Flush v Straight

[Geri]

Why is it that, at least in Hold'em, despite the fact that the likelihood of a flush is greater than a straight, the flush is still worth more?

[PJo336]

The likelyhood of a flush isnt greater until you have already picked up a flush draw. Think about it, when you have 2 spades there are 11 cards you have to help you and you have to hit 3 of those 11. Say you have 56, now you have 4 2s 4 3s 4 4s 4 7s 4 8s 4 9s and 4 10s, a million assortments of these cards can make a str8 draw (not actually a million.) Hence you are much more likely to get a str8 draw then you are to hit a flush draw. I dont remember the exact %s, i thought a flush draw flopped 11% of the time but i could be wrong.

[KipBond]

It seems to me that more people chase flush draws, too; so you see flushes more often than straights. They are both pretty close in frequency, I think.

[templar999]

The likelihood of a flush is greater than a straight only because you have assumed two suited cards in the hole + a flush draw on the flop. Change your assumption to two random cards and you'll see that a flush is more difficult to make than a straight.

[chicagoY]

I've read a couple of sources that said it was an anomaly of the game. Both indicated that a flush was more likely than a straight.

[RobNottsUk]

If you play suited connectors, you will flop :

1 pair, roughly 32%
Flush draw, roughly 10%
8 out Str8, roughly 10%
Gutshot, another 10%

So just because when you have a 4 flush, there's often 9 outs, doesn't make "Flushes more likely than str8s".

Remember if you're up against a set, a str8 draw that comes home will always be the nuts (unless board was already paired), whereas you might make a flush and still be 2nd best.

[JocK]

[ QUOTE ]
I've read a couple of sources that said it was an anomaly of the game. Both indicated that a flush was more likely than a straight.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is incorrect. Out of the total of 133,784,560 7-card combinations, 4,047,644 contain a flush, and 6,180,020 contain a straight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_probability

[PJo336]

Yeh, I would have to guess throughout the evolution of poker everyone was smart enough to rate the hand strenghts correctly...So if the rules say a flush is harder to get, Id have to believe it

[mbillie1]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is it that, at least in Hold'em, despite the fact that the likelihood of a flush is greater than a straight, the flush is still worth more?

[/ QUOTE ]

Math major?

[Gonso]

If you add a fifth suit, flushes are harder to get than boats. Don't ask how I know I just know.