What is 6+ Hold’em

Short deck or 6+ Hold’em poker is a variant of poker similar to the traditional Texas Hold’em. Unlike the traditional 52 card deck game, the deck size in 6+ Holdem poker is reduced to 36, hence the name short deck poker. The 36 card deck size is achieved by eliminating the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s from the deck. This means that the aces can be used to make the low and high end of a Straight so instead of A-2-3-4-5, the lowest possible straight is A-6-7-8-9 in a game of 6+ Hold’em poker.

How to play

In a game of Short-Deck Hold’em, every player at the table needs to put a certain amount into the middle before the cards are dealt. Unlike the regular Texas Holdem where two players post the small and big blind, respectively. The round is initiated by the player sitting next to the dealer button, on the left and has the option to either call the blind, fold their cards or raise. Any player can use community cards to improve their hand. Three cards are dealt face-up on the board, making a flop if there is at least one call. If there are still players left in hand, then a single card is put on the board, face-up again. Active players will have the option to bet again, and this follows by another card and another round of betting until the showdown. Apart from the blind structure, the gameplay of short deck poker is similar to traditional Texas Hold’em Poker.

The number of cards in the deck changes the possibility of the winning hand in the game of 6+ Holdem poker. In a game of Short-Deck Holdem poker, the weakest to strongest hands are as follows.

Pair

This is a combination of two cards of the same rank.

Two Pair

This is a combination of two cards of similar rank and another two cards of the same rank.

Straight: Straights are easy to hit in a game of short deck poker. A player needs five cards following each other in rank to hit a square.

Three of a kind/ Trips/ Set

To hit a three of a kind, a player needs to have three cards of the same rank.

Full house/ Boat

A player can hit a full house when he/ she has three cards of the same rank and two different cards of the same rank.

Flush

In a game of 6+ Hold’em poker, a player needs five cards of the same suit to hit a flush.

Four of a kind or Quads

A player needs four cards of the same rank to hit a quad in short deck poker.

Straight flush

To hit a straight flush in 6+ Hold’em poker, you need to have five cards of the same suit, with an ascending order of rank.

Royal flush

To hit a royal flush, you need to have a set of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same suit.

With this knowledge and consistent practice, you can gradually climb up the ladder of success in 6+ Hold’em.