Boosted Poker
If Two People Have a Flush, Who Wins?
The flush with the highest card wins. If the highest cards match, you compare the second-highest, then the third, all the way down — and the suit itself never breaks a tie. That's the whole rule, but flush-over-flush is one of the most argued-about spots in home games, so let's walk through exactly how it works, with real examples and the cases where the pot actually splits.
Flush vs Flush: Who Wins
Compare the two flushes card by card, from the top down:
- Highest card vs highest card — higher card wins.
- Tied? Compare the second-highest cards.
- Still tied? Third-highest, then fourth, then fifth.
- All five tied in value? Split pot.
| Player A | Player B | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♥ 9♥ 7♥ 4♥ 2♥ | K♥ Q♥ J♥ 9♥ 8♥ | Player A | Ace beats king — the rest never matters |
| A♥ K♥ 9♥ 6♥ 2♥ | A♥* Q♥ J♥ 10♥ 8♥ | Player A | Top cards tie, K beats Q on the second card |
| Q♠ J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠ | Q♠* J♠ 9♠ 6♠ 2♠ | Player A | Decided by the very last card: 3 beats 2 |
(*In Hold'em both flushes share the same suit and board cards; in draw games identical values can occur across two suits.)
Notice the last row: every card in the flush is a live tiebreaker. "Ace-high flush vs ace-high flush" isn't automatically a tie — it just moves the comparison down one card.
Suits Never Decide the Winner
There is no suit hierarchy in standard poker hand rankings. A spade flush does not outrank a heart flush; ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ are all equal at showdown. Suits are only used in side procedures (like assigning the dealer button in some casinos) — never to decide who wins a pot. If two flushes have identical card values in different suits, which can happen in draw or stud games, the pot is split.
In Texas Hold'em this situation can't even arise: with only five community cards, there can only be enough suited cards on the board for one flush suit, so two players who both hold a flush always hold it in the same suit — and their hole cards decide it.
How It Plays Out in Texas Hold'em
In Hold'em, your hand is the best five cards from your two hole cards plus the five board cards. Flush vs flush usually comes down to: whose hole card in the flush suit is bigger?
Example — the board shows K♦ 9♦ 6♦ 2♦ Q♠ (four diamonds):
- Player A holds A♦ 3♣ → flush of A♦ K♦ 9♦ 6♦ 2♦ — the nut flush.
- Player B holds J♦ J♣ → flush of K♦ J♦ 9♦ 6♦ 2♦.
- Player A wins: ace beats king at the top of the flush.
Holding the ace of the flush suit guarantees the best possible flush on any board — that's why players call it the nut flush. (A straight flush or a full house can still beat it, but no other flush can. If you're not sure what outranks what, see does a flush beat 3 of a kind?)
When the Pot Splits
Two flushes split the pot only when both players' best five cards are identical in value. In Hold'em, that mostly means one thing: both players are playing the board.
Example — the board runs out A♠ J♠ 8♠ 5♠ 4♠ (five spades):
- Player A holds 2♠ 7♦ → best hand is still A♠ J♠ 8♠ 5♠ 4♠ (the 2♠ doesn't improve it).
- Player B holds K♥ Q♦ → best hand is the board: A♠ J♠ 8♠ 5♠ 4♠.
- Split pot. Player A's 2♠ is a sixth suited card — but poker hands are exactly five cards, so it never plays.
If Player A had held the 9♠ instead, their flush would be A♠ J♠ 9♠ 8♠ 5♠ — the 9♠ replaces the 4♠ — and they'd win outright. Whether a hole card cracks the board's top five is exactly what decides these pots.
Common Misconceptions
- "Spades beat hearts." No — suits are never ranked at showdown in standard poker.
- "More cards in the suit wins." No — six or seven suited cards don't help; only your best five play.
- "Ace-high flush vs ace-high flush is a chop." Not necessarily — keep comparing down the line; only five identical values split the pot.
- "The winner is whoever's hole cards are higher." Not quite — the comparison is between the final five-card hands. A high hole card only matters if it's actually part of the best five.
Flush vs Flush in Boosted Poker
Boosted Poker follows these exact showdown rules — highest card first, card-by-card tiebreakers, suits never ranked. What changes is how flushes get made: each hand deals a random table modifier, and some of them make flush-over-flush showdowns far more common. Under Four-Card Flush, only four suited cards are needed, so multiple players complete flushes at once — and the tiebreaker rules on this page decide who takes the pot. Power-up cards like Peek can even tell you whether your flush is ahead before you commit your stack.
Frequently Asked Questions
If two people have a flush, who wins?
The flush containing the highest card wins. If those tie, the second-highest cards are compared, then the third, fourth, and fifth. Only if all five values match is the pot split.
Flush vs flush — does the suit matter?
No. Suits are never ranked in standard poker. In Hold'em, competing flushes are always in the same suit anyway; in draw games, identical flushes in different suits split the pot.
When do two flushes split the pot?
When both players' best five flush cards are identical — most commonly when the five best suited cards are all on the board and neither player's hole cards improve on them.
Does an ace-high flush always win against another flush?
It beats every flush that lacks an ace. Between two ace-high flushes, the next card down decides. In Hold'em, the ace of the flush suit makes the unbeatable "nut flush" for that board.
Do all five cards of the flush count, or just the highest?
All five are potential tiebreakers, compared top-down. A sixth suited card never plays — a poker hand is exactly five cards.