What Is a Straight in Poker? (Odds and Strategy)

A straight in poker is five cards in a row of mixed suits, like 10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣. It ranks sixth of the ten poker hands, beating three of a kind and everything below it, and losing to a flush or better.

In Texas Hold’em you’ll make a straight about once every 22 times you see all seven cards. It’s a hand that wins a lot of big pots, and loses a few huge ones.

What I see most often in hand reviews isn’t players missing straights. It’s players making the low end of a straight on a connected board and paying off someone who made a higher one.

Straight Examples (What It Looks Like)

Any five consecutive cards make a straight, as long as they aren’t all the same suit. Here are the ones worth knowing.

• A♠ K♦ Q♣ J♥ 10♠ is Broadway, the highest straight
• 10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ is a ten-high straight
• 6♦ 5♠ 4♣ 3♥ 2♦ is a six-high straight
• 5♣ 4♦ 3♠ 2♥ A♣ is the wheel, the lowest straight

The ace is the only card that can play both high and low. It sits on top of Broadway and at the bottom of the wheel.

What it can’t do is wrap around. Q♠ K♥ A♦ 2♣ 3♠ is not a straight, it’s just ace-high. A straight can’t go “over the top” from the ace back to the two.

If all five cards are the same suit, you don’t have a straight anymore. 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 5♠ is a straight flush, the second-best hand in poker.

How Straights Are Made in Hold’em

In Texas Hold’em, a straight can use two hole cards, one hole card or none at all. If the board itself is 5-6-7-8-9, everyone still in the hand has at least that straight.

Which Straight Wins?

When two players both have a straight, the one with the higher top card wins. There are only ten different straights, from the wheel up to Broadway, so this is the simplest tiebreak in poker.

• A king-high straight (K-Q-J-10-9) beats a queen-high straight (Q-J-10-9-8)
• A six-high straight (6-5-4-3-2) beats the wheel (5-4-3-2-A)
• Two players with the same straight split the pot, because suits never break ties

Here’s where it matters in Hold’em. Say the board is 10♦ J♣ Q♠ 4♥ 2♣.

• You hold 9-8, so you have a queen-high straight
• An opponent with K-9 has a king-high straight and beats you
• An opponent with A-K has Broadway and beats you both

All three of you “have a straight,” but only one of you has the nuts. That’s exactly why I want students to find the best possible straight on the board before they think about how strong their own hand is.

The Dummy End

On a board of 6♠ 7♥ 8♦, holding 5-4 gives you an eight-high straight. That’s the low end, sometimes called the dummy end.

Anyone with 9-5 has a nine-high straight, and anyone with 10-9 has a ten-high straight. If the action gets heavy and you’re on the bottom, you’re often the one getting value bet.

Straight Odds (How Often You’ll Make It)

An open-ended straight draw has eight outs, four cards on each end. A gutshot, where you need one card in the middle, has only four.

There’s also the double gutshot, like 9-7 on a J-8-5 board, where either a ten or a six completes a straight. It has eight outs, the same as an open-ended draw, but it’s much harder for your opponent to spot.

That difference matters more than most players think. A gutshot is half a draw, and calling big bets with it is one of the most common ways recreational players leak chips.

How to Play a Straight

Know Where Your Straight Sits

Before you bet, ask where your straight ranks among all the straights possible on this board. If you hold the nuts, you can build the pot. If you’re near the bottom, you’re closer to a bluff catcher than a monster.

Bet Big When You Have the Nuts

Say you hold J-10 on a 9-8-4 rainbow flop and the turn is a queen. You now have the nut straight, Q-J-10-9-8, on a board with no flush and no pair.

That’s the time to bet for value on every street. Players with two pair and sets will often pay you off.

Play Your Draws Aggressively

An open-ended straight draw is a good hand to bet or raise with, especially when you have position. You can win the pot right away, or hit and get paid.

Weaker draws need more care. A gutshot with one card to come hits only about 1 in 12, so calling a pot-sized bet with it loses money unless you have a lot of extra ways to win.

Respect Flush and Paired Boards

A straight loses to a flush and a full house. When the third suited card hits or the board pairs, those hands become real parts of your opponent’s range. I cut my bet sizes in these spots and check back more often than I would on a dry board.

Stop Making These Straight Mistakes

Playing the Wrong End Without Noticing

Players often get so excited about making a straight that they forget higher straights exist. Before committing a big stack, check whether a single card or two cards beat you. Thinking about your opponent’s hand ranges instead of one hand makes this much easier.

Overplaying on Flush and Paired Boards

A straight on a three-flush board is a medium-strength hand at best when facing big aggression. A raise on a paired board is even scarier, since full houses beat you.

Chasing Gutshots at Any Price

Four outs isn’t much. If you’re facing a big bet with a gutshot and nothing else, fold it more often than feels comfortable.

Calling Instead of Betting Your Draws

Draws you only call with win one way, by hitting. Draws you bet with win two ways, because you also pick up pots when your opponent folds. That extra fold equity is often what makes a draw profitable.

Jonathan Little

Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion and WSOP bracelet winner with $9M+ in tournament earnings, and the founder of PokerCoaching.com. He helps players identify leaks and turn strategy into consistent results through a structured system.

See Full Bio