Four to a flush vs. four to a straight

Four to a flush and four to a straight look like the same kind of hand — one card to come, one decent payoff. They are not close. Nine cards finish the flush and it pays 6 for 1; eight cards finish an open-ended straight and it pays 4 for 1. When a hand offers both, take the flush every time.

Four to a straight here means open at both ends, like 4-5-6-7. The kind with a hole in the middle is much weaker and gets its own lesson later.

Example: 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 9♥ 7♦. The 4-5-6-7 is a straight draw, but hold the four hearts — 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 9♥. The flush draw returns about 1.15 coins for every coin bet; the straight draw about 0.68.

Here is where a low pair fits: below the flush draw and above the straight draw. So 5♥ 5♠ 6♦ 7♣ 8♠ is a hold on the fives, not on the straight draw — 0.82 against 0.68. Flush draw, then low pair, then straight draw. The one open-ended draw that beats a low pair is T-J-Q-K — three high cards that can pair up and pay on their own — so T♣ T♦ J♥ Q♠ K♣ is a hold on T-J-Q-K (either ten), 0.87 against 0.82 for the pair of tens.