Why does a flush beat a straight except in Three Card Poker?

Why a Flush Beats a Straight in Most Poker Games

In traditional poker variants like Texas Hold’em or Omaha:

• Flushes are rarer than straights when using five or seven cards.

• That rarity makes them more valuable, so the hand rankings reflect that: flush > straight.

Why Three Card Poker Flips the Script

In Three Card Poker, the rankings are reversed:

• Straight beats flush, which seems odd until you consider the math.

• With only three cards:

  • Flushes are easier to get than straights.

  • A flush just needs three cards of the same suit.

  • A straight needs three consecutive ranks, which is statistically harder to hit.

  
  

So, the game designers flipped the ranking to reflect probability-based rarity:

• Straight flush (rarest)

• Three of a kind

• Straight

• Flush

• Pair

• High card