# Two Royal Flushes **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 11, 1999, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695 "1999-11-11T07:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/22 "2011-07-22T11:41:48Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > WHAT KIND of POKER do zombies PLAY? > > trick QUESTION: THEY play SPAAAAAAAADES. > > (eh. Best I could come up with.) I’ll bet 2 cerebellums and a pituitary gland. I’ll see your bet, and raise you a frontal cortex and 2 medulla oblongatas. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/23 "2011-07-22T11:54:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > It’s impossible in Holdem to have two players with Royal Flushes, since five of the cards are ‘community’ cards. I’m a nitpicker by both inclination and vocation, but have never had a chance to pick a zombie’s nit before. 🆒 Is it not instead true that two players in Holdem can both have Royal Flushes (though then all players will)? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/24 "2011-07-22T13:27:27Z")
No. There are only five community cards, and three must be used to make a hand. So for me to have a royal flush, at least three of the five community cards must be in the same suit as the cards in my hand. That means there _cannot_ be three cards of any other suit on the board, so nobody else can complete a flush, much less a royal flush. Wait, I see what you’re saying. If the five community cards combine to form a royal flush… That’s a well picked nit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/25 "2011-07-22T13:53:18Z")
You think that’s rare? On “I’ve Got a Secret” in the 60s, they had four bridge players who, in a tournament, each had all the cards in a given suit (i.e, one had all clubs, one had all diamonds, one had all hearts and the last had all spades.) The odds given for that was several quadrillion to one. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/26 "2011-07-22T14:13:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No. There are only five community cards, and three must be used to make a hand. So for me to have a royal flush, at least three of the five community cards must be in the same suit as the cards in my hand. > > That means there _cannot_ be three cards of any other suit on the board, so nobody else can complete a flush, much less a royal flush. > > Wait, I see what you’re saying. If the five community cards combine to form a royal flush… > > That’s a well picked nit. 🙂 Not in Hold’m. You are correct that there are 5 community cards, but 3 or even 4 or even 5 can be used to make a hand. if the community cards are the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of Hearts, then everyone still in the hand has a Royal Flush. (That is why Bad Beat Jackpots usually require that the winner of the BB Jackpot must use both his hole cards) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/27 "2011-07-22T14:23:56Z")
_ahem_ Read the last two lines of the post you’re quoting. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/28 "2011-07-22T14:32:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Hey, it’s a zombie, so I can relate a story of my own. I was in a game in the military wherein my four nines were beaten by another guy with four tens. Expensive hand, but not as expensive as the next hand where the same guy beat my four jacks with four kings. Natural. Ruined poker for me for many years. Heh. The one time I lost with quads against quads, it was also 9’s against 10’s. I still should have won though, I had pocket nines, he only had one ten in the hole with three on the board. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/29 "2011-07-22T15:49:17Z")
If there were three tens on the board, shouldn’t you have seriously considered the possibility that some player had the fourth one, and bet accordingly? Or is that what the winky is for? Quoth **RealityChuck** : > [@](#): > > You think that’s rare? On “I’ve Got a Secret” in the 60s, they had four bridge players who, in a tournament, each had all the cards in a given suit (i.e, one had all clubs, one had all diamonds, one had all hearts and the last had all spades.) The odds given for that was several quadrillion to one. I’d almost guarantee that that was from a bad (i.e., perfect) shuffle. And I make it 1 chance in [8.9e27](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&cp=17&gs_id=2g&xhr=t&q=%2852!%29/%286*%2813!%29%5E4%29&qe=KDUyISkvKDYqKDEzISleNCk&qesig=814HMGfhzWe8wpf1lsuPfQ&pkc=AFgZ2tlpve31QT3ZSHpQF4dGSPMkJjAyf--YTzjH6MP0ksT1_JJtpZnLwR4Ng2-E314DdfnVyKzowX2vy-Z3KIF38wlc4HpzIw&pf=p&sclient=psy&safe=off&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=%2852!%29/%286*%2813!%29%5E4%29&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=279873490928859b&biw=1303&bih=774), or one in nearly ten octillion. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/30 "2011-07-22T15:51:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If there were three tens on the board, shouldn’t you have seriously considered the possibility that some player had the fourth one, and bet accordingly? Or is that what the winky is for? To quote Doyle Brunson, “You just don’t worry about quads.” ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/31 "2011-07-22T16:03:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If there were three tens on the board, shouldn’t you have seriously considered the possibility that some player had the fourth one, and bet accordingly? Or is that what the winky is for? I knew he had the ten of course. As I remember it: I started with 99 Flop came with a 9, 10, 10. Betting was high with my full house against his trips. Turn was a 9. I bet high, he flat called though he had very little money left. Flop was the 10, and the rest of the money went in. It was just a straight cooler, no real considering of possibilities for me to do. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/32 "2011-07-22T16:33:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Hey, it’s a zombie, so I can relate a story of my own. I was in a game in the military wherein my four nines were beaten by another guy with four tens. Expensive hand, but not as expensive as the next hand where the same guy beat my four jacks with four kings. Natural. Ruined poker for me for many years. I don’t want to start a family fight if you were playing with your brother-in-law or something, but there are plenty of quadrillion-to-one shots that happen more often than the odds would suggest. My son has had 29-point cribbage hands twice when I was dealing the cards, and long long ago playing bridge for fun I used to deal most of the Aces to a young blonde I found interesting. [QUOTE=Damon Runyan(?)] When I was a young man about to go out into the world, my father says to me a very valuable thing. He says to me like this… “Son,” the old guy says, “I am sorry that I am not able to bank roll you to a very large start, but not having any potatoes which to give you, I am now going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to come to you and show you a nice, brand new deck of cards on which the seal has not yet been broken. This man is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in your ear. Now son, do not bet this man, for as sure as you stand there, you are going to wind up with an earful of cider.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/33 "2011-07-22T16:49:01Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Our early ancestors on this board (many of which are still here today) were missing 2 key benefits that we enjoy today. Our ability to google for information with much better results, and others’ ability to google for information and find threads here. When the two collide sometimes you might get the right answer to a 10 year old question that was incorrectly answered at the time. > > I haven’t regretted reading any of this thread except the snark about it being re-opened after so long. I view that as a waste of the re-opener’s time, not the other way around. (and so apologize for this continuation of it…) I always take zombie comments in good humor. Maybe not in this case, since it was a lame joke, but I generally find them good-natured. ::shrug:: ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/34 "2011-07-22T19:10:47Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > I knew he had the ten of course. As I remember it: > > I started with 99 > > Flop came with a 9, 10, 10. Betting was high with my full house against his trips. > > Turn was a 9. I bet high, he flat called though he had very little money left. > > Flop was the 10, and the rest of the money went in. > > It was just a straight cooler, no real considering of possibilities for me to do. Wow–that’s gutsy betting on _his_ part, if you’re remembering correctly. Pretty obvious that you had a pair of nines if you weren’t bluffing. I’d have folded rather than bet a lot of money in hopes of getting the fourth ten on the flop … ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/35 "2011-07-22T19:18:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Wow–that’s gutsy betting on his part, if you’re remembering correctly. Pretty obvious that you had a pair of nines if you weren’t bluffing. Before the fourth ten flopped, couldn’t the other guy have thought that **bucketybuck** was holding it? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/36 "2011-07-22T19:19:29Z")
That’s what I would have put him on. If I had a ten with an A kicker I would have assumed I had him dead to rights. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/37 "2011-07-22T19:35:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s what I would have put him on. If I had a ten with an A kicker I would have assumed I had him dead to rights. Thats what I assumed all the way through, that he had a ten and thought it was good enough with whatever kicker he had. Even if I had a ten, I might still have had a nine for a full house, but this wasnt particulary high stakes, so he was never going to lay down his trips. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/38 "2011-07-22T19:44:21Z")
> [@poppyp](#): > > In the '70s, I was a dealer in Vegas. I remember the Las Vegas Review Journal announcing that there were two royal flushes in the final hand of a Sahara poker tournament, involving big time players! Can’t remember their names. Is anyone else aware of this phenomenal occurance, and what would be the odds? The players split the pot, which was reputed to be over $80,000. > Can I get a witness? > > * * * One thing that’s puzzling me here. The final hand was a split pot, so how could it be the final hand? Were tournaments in the 70s played to a set number of hands or something? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/39 "2011-07-22T19:50:06Z")
See post 11- looks like the OP misremembered and conflated two stories. It wasn’t a tournament but a ring game. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/40 "2011-07-24T07:33:48Z")
if there were 2 royal flushes it wouldn’t have been the final hand, as the 2 would have tied and therefore split the pot ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695/41 "2011-07-24T07:36:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > See post 11- looks like the OP misremembered and conflated two stories. It wasn’t a tournament but a ring game. ok i understand. odds are incredibly against it though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-royal-flushes/4695.md?page=3)