Short Deck Poker – Best Short Deck Poker Sites
Short Deck also known as 6+ Hold’em originated in the Asian high stakes poker scene in 2014 and is not only a comparatively new poker variant, but also one of the fastest-growing in the world.
The name Short Deck comes from the fact that the game uses a smaller 36-card deck making it much more action-packed than Texas Hold’em.
Short Deck Poker quickly gained popularity around the world with the largest live tournament series such as the WSOP and Triton Poker as well as several online poker sites (see below) adding it to their schedule.
The rules and of 6+Holdem are very similar to Texas Hold’em with the biggest difference being the smaller utilized card deck.
Short Deck Poker is only played with 36 cards since all deuces, threes, fours, and fives are removed from the deck.
The smaller deck has a big effect on the optimal poker strategy, gameplay, and hand ranking, which we will explain in detail on this page.
In addition to that, we will let you know, which are the best Short Deck Poker Sites to play online for real money and explain the difference between Short Deck and No-Limit Hold’em as well as how to play Short Deck Poker.
The best Short Deck Poker Sites
You can play Short Deck online for real money, since 2016. However, only certain online poker sites have managed to establish high and stable traffic and great promotions for 6+ Hold’em.
Here are the best Short Deck Poker Sites:
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Short Deck Poker Rules
Short Deck also known as 6+ Hold’em/Six Plus Hold’em uses the same rules as Texas Hold’em, but is played using a smaller card deck consisting of 36 instead of 52 cards.
That means a total of 16 cards (the twos, threes, fours, and fives) are removed from the deck before the start of the game, which significantly changes the gameplay, strategy and hand strength.
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Differences between Short Deck and Texas Hold’em
Short Deck is played with a button blind as only the player on the button posts a blind, while all others post an ante, so there is only one blind instead of a small and big blind in other formats.
From here on the gameplay is the same as in Texas Hold’em starting with the player seated to the left of the button and followed by four betting rounds: pre-flop, flop, turn and river.
Another major difference between Short Deck and No-Limit Hold’em is that in 6+ Hold’em a flush beats a full-house.
In addition to that, Aces can play both as high and low, but there is no Wheel (A-2-3-4-5)! The lowest straight in Short Deck Poker is as there is A-6-7-8-9 and the highest straight T-J-Q-K-A.
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A-6-7-8-9 of the same suit is a Straight Flush. Those are the only differences in the Hand Ranking between Short Deck and Texas Hold’em all the rest stays the same.
Short Deck Poker Hand Ranking
Here is the full Short Deck Poker Hand Ranking:
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Short Deck Poker Probabilities
It is important to note, that due to the smaller deck also the total number of starting hands significantly goes down from 1,326 to 630.
Even more significant becomes the effect, when we take a look at the unique starting hands: 169 in Texas Hold’em and only 81 in Short Deck.
That means some poker hands become easier to make and this is also the reason why a flush beats a full house in Short Deck Poker.
Moreover, the chances to improve and make your hand on the turn and river are much higher in Six Plus Hold’em than in No-Limit Hold’em.
Here are the probabilities how often you improve your hand on turn and river:
| FLOP HAND – IMPROVED HAND | PROBABILITY | |
|---|---|---|
| Turn | River | |
| Three of a kind – Four of a kind | 3.20% | 6.50% |
| Pair – Three of a kind | 6.50% | 24.50% |
| Gutshot – Straight | 12.90% | 30.10% |
| Flush draw – Flush | 16.10% | 35.50% |
| Two Overcards – Top Pair | 22.60% | 48.40% |
Short Deck Poker Strategy
We have created the ultimate Short Deck Poker Strategy Guide for beginners. Simply follow the ten poker strategy advice below and you will win more money in Short Deck Poker:
- Use the Rule 6 and 3 to calculate your odds by multiplying outs by 6 on the flop and 3 on the turn
- Make the most of your draws as you improve more often on turn or river
- Straight draws are way more powerful than the flush draws so play them aggressively
- You hit your Flush much less often than in Texas Hold’em that’s why it beats a Full House
- Big Pocket Pairs such as AA, KK or QQ go down in value
- Connected Hands like QJ, J10 and 109 are much stronger than in Texas Hold’em
- Suited hands have much more value than offsuit hands
- Overbet more. The best way to protect your hand in Short Deck Poker is by overbetting the pot
- Equities Run Much Closer so there are less Premium Hands (KK vs. AK is only a 56%/44% favourite)
- You can open-limp/limp with a wide variety of hands as equities run close in Short Deck Poker
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Best Short Deck Poker Sites
Short Deck Poker has taken the world by storm. While in the beginning it was mainly played in live high stakes cash games it has developed into the fastest growing online poker format.
All major online poker sites offer Short Deck these days, so it’s about time to tell you, which are the best Short Deck Poker Sites.
WPT Global
WPT Global is the fastest growing online poker site in the world and they of course do offer Short Deck Poker.
That means all fans of Short Deck Poker can find great traffic at WPT Global throughout all the stakes. The site provides a wide variety of Short Deck games and limits starting from the micro stakes all the way up to the high stakes.
The Short Deck cash games start at $0.02 and go up all the way to $78.
- Get the best WPT Global Bonus Code
GGNetwork (GGPoker and Natural8 Poker)
GGNetwork with its flagship skins GGPoker and Natural8 is one of the best online poker sites to play Short Deck.
Being the biggest online poker site in the world, GGNetwork not only offers high and stable Short Deck Poker traffic around the clock, but is also among the very few sites that offer special Short Deck poker promotions such as a $10,000 Leaderboard.
Moreover, there is a huge variety of games and tables to choose from, with limits ranging from $0.02 up to $500.
Last but not least, GGNetwork is one of the few online poker rooms that offer regular Short Deck poker tournaments.
- View the best GGPoker Bonus
iPoker Network (Betfair, Guts and RedStar Poker)
The legendary iPoker Network was the very first online poker site to offer Short Deck Poker, called Six Plus Hold’em on iPoker for real money.
As a consequence they are offering decent and stable traffic from micro to mid stakes. At the high stakes you can only find enough action during European peak hours.
Short Deck Poker tables at iPoker are 6-max and they are the only poker room, where 6+ Hold’em is played with a small blind and big blind structure.
PokerStars
PokerStars is always on the pulse of time and the most innovative online poker site. That’s why it doesn’t come as a surprise that Stars added Short Deck Poker as early as January 2019.
However, since Poker Stars has random seating it is impossible to provide exact data on Short Deck Poker traffic, but rest assured it is plenty.
There are 12 different limits to choose from and the stakes are ranging from $0.02 to $200. PokerStars is one of the Short Deck Poker Sites, where you must buy-in for a 100 antes, when you want to enter a game.
- Get the best PokerStars Bonus Code
FAQ
The game is played with 36 cards instead of 52, since every card two through five is removed. This is where the name Short Deck comes from. The rules and gameplay is similar to Texas Hold’em, with the exception that a Flush beats a Full House and The lowest straight is A-6-7-8-9 instead of A-2-3-4-5.
Instead of the Rule of 2 and 4 in Hold’em, you are using the Rule of 3 and 6 in Short Deck, which means you are multiplying your outs on the flop with 6 and your outs on the turn with 3 in order to get your odds of winning the hand.
Since there are less cards in play, there are more premium hands and higher boards. That means, the hand strength goes up and you need a stronger hand in order to win the pot.
