Does a full house beat a straight?

A full house outranks both a flush and a straight. Three of a kind plus a pair beats any five-card sequence. On a paired board, a player holding a straight is often drawing dead against a full house.

On a board of 6♠ 6♦ 7♥ 8♣ 9♦, one player holds J♠ T♠ for a jack-high straight and the other holds 6♥ 9♣ for sixes full of nines. Both hands arrived on the river nine: the board was already paired, so the trips filled up on the same card that completed the straight.

Paired boards make straights fragile. A hand that fills a straight on 6 6 7 8 9 looks strong, but any pocket pair that matched the board, and any six, now holds a full house. When the board pairs after a straight is already made, a large bet from a player who called early deserves respect. A flush sits between these two hands on the ladder.

Quick tip: From the top: full house, then flush, then straight.