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Straight - A completed poker hand containing five consecutively ranked cards, for example: 5-6-7-8-9.
A straight is a poker hand which contains five consecutively ranked cards of at least two different suits. If the hand
contains five consecutively ranked cards of the same suit, the hand is counted as a straight flush, which is a much
stronger hand than a straight.
In standard poker, a straight will beat three of a kind and lose to a flush or better. If two
straights are present in the same hand, the pot will be awarded to the player with the higher ranked straight.
A Holdem board will often have several possible straight combinations. Since it is possible that there will be different
straights of different rankings, players may need to describe how their straight ranks against other possible straights.
The “bottom end” refers to the low end of a straight. There are also “middle” straights, and “top end” or “nut” straights.
Consider the following Hold’em situation. The board reads J9864, so the bottom end straight would be completed by a
player who is holding 75. With this board, there is also a possibility that additional higher straights exist. There is a
possibility of a middle straight (T7), and a top end (or nut) straight (QT). It is often incorrect to draw to the
bottom end of a straight, because even if you make your hand you may lose to a bigger straight. Many poor or novice
players do not differentiate much between differently ranked straight draws. They will incorrectly chase a bottom end
straight draw, because they don’t know any better. This is why the bottom end of the straight is also unflatteringly
called “the idiot end.”
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