There is almost a mythical significance to poker’s most famous hand: the Royal Flush. There is also a familiarity behind the aura and allure — everyone’s heard the term “Royal Flush” before.
Here’s what they don’t know:
- In poker, what is a Royal Flush precisely?
- What is the chance of getting a Royal Flush?
This article will answer these questions individually and carefully so you can fully understand poker’s most powerful hand.
In Poker, What Is a Royal Flush?
For good reason: beginners always want to know what is a Royal Flush in poker online.
A Royal Flush is the most powerful hand possible.
If you have a Royal Flush, no one can beat you. Achieving a Royal Flush makes your hand invincible.
You need both of the following to achieve a Royal Flush:
- The cards: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten.
- All cards must be the same suit (ex, spades, diamonds…)
The most common variant of poker played today is Texas Hold’em, where you are only dealt two cards. That means the rest of your five-card hand must use the public community cards dealt face-up on the table.
For example:
- Your hand: K♠J♠
- The flop: A♠Q♠T♠
Congratulations! You’ve just hit a Royal Flush! Your King and Jack of Spades combine with the Ace, Queen, and Ten of Spades to make that coveted hand.
Note: It is impossible for two players to both make a Royal Flush in Hold’em unless all five cards of the Royal Flush are on the poker board.
Don’t Be Fooled! Bad Examples
Sometimes, you might get tripped up on a hand that may seem like a Royal Flush but isn’t.
Avoid these classic mistakes when determining what is a Royal Flush.
❌ Wrong Answer #1:
- Your hand: A♦️3♦️
- The board: K♦️J♦️Q♦️2 ♠️5 ♠️
Do you have a Royal Flush? No—you have an ace-high flush, but that is not the same. In this case, you are missing the Ten of Diamonds to complete the Royal.
Remember: a Royal Flush must contain precisely Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the same suit!
❌ Wrong Answer #2:
- Your hand: K♥️Q♥️
- The board: A♥️J♦️4♦️T♥️6♦️
Do you have a Royal Flush? No—you have a straight with Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten, but not all the cards are the same suit. The Jack would need to be a heart.
What Is a Royal Flush in 3-Card Poker?
A Royal Flush in 3 card poker is an Ace, King, and Queen of the same suit. This hand is instead a “mini Royal Flush.”
What Is the Chance of Making a Royal Flush?
For beginner poker players, let’s start with an icebreaker:
- Raise your hand if you’ve heard of a Royal Flush.
- *Almost everyone raises their hand*
- Keep your hand raised if you’ve ever hit a Royal Flush before.
- *Almost everyone’s hand goes down*
Why? Because the likelihood of hitting a Royal Flush is a lot lower than you might think.
What is the chance of making a Royal Flush in poker?
- 3 Card Poker: 0.0181%
- Texas Hold‘em: 000154%
- Omaha: 0.0051%
That’s it!
For all the fanfare, most poker players will never see a Royal Flush. It is an exceedingly rare poker hand. Even professional poker players usually only hit a Royal Flush a handful of times in their lifetime.
Also good to note is that, in Omaha, two players can't make a Royal Flush due to the must-use two hole cards rule. You cannot "play the board".
So, even if the board were to TJQKA of the same suit, no player would make a Royal Flush since they need to use at least two hole cards.
Two players can make a Royal Flush of different suits in other poker games, such as a 7-Card Stud and a 5-Card Draw, and naturally, two Royal Flushes will chop the pot when facing each other. Such a scenario is so rare that the majority of players have never witnessed it.
How to Use Royal Flush in Your Poker Strategy
Even though the chance of getting a Royal Flush in Texas Hold'em poker is only 0.000154%, understanding the hand ranking is still a key part of the strategy.
A great beginner’s trick is to only play hands that can make a Royal Flush.
| Here’s why: Most poker players lose because they play too many hands. Professional poker players fold 80% of the hands they are dealt! It is a significant competitive advantage to be highly selective and only play more premium cards than your opponents. |
The Royal Flush rule is a good poker cheat sheet to get you started playing poker. Again, only play hands if both your cards can form a Royal Flush.
❌ DON’T play:
- A♣️8♣️
- K♥️9♥️
- Q♥️T♣️
Even though these may look tempting, these hands are likely to be “outkicked” frequently and put you in situations where you are second-best.
You can incorporate these as you get more advanced, but each of these examples is a marginal holding (a borderline “bad” hand) rather than a “good” hand.
✅ DO play:
- A♥️Q♥️
- K♣️J♣️
- J♦️T♦️
If both cards are either an Ace, King, Queen, Jack or Ten and are the same suit, you can guarantee it’s a strong enough hand to play at any seat at the table.
What Is a Royal Flush in Poker? Conclusion
The Royal Flush should always look to get all stacks in where possible since it can never be beaten. However, not all Royal Flushes are of equal value.
Making a Royal Flush using two of our hole cards is always better. Our hand is more disguised and more likely to get a big payoff.
See Also
High Hand, Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, Quads, Straight Flush, Stud, Draw, Hold’em, Omaha, Counterfeit, Effective Stacks, Kicker
