Getting a royal flush is the hardest hand to obtain when playing poker online or in a casino. If you’re wondering what your odds are of being dealt a royal flush and other hands, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve developed this page to equip you with all the information you need to know about your poker hand odds.

The royal flush is a case of the straight flush. It can be formed 4 ways (one for each suit), giving it a probability of 0.000154% and odds of 649,739: 1. When ace-low straights and ace-low straight flushes are not counted, the probabilities of each are reduced: straights and straight flushes each become 9/10 as common as they otherwise would be. So - what are the odds of hitting a royal flush? In Texas Hold'em, there are a total of 2,598,960 different five card poker hands. This includes the four royal flushes (Diamonds, Spades, Clubs and Hearts). So - the odds of hitting a royal flush would be 4/2,598,960, which would work out to 1/649,740. The odds against making a royal flush are 649,739-to-1. By comparison, the odds of making a straight flush, poker’s second strongest hand, are 0.00139%, with the odds against at 72,192.3-to-1. Calculating the odds of royal flush for Texas Hold’em requires different mathematics, as Texas Hold’em hands are made by choosing the best five. The probability of being dealt a royal flush is the number of royal flushes divided by the total number of poker hands. We now carry out the division and see that a royal flush is rare indeed. There is only a probability of 4/2,598,960 = 1/649,740 = 0.00015% of being dealt this hand.

In this detailed guide about your odds of being dealt a royal flush and other hands while playing poker, we’ll provide you with tons of information. You can check out the preview below to get an idea of everything we’ll cover. Feel free to click on one of these section titles if you want to jump ahead.

Breakdown of Potential Poker Hands

Before we dive into royal flush odds and other hands, we wanted to first ensure you’ve got a good understanding of the different hands possible when playing poker. Check out the sections below to look over all the different poker hands. We’ve listed them in the order of their rank when playing the game.

No Pair

This one should be pretty obvious. In casino poker and online poker, if you don’t have a single pair or higher in your hand, you have what’s considered a “no pair” hand. In this case, your hand’s value will depend on the highest card you’ve got.

Single Pair

If you end up getting a one pair hand, it means you’ve got two card values that match in your hand. For example, if you have two 4s, you have a single pair of 4s. While this isn’t a powerful poker hand, it does outrank anyone who has a no pair hand.

Two Pair

Kicking things up a slight notch from a single pair would be a two pair hand. In this scenario, you have two sets of matching card values. As an example, if you have two Ks and two 10s in your hand, it would be a two pair hand. In turn, it would outrank any players with just a single pair or no pair.

Three of a Kind

As the name implies, a poker hand that counts as three of a kind has three cards of the same value. For example, if you have three jacks in your hand, this would create a three of a kind poker hand. If you end up with the three of a kind hand, you’ll have a better hand than no pair, single pair, and two pair hands.

Straight (Not Royal or Flush)

Up next on the poker hand rank scale is a straight. Here, we’re only focused on standard straights, which means we’re not counting straights that are either flush or royal in nature (more on those in a moment). To make a straight, you’ll need all five cards in your hand to be in sequential order. As an example, if you had A, 2, 3, 4, and 5, you’d have a straight poker hand.

Flush (Not Straight or Royal)

Topping out straights and the other hands below it, a flush is another form of a poker hand. With a flush, you’ll have all five cards of your poker hand of the same suit. As an example, if all five cards in your hand are spades, you have a flush. For this particular hand, your cards do not count as a straight flush or a royal flush. We’ll touch on each of those below.

Full House

The next hand up the poker hand ranking scale is a full house. To make a full house with your hand, you’ll need to have a three of a kind paired with a two of a kind. If you have three 10’s and two 5’s, you’d have a full house.

Four of a Kind

One of the toughest hands to get when playing poker is a four of a kind. Here, you’ll need to have four cards of the same value in your hand. As an example, if you had four queens in your hand, you’ll have made a four of a kind poker hand. With four of a kind, there are only two other poker hands that can beat you.

Straight Flush (Not Royal)

Second from the top of the best poker hands possible is the straight flush. The flush portion of this name implies you’ll need all your cards to be of the same suit. However, to make a straight flush, they also must be in sequential order. For example, having 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the same suit would provide you with a straight flush poker hand.

Royal Flush

The king of all poker hands is the royal flush. With a royal flush, it’s essentially a very specific straight flush. For starters, all your five cards must be the same suit. On top of that, it must be the 10, J, Q, K, and A of a particular suit to complete the royal flush.

Poker Hand Odds for Five-Card Games

Up first, we wanted to start by presenting you with your odds of being dealt a royal flush and other hands when playing five-card games of poker. Most notably, this will include Five-Card Stud Poker. We’ve included a chart below which showcases your odds of being dealt each hand in conjunction with the potential combinations and associated probability.

One thing worth noting is that the chart below showcases your odds of having one of the hands in a five-card poker game. This data does not account for any possibilities of wild cards or draws, which may be present in select games like Five-Card Draw.

Chart Labels

• Odds: The odds of being dealt the particular poker hand in a five-card game.
• Combinations: How many different ways the poker hand can be made using all 52 cards in the deck.
• Probability: The statistical probability of being dealt the hand in a five-card poker game.

As you can see from the chart above, you’ve got the highest chance of being dealt a no pair or single pair hand when playing a five-card variant of poker online or in a casino. Interestingly, there’s roughly a 50% chance you won’t have a pair or better.

However, you can see just how tough it can be to get some of the other higher-ranking poker hands. Even two pair hands only happen about 5% of the time. And if you’re hoping for a royal flush, the odds of it happening are minuscule.

Things More Likely to Happen Than Being Dealt a Royal Flush

Since the royal flush is the hardest poker hand to achieve, we wanted to provide you with some visualizations to help you grasp just how rare it is. Check out the list of things below, which are more likely to happen to you than being dealt a royal flush when playing a five-card variant of poker.

Getting in a Car Accident
1 in 103

Getting Audited by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
1 in 175

Winning an Academy Award
1 in 11,500

Chances Of Getting A Royal Flush In Texas Holdemas Hold Em

Losing an Appendage
in a Chainsaw-Related Accident
1 in 4,464

Going to the ER
With a Pogo Stick-Related Injury
1 in 103

Poker Hand Odds for Seven-Card Games

Up next, we wanted to provide you with royal flush odds and other poker hands when playing seven-card versions of poker. If you’re into games like Seven-Card Stud and No Limit Texas Hold’em, this is the section for you.

While the addition of two extra cards to work with doesn’t sound like much to some, it creates a dramatic difference. Instead of just 2,598,960 potential hand combinations, playing poker with seven cards brings the possibility of 133,784,560 hands. That means there are more than 50 times as many possible hand combinations thanks to those extra two cards in play!

This chart focuses on your odds of being dealt one of these hands in a game of seven-card poker. As with the previous five-card section, the poker probability and odds below do not take into account wild cards and draws from specific versions of poker.

Chart Labels

• Odds: The odds of being dealt the particular poker hand in a seven-card game.
• Combinations: How many different ways the poker hand can be made using all 52 cards in the deck.
• Probability: The statistical probability of being dealt the hand in a seven-card poker game.

Immediately, you’ll probably notice how much better your odds of getting most hands are. In the next section, we’ll provide you with even more information about how much better your chances are for each of these hands if you play a seven-card variant instead of a five-card one.

Thanks to the additional two cards, offering you the chance to make your best five-card hand, there are more potential combinations which can help you improve your starting hand.

How Much Better Your Odds Are Playing Seven-Card Poker

Now that we’ve broken down the difference in royal flush odds and other poker hands between five- and seven-card poker games, we wanted to help you visualize just how much better your odds are when playing a seven-card game. Check out the chart below to see why you might opt to choose a seven-card game if you’re hoping to land a significant hand like a royal or straight flush.

Odds Of Making A Straight Flush In Texas Holdem

As you can see from the chart above, there’s a 2000% greater chance you’ll get a royal flush when playing a seven-card poker game instead of a five-card game. Other hands which have an increased chance of happening when you’re playing a seven-card variant of poker include the straight flush, full house, flush, and straight.

Interestingly, there’s one hand where you have a lower chance of getting it when playing a seven-card game of poker instead of a five-card game. That hand is the no pair hand. Intuitively, this makes sense since there are increased chances you’ll make at least a pair thanks to the expanded cards you’re playing with. In this case, your chance of getting a no pair hand is 65% less when playing a seven-card game as opposed to a five-card one.

Wrap Up

Odds Of Making A Royal Flush In Texas Holdem Using Both Hole Cards

Thanks for stopping in to check out this page about poker probability and the odds of being dealt a royal flush when playing online poker and casino poker. If you’re planning to play poker soon, don’t miss our complete guide to real money poker. In it, you’ll find all sorts of helpful information, including terminology, strategies, and so much more.

If you enjoyed this page about the odds of getting a royal flush, you might also enjoy other pages we’ve developed in this series. Check out the choices below to explore some of our other “What Are the Odds?” pages.