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Can the starter card help make a four-card flush?

Not a four-card one. A hand flush needs all four cards in your hand to share a suit, for 4 points; a matching starter adds a fifth point but can’t replace one.

The starter can only extend a flush, never complete one. With three hearts and a spade in your hand, a heart starter still gives you no flush — the four cards you hold must all be one suit.

The crib is stricter still — it needs all five cards in one suit. See does a flush count in the crib?

Flush and nobs together

A flush can share a hand with his nobs. Hold 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ J♥ with a 7♥ starter and you score the flush for 5, the jack matching the starter’s suit for 1 (his nobs), plus the run and fifteens on top.

How often a flush turns up

A random four-card hand is a flush about once in 95 hands, roughly 1%. You choose your four cards from six, which improves your chances, but a flush is still one of the rarer scores. Once you hold four of one suit, 9 of the 48 cards you can’t see are of that suit, so the starter makes it a 5 about 19% of the time.

Flushes only score when counting

There is no flush during pegging. Cards laid on the count score fifteens, pairs, runs, 31 and the go, but never suits, so save your flush thinking for the count.

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