What is a Straight in Poker? Definition & Examples 

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Last updated: Aug 04, 2026 Published: Jul 29, 2026 11 min read

A straight in poker is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank and at least two different suits, E.g., 7♠8♦9♣10♥J♠. It is a strong hand, placed sixth from ten possibilities in the poker hand rankings.

Skip to the relevant section on this page:

• What is a Straight in Poker?
• How a Straight Ranks
• Straight vs Other Hands
• Playing and Maximizing Value with Straights
• Straight FAQs

What is a Straight in Poker?

A straight is a powerful poker hand where your five cards run in sequence, but are made up of at least two suits. For example, 9♠10♠J♥Q♣K♦ is a king-high straight. If the hand in the above contained only one suit, let's say spades, and the cards ran in the same sequence, you would have made a king-high straight flush.

It is easy for you to spot if you have made a straight because the cards are in numerical order. However, it can be difficult for your opponent to put you on a straight, which adds to this hand's strength. For example, if you held 6♣5♦ on a 3♠A♣K♦4♦7♠ board, your opponent may have a challenging time putting you on a straight, instead thinking you had a weaker holding.

It is worth noting that aces can be high or low when they are used to make a straight. Therefore, the highest possible straight is an ace-high (broadway) straight, while the lowest possible straight is ace to five.

See the full Poker Hand Rankings Chart

How a Straight Ranks in Poker Hands

A straight is the sixth-strongest hand you can make in Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and Seven-Card Stud. A player holding a straight beats high card, one pair, two pair and three-of-a-kind.

Though it loses to a flush, a full house, four-of-a-kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush, those hands are much rarer than a straight, especially when you hold a straight.

You are not guaranteed to win the pot when you make a straight, but you have a very good chance of seeing the chips slide your way.

1. Royal Flush: A-K-Q-J-10, all the same suit
2. Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit (not A-K-Q-J-10)
3. Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank
4. Full House: Three of a kind plus a pair
5. Flush: Five cards of the same suit (not in sequence)
6. Straight: Five consecutive cards, mixed suits
7. Three-of-a-Kind: Three cards of the same rank
8. Two Pair: Two sets of two cards the same rank 
9. Pair: Two cards the same rank
10. High Card: Five cards where none of the hands above can be made 

Straight vs Other Poker Hands 

Straights place sixth in the Poker Hand Rankings, which may not sound overly strong when you consider that those rankings only have ten places. However, in a game like Texas Hold'em, one pair is often strong enough to win a hand, while some people (wrongly) think they are a lock to win when they have three-of-a-kind. A straight beats those hands.

Flushes, full houses, four of a kind, straight flushes and royal flushes, the hands that beat a straight, are difficult to make so the likelihood that an opponent has one at the same time that you have a straight is rare.

Straight vs Straight

It is possible for more than one player to make a straight at the same time. When that happens, the winner is decided by the highest card in the sequence.

For example, A-K-Q-J-10 beats Q-J-10-9-8.

If both players hold the exact same straight, the result is a tie and the pot is split.

Straight vs Straight Flush

Although a straight and a straight flush have similar names, there are completely different hands. A straight flush is the second-strongest poker hand, beaten only by a royal flush.

Straights have five consecutive cards while a straight flush has five consecutive cards all of the same suit. The latter is extremely strong and very rare.

Straight vs The Rest of Hands 

Although a straight sits sixth from ten in the poker hand rankings, the top five hands are rare, which means a straight will often win at showdown. A straight loses to a flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, and a royal flush, but beats everything else. Here's how a straight compares to other strong poker hands.

How Rare is a Straight?

Straights in Texas Hold'em are relatively rare, which is why they sit in the middle of the poker hand rankings. Discounting royal flushes and straight flushes (which contain straights), you will make a straight by the river in Texas Hold'em:

To look closer into those probabilities, if you hold connecting cards of jack-10 through 5-4 you will flop a straight approximately 1.3% of the time, equating to 76-to-1 odds. If you have an open-ended straight draw on the flop, you will improve to a straight by the river approximately 31.5% of the time.

What Beats What in Poker: Quiz for Texas Hold’em Beginners’

Test your knowledge with our Poker Hands Quiz and see if you can spot the winning hand.

Playing and Maximizing Value with a Straight

Straights are rare enough to make them quite strong and feel special, but also common enough that you should make one or two in each poker session you play. Because you are unlikely to flop a straight, the real decision-making happens before you make the hand. You need to decide whether the straight is worth chasing and how to squeeze the most value from it once you complete your straight.

1. Drawing to a Straight 
2. When you Hit a Straight 
3. Traps, Blockers and Board Texture

Drawing to a Straight

It should be obvious that you are more likely to make a straight in poker if you have connected hole cards. King-queen through 3-2 are called connectors because there is no gap between the two ranks: they are connected.

One-gap connectors are precisely what they sound like; they have a gap of one rank between each card. For example, ace-queen, jack-nine, seven-five, and so on. One-gap connectors are playable hands under the right conditions, but you have a lower chance of improving to a straight with these holdings.

Whether or not you should chase a straight is dependent on a number of factors, including stack sizes, your position at the table, pot odds, and implied pot odds. Blindly chasing straights can be a recipe for disaster because even if you hold connected cards and flop an open-ended straight draw, you will improve to a straight less than a third of the time you reach the river.

When You Hit a Straight

Although straights are powerful hands and are likely to win at showdown, the main challenge you face is getting your opponent to pay you off. Some straights are much easier for your opponents to spot, while others are more hidden.

For example, on a coordinated board such as 7♥8♣9♣2♠5♦, your opponent is unlikely to have made a strong hand and will be aware that any six makes a straight, as does jack-10, which is a popular starting hand.

Compare that scenario to a board reading 6♣7♥Q♣A♦9♠. Here, if you held 10-8, your opponent would have a difficult time putting you on that particular hand. Additionally, there is a missed flush draw and two high cards on that run-out, which your opponent may think you hold.

Traps, Blockers, and Board Texture

As you can see, blockers, board and hand reading come into play when you make a hand as strong as a straight. Naturally, this leads to spots where checking or trapping makes more sense than betting outright. Don't you just love poker?!

Checking with a straight against an aggressive opponent who has shown they like to bet can often yield more value than firing a bet yourself. In this scenario, if your opponent bets, you can call and see if they bet again on another street, or check-raise and see if they pay that larger bet.

Straight in Poker FAQs