The Wheel Straight in Poker: A‑2‑3‑4‑5 and Why It Is Fragile
The wheel is A‑2‑3‑4‑5, the lowest straight: the ace plays as a one. It beats three of a kind, but any higher straight beats it, starting with 2‑3‑4‑5‑6. On 4♣ 3♥ 2♦, A♠5♠ has the wheel and 93.5% against A♦K♣, yet only 6.5% against 6♦5♦. And a wheel draw that uses an ace is one-ended: it needs one rank, so it is worth no more than a gutshot.
Compute a wheel
A♠5♠ with the wheel on 4♣ 3♥ 2♦
Equity with the turn and river to come:
| Opponent | What it holds | A♠5♠'s equity |
|---|---|---|
| A♦K♣ | ace-high | 93.5% |
| 2♣2♠ | a set of twos | 64.5% |
| 6♦5♦ | a six-high straight | 6.5% |
Against ace-high, the wheel is far ahead; against the set, it still has to dodge the board pairing. Against 6♦5♦, it cannot win: its 6.5% comes only from split pots, when a six gives both hands the same straight.
Wheel draws: why the ace caps them
| Hand | Board | Draw | Outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| A♠2♠ | 3♣ 4♥ K♦ | needs a five only | 4 |
| 5♠4♠ | 3♣ 2♥ K♦ | an ace or a six | 8 |
The ace can only sit at the bottom of the wheel, so A‑2 with 3‑4 has one way to finish, the five. Small connected cards like 5‑4 have two: the ace below or the six above. There is no wraparound either: K‑A‑2‑3‑4 is not a straight. That is the difference between a gutshot and an open-ended draw.
Why small suited aces like the wheel
A5s to A2s can make the nut flush when their suit comes, and can make the wheel with their small card: two ways to win big pots from a hand that rarely makes a strong pair. That extra way to win is why small suited aces are worth more than their pair strength suggests: see suited aces. The catch is the six-high straight: on a board like 4‑3‑2, the hand that holds 6‑5 beats the wheel.
Keep going
- The best possible hand on a board: the nuts in poker.
- Which hands beat which: poker hand rankings.
- Five cards in a row, and which straight wins: the straight in poker.
Sources
- Equities enumerated exactly over every turn and river; outs counted card by card.