hand, if no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, than the game is re-dealt as Queens or Better, Trips to Win. If nobody has Queens or better to open, then it becomes Kings or Better, Trips to Win, then Aces.
Five Card Draw
Considered one of the simplest forms of poker, five card draw starts with each player receiving five cards. After the initial deal, players can choose up to three cards to trade in exchange for new cards. The player with the best five-card combination wins.
There are 52 cards in the pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Can ace be 1 in poker? ›
The suits are all of equal value - no suit is higher than any other suit. In Poker, the Ace is the highest card and the 2 card (Deuce) is the lowest. However, the Ace can also be used as a low card, with the value of 1.
What is the lowest pair in poker? ›Texas Hold'em, along with virtually any high-hand poker game, uses the standard poker hand rankings to determine the winning hand. The lowest pair you can possibly make in Texas Hold'em is a pair of twos, aka deuces.
What are the odds of getting a flush in 5 card draw? ›| Hand | Distinct hands | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Flush (excluding royal flush and straight flush) | 1,277 | 0.1965% |
| Straight (excluding royal flush and straight flush) | 10 | 0.3925% |
| Three of a kind | 858 | 2.1128% |
| Two pair | 858 | 4.7539% |
The odds of making a five-card royal flush out of a 52-card deck are 4/2,598,960. This translates to a 0.000154% chance of making poker's ultimate hand. The odds against making a royal flush are 649,739-to-1.
What is the highest card in flush? ›If both the dealer and the player have the same number of cards in their flush, the winning hand is determined by the highest ranking card (ace – 2) of the flush in each hand.
What is the highest odds in video poker? ›Deuces Wild
The royal flush remains the highest-playing hand, with 800 to 1 in a five-coin game. The payback percentage for Deuces Wild is higher than Jacks or Better at 99.73%, but you won't see this game often. If you've found a casino with Deuces Wild, it's probably one of the best paying games around.
- Jacks or Better. Jacks or Better is probably the best-known and most popular of all video poker formats out there. ...
- Deuces Wild. Most moderately experienced video poker players opt for Deuces Wild. ...
- Joker Poker. ...
- Aces and Eights. ...
- Summary.
The rarest poker hand is the Royal Flush which is also the best possible Straight Flush. This five-card combination ranks ahead of every other as it is unbeatable but can beat every other hand at the showdown. The Royal Flush consists of an Ace, a Jack, a King, a Queen and an Ace all from the same suit.
How good is a royal flush in poker? ›The royal flush is the best hand available in poker. It features five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, in order of value from 10 through to ace. Any five cards of successive values in the same suit that's not a royal flush is a straight flush.
Which poker machines payout the most? ›What slot machines have the highest payout percentage? The Ugga Bugga slot machine game has the highest payout percentage, at 99.07%. The second highest is Mega Joker by NetEnt, with a 99% RTP. Jackpot 6000 by NetEnt and Uncharted Seas by Thunderkick come in second and third, with RTPs of 98.8% and 98.6%, respectively.
What slot has the highest win percentage? ›
| Game | RTP | Where to Play |
|---|---|---|
| Dead or Alive | 95% | N/A |
| Thunderstruck II | 96.65% | BetMGM |
| Twin Spin Deluxe | 96.61% | Borgata |
| Ozzy Osbourne Video Slot | 96.3% | Caesars |
It isn't easy to hit a bad beat jackpot, and the qualifying hands don't occur very often. Hence, why these progressive jackpots often get so high. The odds differ based on the requirements at the specific card room you're playing in, but it is generally about 1 in 2,000,000.
Is there a trick to video poker? ›To beat Jacks or Better video poker game, you need to keep two things in mind: you must find games with good payables (9/6 or more)and you have to play for the max. Only betting five coins per hand will give you a chance to land the Royal Flush (the jackpot) and that's how you win at Jacks and Better video poker.
Is it better to play multiple hands in video poker? ›In regular video poker, you can only bet on one hand at a time. If you miss out on a straight or flush, it can really affect your bankroll. That's why multihand video poker is so advantageous. If you decision hand has good starting cards, you can replicate them across four more hands.
Is it better to play video poker fast or slow? ›You want to play as fast as you can, but—and this is a big but—still maintain accuracy of play. It's possible to play as many as 1,200 hands per hour (or even more) while still adhering to perfect strategy. However, it's difficult to keep such a blistering pace for very long and maintain perfect play.
What is the unluckiest card in poker? ›2-7 (offsuit)
A 2-7 offsuit hand is the worst hand to start with in Texas Hold 'Em poker because there are so few good options available to you: you have no straight draw, no flush draw, and even if you wind up with a pair of 7s or a pair of 2s, you're unlikely to have the best hand.
The dead man's hand is a slang term used in poker for a two pair of black aces and black eights, although its meaning has changed over time. The story goes that lawman and gambler “Wild Bill” Hickok was shot while holding the dead man's hand, which is why it's considered an unlucky two pair in poker today.
What is the most unlucky card in poker? ›Queen of spades - Wikipedia.
What suit is best for a royal flush? ›Royal Flush
This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit. If there are 2 royal flushes in the running for High hand, then the ranking order from highest to lowest is Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.
The best starting hands in Texas Hold'em poker are undoubtedly the pocket pairs with pocket aces on the top, followed by pocket kings and pocket queens. The pocket pairs (Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen) are the best hands to play in the preflop betting round.
What is the best royal flush? ›
An ace-high straight flush, commonly known as a royal flush, is the best possible hand in many variants of poker.