What is a Royal Flush in Poker?

A royal flush is the best hand you can form in poker, and it’s rare in the game. In comparison, a royal flush occurs once every 40,000 hands or so in a casino. It can easily fire up to once every 200,000 hands, because the criteria are very specific, click here.

What is Royal Flush in Poker

A royal flush is the best straight flush you can form. It requires a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit. Due to the requirements, it is impossible for one spin to result in two royal flushes. The only way you can draw is if the entire royal flush is on the communal cards. Then, the players in the round who continued fighting collect the pot. However, this is a near impossible scenario.

Royal Hand Probability

The theoretical odds of forming a royal flush are 649.739 to 1. There are only 4 combinations for this hand, and the probability is 0.000154%.

How to Make the Most of Royal Flush Hands

The royal flush is useful not only because it is the strongest hand, but also because of its rarity. This is such a long streak that your opponents will almost always assume that you are bluffing, or have a weaker card. This is very much in your favor if you have a royal flush. You can milk the betting round as far as you can go, and it can be a potential endgame.

Before continuing, here are some useful terms to know in regards to hands.

Draws to a Royal Flush

A draw is basically a stack, or a row of cards that do not form a royal flush, but are 1 or 2 cards apart. The 3 card draw to a royal flush means you need 2 more cards to complete your hand. Likewise, drawing 4 cards to a royal flush means you are 1 card away from your hand.

Open Ended Sweepstakes

Open end draw means you have a draw and only need one (or two) cards at the top or bottom to finish the game. For example, if you have a suited 10, Jack, Queen and King then you have 4 open end draw cards for a royal flush.

Inside Draw

This is when you have a draw that has an opening in it. For example, a suited 10, Queen, King and Ace requires a matching Jack on the inside to complete a royal flush.

Similar Hand (Reserve Royal Flush)

Your ultimate goal is a royal flush, but you’ll need some backup plans if the communal cards don’t work in your favor. Straight and flat have similar requirements.

Straight

Let’s say you miss because one of the cards in the royal flush is of a different suit. That means you have a straight line. A straight beats one pair, two pair and three of a kind. Even if it’s not anywhere near a royal flush, you might still win with this hand.

Water

If your hand contains cards of the same suit, but one or more of the cards breaks the order, then you’re stuck with a flush. It beats any straight and any straight ranked higher than. However, it is ranked lower than a four of a kind or a full house.

Straight Flush

Under odd circumstances, you might fail to get a royal flush simply because of the ranking of the cards. Let’s say you had a 4 card draw with a 10-King suited and your last card was a 9 suited. You don’t have a royal flush, instead you have a straight flush. But fear not, because this hand is the second strongest hand in the game. The only way you can lose is if the 10-King suited is a communal card and the other player has an Ace, making a royal flush.

Royal Flush Strategy

Every stage in the round is crucial when you are playing a royal flush draw. Getting a hand early on will basically close the round for you. At the sweepstakes, there is a lot to go through.

Before Failing

Drawing two cards in the hole is a helpful start towards a royal flush. The best hand to start with is Ace-King, King-Queen or Ace-Queen suited. Unless you’re making a royal flush, which is most likely recommended, these cards rank high enough to make an impact.

Fail

After the flop is dealt you only have a realistic chance of making a royal flush if you can make a 4 card draw. It is also possible to get a royal flush after the draw of 3 cards at this stage, but then the turn and river have to bring in the required 2 more cards. It’s a pretty big gamble, but anything can happen.