Short Deck Poker is an ever more popular variant of Texas Hold’em that originated in Asia. Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan are both strong proponents of this exciting game.
Phil Ivey even went so far as to call it one of his favorite games. Granted, that was just moments after he won the first even live streamed Short Deck Poker tournament. But, what is Short Deck Poker and how does it work?
Short Deck Poker (Six-Plus Hold’em)
Short Deck Poker, also known as Six-Plus Hold’em is a community card poker game, that is based on Texas Hold’em.
While the rules are mostly the same, Short Deck Poker is played with a deck of 36 cards as opposed to 52 cards in Texas Hold’em.
The deck is shortened by removing all card 2 through 5. Short Deck Poker is therefore played only with cards from 6 to A. That’s why the game is sometimes also referred to as Six-plus Hold’em.
Short Deck Poker Rules
The rules of Short Deck Poker are, as mentioned, similar to Texas Hold’em, but the lower number of cards does change things.
First of all, straights work differently as the Ace can make both low and high ends of straights. That means A 6 7 8 9 is straight.
A reduced number of cards also affects the probabilities:
- In Short Deck Poker, it is more difficult to hit a flush than a full house, since there are fewer cards that can make a flush (9 instead of 13).
- Straights are easier to hit and are therefore ranked below three of a kind.
Short Deck Poker Hand Rankings
So now that we know, why the hand rankings are different in Short Deck Poker than in Texas Hold’em. Let’s take a look at how they compare.
| Short Deck Poker (Six Plus Hold’em) | Traditional Texas Hold’em |
| Royal Flush | Royal Flush |
| Straight Flush | Straight Flush |
| Four of a kind (quads) | Four of a Kind (quads) |
| Flush | Full House |
| Full House | Flush |
| Three of a kind | Straight |
| Straight | Three of a Kind |
| Two Pair | Two Pair |
| A Pair | A Pair |
| High Card | High Card |
To summarize: “Three of a kind” beats a “Straight”, and “Flush” beats a “Full house”!
Short Deck Poker Strategy
Because there are only 36 cards instead of 52, you can expect to make better hands while playing Short Deck Poker.
One out equals to 1/31 or 3%. Meaning the odds of hitting a flush on turn or river are approximately 30%. And since a flush beats a full house, you are basically never afraid of making bets when holding one.
As for straights, you have 48% chance of hitting an open-ender by the river, which means you can keep betting as long as you don’t put your opponent on Three of a kind or better. Even if you do get called, you are almost flipping most of the time.
Calling with pocket pairs pre-flop is also more profitable in Short Deck Poker since the odds of flopping a set are around 18%!
Additionally, Short Deck Poker games often feature antes, which brings even more action, since calling preflop is more profitable.
Where can you play Short Deck Poker (Six Plus Hold’em)?
Now that you have read all that, you surely want to give this exciting game a try, so where can you do so?
Short Deck Poker is available at the iPoker Network rooms, such as Coral Poker, William Hill, and Betfair. The game is called Six Plus Hold’em there.
Check out our deals and reviews for those rooms below and try Short Deck or Six Plus Hold’em as the game is called on iPoker today!
Terms and conditions apply. New customer offer and 18+ only. Should you require help regarding your gambling pattern, please visit www.begambleaware.org.
