A straight is indeed better than three-of-a-kind in poker. In fact, a straight is considered one of the stronger hands you can have, ranking higher than three-of-a-kind in the hierarchy of poker hand rankings.
To understand why a straight beats three-of-a-kind, let’s first break down what each hand entails.
A straight is a hand where you have five consecutive cards in any suit. For example, you might have a hand consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of different suits. The value of the straight is determined by its highest card. So, in our example, the straight would be referred to as a “six-high straight.”
On the other hand, three-of-a-kind, as the name suggests, means you have three cards of the same rank, along with two unrelated cards. For instance, you might have three 8s, along with a 5 and a 9. The value of the three-of-a-kind hand is determined by the rank of the three matching cards. Therefore, three-of-a-kind with 8s would be referred to as “trip eights” or “eights full.”
Now let’s delve into why a straight is ranked higher than three-of-a-kind. The ranking of hands in poker is based on the probability of achieving each hand. In other words, the more difficult a hand is to obtain, the higher its ranking.
A straight is a relatively challenging hand to make because it requires five consecutive cards. The odds of being dealt a straight are lower than those of being dealt three-of-a-kind. This means that if two players were to go head-to-head and one had a straight while the other had three-of-a-kind, the player with the straight would have a stronger hand and would win the showdown.
To further illustrate this point, let’s consider some hypothetical scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Player A holds a straight: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Player B holds three-of-a-kind: 8, 8, 8, 5, 9
In this scenario, Player A’s straight would beat Player B’s three-of-a-kind. The straight is a more difficult hand to achieve, and therefore, it holds a higher value.
Scenario 2:
Player A holds a straight: 10, J, Q, K, A
Player B holds three-of-a-kind: 4, 4, 4, 5, 9
Once again, Player A’s straight prevails over Player B’s three-of-a-kind. The straight is still ranked higher due to its difficulty of obtaining five consecutive cards.
It’s important to note that in poker, the specific ranks of the cards within a hand can influence the outcome. For example, a straight from 10 to Ace (10, J, Q, K, A) is referred to as a “royal straight” or “royal flush” and is the highest-ranking straight possible. It beats all other straights and any three-of-a-kind.
A straight is indeed better than three-of-a-kind in poker. The ranking of hands is based on the probability of obtaining each hand, with a straight being more difficult to achieve than three-of-a-kind. So, if you find yourself with a straight in a poker game, you can feel confident that you have a stronger hand than someone with three-of-a-kind.