How Do Straights Work in Poker?

In poker, a straight is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, not all of the same suit. Aces can be high or low in a straight, but they cannot “wrap around”. A hand with two cards of the same rank is called a doubleton. If both hands have the same high card, the second highest card is compared, and so on until a difference is found.

If both hands contain the same doubleton, then it is compared according to its rank. For example, 2-3-4-5-6 is higher than 1-2-3-4-5, which is higher than 9-10-J-Q-K.

The ace acts as the highest card when it is not part of a sequence with a king as its highest card (AKQJT). When an ace forms part of a sequence with a king as its highest card (A2345), it acts as the Lowest card.

PRO TIP:In poker, a straight is a hand made up of five cards in sequential order. Straights can be either high or low, with the high straight being the highest-ranking hand and the low straight being the lowest-ranking hand. Aces can be used as either high cards or low cards when creating straights, depending on the game variant. In most variants, an ace will always count as a high card in a straight. Straights are generally very strong hands, particularly when they are made up of five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Aces are always low in split pots. In community card games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hold’em, where players share common cards (the “flop”), it is possible for two or more players to have a straight.

In this case, the pot is split between them.

A player with a higher straight always wins against a player with a lower straight. If two players have the same straight, the pot is split between them.