What Is Short Deck Poker: Rules, Odds & Gameplay Explained

Short deck poker is an exciting variation of popular Texas Hold’em, known for its fast pace and larger pot sizes.

It is fast gaining popularity in the poker world due to the frequent occurrence of premium starting hands, which enable players to play longer and enjoy the game better.

A short deck poker game is relatively easy to learn, too, as it follows almost the same pattern as traditional Hold’em. However, its shorter deck size (52 vs 36) makes it quite challenging to master.

Whether you’re a poker enthusiast looking to play short deck poker with friends or a pro serious about improving your skill set, this guide is for you. You’ll learn how short deck poker works, strategic hand adjustments for winning in this game, and common errors to avoid.

Understanding Short Deck Poker Basics

Short deck poker, or six plus poker, is a novel Texas Hold’em variant that uses a shorter deck size (36 cards).

The game was the brainchild of two affluent and influential Asian poker enthusiasts, Richard Yong and Paul Phua. Out of the need to give recreational players a better starting edge, they decided to strip off lower cards (2s through 5s) from the deck, leaving only 6s through Aces.

The result is a more compact game in which strong starting hands appear more often, allowing players to quit less often.

Short deck poker has since gone mainstream, with the game featuring at Triton World Poker Series. Even more interesting, it is now a staple at many top online poker sites and high-stakes casino floors across North America and Europe.

With some cards (2-5) now leaving the deck, the probabilities of some hands now differ from standard Texas Hold’em. So also is the hand ranking.

I really love how the shorter deck size in six-plus poker increases the game’s rhythm. Additionally, the frequent occurrences of premium hands increase all-in bets. This grows the pot size faster and gives players more to fight for than traditional Hold’em.

Complete Short Deck Poker Rules Breakdown

If you know how to play Texas Hold’em poker, learning the rules of short deck poker will be a walk in the park.

Just like in Texas Hold’em, each player gets two hole cards (only they can see them) and about four to five community cards, depending on whether you play a standard short deck game or a fifth street variant. Here is what the two formats entail:

• Standard Short Deck Poker: This involves two hole cards and five community cards. The betting progress is steady across all streets.
• Fifth Street Short Deck Poker: Played with three hole cards and four community cards. The fifth community card in a standard short deck is dealt as the third hole card, hence its name. Betting pressure increases from the turn stage onward.

Regardless of the game format, your mission remains the same: form the best five-card poker hand with your hole card and community cards. The hand rankings are also pretty consistent across the two variants, as seen below:

Observe that Flush rank above Full House is a short deck poker hand strength. This is because the compressed deck makes Flushes rarer than Full Houses.

How to Play Short Deck Poker Game: Betting Rounds and Actions

A standard game of six plus poker involves 5 main stages. Here is what each of them entails:

Pre-Flop

In this stage, each player receives 2 hole cards face down. To begin the game, players contribute chips to the pot in any of these 2 ways:

• Blinds: Blinds are most common in Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em, but some short deck games adopt this structure too. Here, two players to the left of the button (dealer) add chips to the pot. The first player (short blind) deposits a small ante into the pot, and the second player (big blind) tops this bet.
• Ante-Only: Most short-deck poker variants follow the ante structure. Here, everyone at the table contributes chips to the pot, with the player on the button posting a larger ante. As a result, the short poker pot size grows faster and drives more betting action right from the get-go.

After posting ante, players check their cards, then place the first round of bets. To bet, you can either match the biggest ante (call), double the ante size (raise), or bow out of the game (fold)

Flop

Next, three community cards are added to the board, face up. Everyone at the table can combine their hole card with these cards (if they already have a solid hand) to form the best five-card hand. After the cards are revealed, players take turns making another bet. They can decide to check (skip or pass), bet, call, raise, or fold.

Turn

At this stage, one extra card is introduced to the board. Players now have six cards at their disposal (2 hole cards and 4 community cards) to achieve their best hand. Like previous stages, players cast their bets.

River

Here, yet another new card is added to the board, making a total of 5 community cards. In the fifth street short deck poker, each player receives a third card at the river stage, so that they form five-card hands with 2 out of the three hole cards and 3 out of 4 cards on the table.

Showdown

Finally, players remaining at the table display their cards, and the winner is determined by the best hand ranking.

Short Deck Poker Hand Rankings (and Why They’re Different)

Below are the two most common orders winning hands in short deck poker, from best to worst

The removal of 2 through 5 cards in short deck poker reduces the number of available cards for forming three of a kind from 13 in standard Hold’em poker to 9 in six plus Hold’em. This occurrence changes the hand ranking in short deck poker across different rooms, with some casinos ranking three of a kind (trips) over straight. Here are the two most common hand ranking formats in short deck poker:

Both straight-over-trips and trips-over-straight hand ranking are valid, but the former is most common in many of the best online casinos. Our short deck strategy guide is built around straight-over-trips hand ranking rules. Do well to confirm the hand ranking at your poker rooms and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Also, observe that Aces can now function as 5 or 11 in short deck poker vs Texas Hold’em, thereby making hands like A, 6,7,8,9 now possible in six plus games.

Probability and Odds in Short Deck Poker

The compression of cards from 52 to 36 alters the entire short deck poker mathematics. Some hands now occur more frequently, others gain more value, while low cards & gutshots become almost non-existent.

✅ How Removing Cards Affects Probabilities

Below is precisely how the removal of low cards (2 through 5) affects the game probability:

• Pocket Aces now appear more than twice as frequently (1 in 105 times) in short deck poker than Texas Hold’em (1 in 221)
• Each remaining card (6s-As) now appears more often. For instance, the odds of each card now rise from (4/52 or 7.69%) in Hold’em to (4/36 or 11.11%) in short deck poker.
• Strong hands occur more frequently since there are fewer low cards to dilute their occurrence.
• Big card hands ( A, K, Q, J, 10) appreciate, especially if suited

These are just a few key hands and their winning chances. You can also use our poker odds calculator to determine the winning chances of your hand before playing at our recommended poker casinos, all of which boast certifications from top gambling authorities like MGA, eCoGRA, and Curacao Gaming Control Board.

✅ Key Statistics for Making Decisions

Here are some vital stats to inform your action when playing short deck poker online or offline

• Premium hands are more common in the pre-flop and flop stages. As a result, you should expect more all-in (players staking all their chips)
• Prioritize nut hands (high-ranked hands that almost always win when you have them) and nut draws.
• Marginal holdings, especially off-suits (e.g., 7H-9D-JS), lose value
• Top pairs are less dominant since they occur more frequently, and multiple people can have them in the same round

✅ Short Deck Poker Odds vs Traditional Hold’em Odds

The table below displays how the odds of winning hands in traditional Hold’em compare to 6-plus poker:

From the table above, you can see that hands like one pair, two pairs, trips/sets, and straights are more common. The same goes for full house and flush. But high cards are far rarer.

Strategic Adjustments for Short Deck Poker Success

Given the close equity of hands (the chances of a hand winning) in six-plus Hold’em poker, your strategy deserves a rethink from traditional Texas Hold’em. So, here is how to approach various stages of short-deck online poker:

✅ Pre-Flop Strategy Differences

• Raise Aggressively in Ante Games: Antes build the pot fast in short deck poker, which means there is a lot to fight for. As such, you should always raise first-in or re-raise rather than limp to maximize pot size. Aggression also forces weaker players to fold quickly, therefore eliminating competition.
• Expect More All-in: With more big hands, all-in is more common
• Big Card Dominate: Hands like pocket Aces (A-A), big hands (A-K, J-Q), and suited broadways gain more value due to their strong straight, flush, and straight flush potential

✅ Post Flop Play Adaptations

In addition to your hole cards, the three to five extra cards at the table play a crucial role in your hand strength. Here is how to navigate this stage:

• Nut-flush Draws Vs Second-nut Draw Decision on the Flop: Various flushes have different ranking orders in short deck poker. For instance, a nut flush (Ace/spade, 7/spade, 6/spade, Jack/spade, 10/spade) will beat a second nut flush (Queen/diamond, Jack/diamond, 7/daimond, 8/diamond, 9/daimond) to the pot. As such, you should only value bet a nut flush and be cautious with a second nut flush. You should also pay attention to board texture and be careful when opponents are betting strongly after the turn/river, as that could be a sign of improvement.
• Equity Changes on Dynamic Boards With straight-heavy Textures: The concentration of medium-high hands in short deck poker means hands can improve and equity may swing pretty fast across drawing rounds, especially where straights are involved. Apply pressure on a strong hand pre-draw to maximize the pot. You should also play aggressively when you have a straight draw on the flop and turn, as your hand can improve to a straight within a blink.
• Use Top Pairs as Bluff Catcher: While top pairs are decent hands in Texas Hold’em, they barely dominate at showdown in a short deck. As such, the best use of the top pair is bluff catching other players when you are sure they’re bluffing.
• Learn how to evaluate your opponent’s chances: This enables you to estimate the type of straight or flush your opponent possibly holds, given your cards and the board texture.

✅ Bluff Consideration

The high frequency of premium hands means your opponents may take you up if you bluff randomly. As such, you must weigh your options properly before taking action. Here are a few scenarios and tips for bluffing properly in 6+ poker:

• When you have a nut advantage
• When you have strong blockers ( cards that make it less likely for opponents to have nuts)
• When there are high cards on the board that you can combine with your hand.

✅ Short Deck Poker Bankroll Management Tactics

The high volatility of short deck poker calls for effective bankroll management. Follow the steps to get the most out of your budget:

• Employ a larger budget to withstand frequent all-ins
• Prepare for sharp upswings and downswings
• Fold low-offsuits early to save cash down the line

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Short Deck Poker

I usually mixed up traditional Hold’em and short-deck poker hand rankings when I first started, and I also struggled to adjust to the differences in pre-flop and flop play. These errors cost me a lot of fortune, as you would expect.

To save you from undue costs, I’ve highlighted common poker mistakes I see often in short deck and how to avoid them:

❌ Overvaluing Top Pairs

I often see many players value betting top pairs at short-deck poker tables. This is a costly mistake because stronger hands, like straights and two-pairs, appear more often in short deck poker. As a result, you barely win a big pot with top pairs in six-plus short poker. Treat top pairs as a medium-strength hand and only value bet a stronger hand like straights and better.

❌ Slow-playing Premium Hands

By now, you should know that hand strength and equity changes quickly in short deck poker as more cards make it to the board from flop to river. This makes it easier for opponents to form strong hands over time and even overtake yours. When you land a strong hand like a set early, bet strongly to build the pot and force other players to fold before they get any chance to improve.

❌ Misreading A-6 straight

In traditional Texas Hold’em, Ace counts as 11, but it can also serve as 5 in short deck poker. Most beginners ignore this fact and lose out on making Ace to 6 (A-6) straights. When you have Ace, always check whether you can make a low straight (A-6-7-8-9) and steal the chance to win the pot early.

❌ Playing Without an Exit Plan

Playing without a plan quickly wipes out your bankroll or bleeds profits. Before you start playing, set how much risk you’re willing to take (loss limit) and a target profit ( win cap) after which you’ll exit the game—endeavor to stick to your plan, too. Take time out to cool off and analyze your strategy mid-game if needed. And do not hesitate to get aid if you struggle to maintain discipline. Reach out to the good folks at GambleCare and Gamblers Anonymous to get dedicated assistance for all gambling issues and regain control of your habits.

Pros & Cons of Short Deck Poker

Short deck poker’s varying structure makes it appealing to different player categories than deuces wild video poker and Hold’em. Below, we highlight the upsides and downsides of short deck poker to help you decide if it’s right for you:

Credit: RedDog Casino

Owing to its promise of strong starting hands, beginners tend to love short-deck poker as it gives them more legroom to play. Likewise, higher rollers love it for its high-risk, high-reward potential. If you are playing on a budget and prefer conservative play, standard Texas Hold’em, or 7-card stud poker will be a better fit.

Conclusion

Short deck poker is not just a Texas Hold’em variant but a new beast with a unique structure and hand ranking.

To excel, always bear in mind that premium hands occur more often, making all-in and raising more common. In the pre-flop stage, you must prioritize big cards and play aggressively. For the post-flop stage, you must aim for a flush and nut to stand a chance at winning the pot. Don’t forget to always bluff from a position of strength and leverage position advantage to pressure the opponents.

If you fancy a fast-paced game with high variance, short-deck poker is a must-try. For starters, practice frequently with free poker training apps and prioritize low-stakes cash games before moving to poker tournaments. You’ll also need a solid bankroll depth to overcome the game’s high variance. Finally, play responsibly and have fun. Good luck!

FAQs

Is Short Deck More Luck-Based Than Traditional Poker? 

Even though luck may get you up to a good start with strong hands, there are still 5 other cards on the board to determine your outcome. In the long run, your skill and experience with playing various hands matter more.

How Should I Adjust My Starting Hand Selection?

Prioritize and play strong hands aggressively (straight, nut flush, two pairs, etc.). Be cautious of low pairs and fold unsuited non-connected broadways.

What Bankroll Is Recommended for Short Deck?

Short deck poker requires a large bankroll. Prepare for up to 50-100 buy-ins at $10-$100 each, depending on the nature of the table you’re playing at. For more economical alternatives, consider trying 5-card Omaha poker and Texas Hold’em.

Are There Different Versions of Short Deck Rules?

Yes. Several short poker variants exist, each with its own rules. Most variants keep the traditional straight-over-set ranking order, while others rank sets above straights. In the fifth street variant, players get 3 hole cards instead of 2.

How Long Does It Take to Be Proficient? 

The time it takes to master short deck poker depends on how often you practice and how quickly you learn the basics. Find free poker sites to practice your skills in this guide.

What Happens When Two Players Have the Same Final Winning Hands? 

When two players have the same final hands, the pot is shared equally among them. If hand ranks tie, and a kicker exists, the player with the highest kicker wins. Endeavor to confirm the tie-breaker rules before you start playing.