The royal flush is known as the ultimate hand in Texas Holdem. Every poker player strives to be dealt a royal flush when they hit the tables. However, what are the odds of a royal flush in Texas Holdem?
There is a good reason why there is always a big commotion at the Texas Holdem table when there is a royal flush: it is extremely uncommon. While you have a better chance of hitting a royal flush than hitting a major multi-million-dollar slot jackpot, the odds are stacked against being dealt a royal flush.
Aside from Texas Holdem, other poker games also consider the royal flush the crown jewel of hands. Variants such as Omaha Poker, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw, and other games also cherish the royal flush.
Additionally, you can find royal flush payouts for poker games played against the house at top online casinos. For instance, video poker, Let It Ride Poker, and Caribbean Stud Poker are a few popular online casino games that feature a royal flush.
Let’s dive into the odds of a royal flush in Texas Holdem, and how the odds compare to other popular poker games at online poker sites. First, let’s discuss what a royal flush is and how it ranks compared to other poker hands.
What Is A Royal Flush?
A royal flush is a hand that some players will go years without seeing. For a royal flush to occur, a poker player must have the following to occur:
- A straight from 10 to Ace
- All five cards of the same suit
The straight has to be from 10 to Ace. No other straight makes up a royal flush. Additionally, the five-card straight has to be all of the same suit. You can’t have any card outside of the same suit. For example, they all have to be hearts, or spades, etc.
Furthermore, in Texas Holdem, your two hole cards are used in association with the community cards on the table. Let’s look at a potential hand in a Texas Holdem game which results in a royal flush.
Community Cards:
10 (spades) 2 (clubs) J (diamonds) A (diamonds) 10 (diamonds)
Your Starting Hand:
Q (diamonds) K (diamonds)
With a Queen and King of diamonds in the hole, combined with the Jack, Ace, and 10 of diamonds in the community cards, the player in this example would have a royal flush. This would beat all other hands at the table.
What is the difference between a straight flush and royal flush? With beginner poker players, there is often some confusion between the two. In a straight flush, the straight does not have to rank from 10 to an Ace.
Any straight and the same suit will suffice. It is easier to hit a straight flush, but the odds are still stacked against you. Let’s take a quick look at the hand rankings in Texas Holdem.
Texas Hold’em Hand Ranking:
| RANKING | HAND |
|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush |
| 2 | Straight Flush |
| 3 | Four of a Kind |
| 4 | Full House |
| 5 | Flush |
| 6 | Straight |
| 7 | Three of a Kind |
| 8 | Two Pair |
| 9 | Pair |
| 10 | High Card |
Odds of a Royal Flush In Texas Holdem
Statistical probability stipulates that being awarded a royal flush is highly uncommon. The odds of a royal flush in Texas Holdem is 1 in 30,940. This equates to an overall probability of 0.00323% in Texas Holdem.
In comparison to the 1 in millions chance of hitting the Megabucks jackpot, a royal flush doesn’t look that out of reach. In any event, don’t expect to be dealt a royal flush in your poker career.
The odds of flopping a royal flush are much more difficult. After the first three community cards are revealed, you will have a 1 in 649,740 chance at a royal flush.
The same odds apply to Five Card Draw and Stud. There are 2,598,960 possible five-card poker hand combinations with only four outcomes for a royal flush. So, in Texas Holdem, three community cards on the flop, plus your two hole cards, equal 1 in 649,740.
There are only four possible chances for a royal flush out of 2,598,960 combinations, hence the long odds. However, after all seven cards are in play following the river, the frequency of a royal flush being dealt is 1 in 30,940.
The next toughest poker hand to be dealt is a straight flush. A straight flush comes with a 1 in 3,590 chance of being dealt.
Learning how to play poker properly is imperative to understanding probability in poker.
Texas Holdem Royal Flush Odds Compared To Poker Other Games
Now that we have computed the probability of a royal flush in Texas Holdem, let’s compare these odds to other poker variants. We will conclude our findings with a quick look at popular poker table games at real money online casinos.
In short, it will be tougher for a royal flush to be dealt in poker games that have fewer cards for hands. As you can see above, the odds of a royal flush in Five Card Draw is more difficult than Texas Holdem.
The same royal flush odds are true for Five Card Draw and Five Card Stud. The odds of a royal flush in Five Card Stud are 1 in 649,740. Moreover, the same mathematical probability is applied to video poker and Caribbean Stud Poker.
Video poker and Caribbean Stud Poker are casino games that are played against the house and no other players. However, the same odds will apply because they both use five-card poker hands consisting of a 52-card deck.
Players are dealt five cards in video poker and Caribbean Stud Poker. Therefore, the odds of a royal flush will remain the same at 1 in 649,740, or translated to a percentage 0.000154%.
Additionally, Let It Ride Poker includes a five-card poker hand, so the royal flush odds remain the same at 0.000154%.
Omaha Poker is a bit of a unique poker variant. Also known as PLO, players receive four hole cards for their starting hand. Two of these cards are used with three of the five community cards to complete the best poker hand. The odds of a royal flush in Omaha Poker are a miniscule 0.000092%.
Where To Play Online Texas Holdem?
The odds of being dealt a royal flush are long no matter the poker game. Regardless if you are playing Omaha or Texas Holdem, we can’t guarantee that you will hit a royal flush in your life. It also doesn’t matter whether you are playing live or online poker.
However, you do not want to be ignored by the casino for such a rare accomplishment. We recommend playing Texas Holdem at online casinos that offer a royal flush bonus. Ignition Casino is our top pick to win a huge cash bonus for hitting a royal flush.
There is no extra side bet or anything required to take part in the Royal Flush Bonus prop at Ignition Casino. Just play in a cash game and you have a chance to win up to 50x the big blind. In a poker game with 25/50 blinds, this would equate to a $2,500 win for a royal flush.
In addition to this generous promo, Ignition Casino has an outstanding combined casino and poker bonus of up to $3,000. For a limited time, new users can deposit at Ignition Casino to receive this bonus offer.
The Ignition Casino poker room runs a host of cash games and tournaments at various stakes. If you want to play something other than Texas Holdem, Ignition Casino has a number of different variants.
You will also have access to a number of poker-based games in the casino. Ignition Casino has video poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, and many other table games.
