straight vs flush

[verace2007]

I could be missing something here, but I was just wondering..

Because it's more likely to hit a flush than a straight, why aren't straights valued more than flushes?



Probability of hitting a straight on the turn ~~ 0.17

Probability of hitting a flush on the turn ~~ 0.19



So why are flushes ranked higher than straights?

(or does it have something to do with the probability of flopping a flush draw versus the probability of flopping a straight draw?)

[willie beaman]

It deals more with the probablities. Let's say you hold 10d-9h on a 6h 8d jc flop. You have 8 outs to come that will win the hand for you. There's a 32% chance you hit on turn and 16% on river. Now holding a6clubs on a 5c 3d 10c flop, you have 9 known outs for a 36% chance of the flop and 18% chance on the river. Say you hit the straight on turn qc and your opponent has AJ clubs. You're only 82% favorite and will lose 1/5 times in this spot.

[MoreheadD]

Your error is considering hand valuations after a specific flop has come. Pre-flop, flushes are less likely.

[johnnas]

yeah it pretty bad when yall have the same draw, or if a runner runner takes it the other way

[Lucky Rodgers]

I'm with her! 20 years ago I was in Vegas, dealing craps. I learned A LOT about odds
(mostly the payoffs!....lol)We can all thank our friends to the East for this mess. You
see, way before cable t.v. watching paint dry may have been exciting. The orientals
invented many types of games and soon began gambling on these games. That is
when they developed the formula for calculating odds(apparently math was considered
entertaining as well). Simply put it is probability vs. outcome. If only 1 result will occur
and there are 10 different ways to get to that result, your odds are 10-1. When I first
began playing poker online, I cannot count how many hands I stayed in and lost because in all my infinite wisdom I consistantly failed to recognize those three board
cards that were all of the same suit. Getting busted out by sooo.. many flushes........
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH HHHHHHHH!
I don't have the exact data, but the reason flushes are considered more valuable is simply because there are less cards in the deck that can make that happen at any given time. 13 0f each suit, 4 of each type, How is that possible?!?!? It takes 5 "types"
to make a straight; 4 x 5= 20, almost half the deck. A flushes requires 5 "pieces" of
a given suit; less than 1/2 of 1/4 of the deck, 11%? That's roughly how it works even if the numbers aren't 100% correct(and there is no such thing as 110% of anything) But,
whatever I am chasing down when I am short-stacked is ALWAYS the longest odds I
can ever imagine........lol. Knowing the "outs" of what you are in the middle of doing
is the difference between wading through a swamp and riding in a limo. It is the
difference between making an informed decision and guessing. But even knowing all that and making the perfect choices all the time doesn't guarantee you are going to win any given hand. That is why it is a gamble...............and so much fun!

Later
Lucky
;{~