Does a straight flush beat four of a kind?

A straight flush is five cards in sequence all of one suit, and it beats four of a kind, even four aces. It is the second-best hand in poker behind only the royal flush. This clash is extremely rare and almost always decides a whole stack.

On a board of 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ A♠ A♦, one player holds A♣ A♥ for four aces and the other holds 9♥ 5♥ for a nine-high straight flush. Four aces is a hand most players will never fold in their lives, and against a straight flush it loses the entire stack.

Clashes this big happen a handful of times in a lifetime of cash games, and there is no fold with quads. The practical lesson is smaller: when the board shows three suited connected cards, even a monster is not the nuts. The straight flush sits second on the ladder, below only the royal flush, which is the ace-high straight flush.

Quick tip: Straight flush beats quads. Only a royal flush is higher.